Four walls and separate spaces with each room having a definable identity is how we have lived for centuries and it’s a concept that many still aspire to however, most new and modern build tends to incorporate an element of communal or open plan living.
A new build is an expensive business and the size of your house or space comes with a price tag, the jump from a two to a three-bedroom property could feel like the difference between shopping in Matalan or Harrods or opting for Venetian blinds rather than wooden shutters.
Often in these smaller properties, our saving grace is how the architect or developer has created the sense of space by using glass and better still areas of glass that can open up to allow an indoor/outdoor existence. Large areas of glass rather than the brick that allow light to flood into the room help to give us a feeling size. We feel less contained, less restricted, the increased panoramic visual heightens the fact that we are looking at the reality of a vista rather than a painting on a wall.
Furthermore, we are entertained by a constantly altering landscape where the seasons take it from the youth of spring into the maturity of summer. At this juncture, we praise the god of double glazing and the insulation it offers as we then become the spectators of the winter months watching the children making a snowman.
The only drawback I am approached about is the evenings, the light subsides and that expanse of glass can then feel like this huge dark area that. For some can be a bit of a downer or a reason to feel less secure or perhaps you might think if only it could be softened to enhance a feeling of cosiness.
Suddenly you become aware that your space has a duality, its daytime persona and the reality of night- time. If you get to this eventuality be careful, there are often huge practicalities in play, are they sliding doors, bi-folds? How you dress one is not necessarily how you dress the other and what dressing do you choose that compliments your evening need but does not then interfere with your daytime perception.
Why not pick my brains or at least, the part of it that works.
