Whatsapp open once full#
Whatsapp open once series#
Whatsapp open once windows#

Whatsapp open once full#

“We’re getting regular requests for full EPC reports with buyers wanting to know exactly what can be done to improve the efficiency of the spaces they are investing in. “We’ve definitely seen increasing interest among our buyers in the energy efficiency of the homes we have on the market,” says Emma Mansell, managing director at the Modern House. “This works in a heat wave too, when you want to prevent the hot air travelling upstairs to the bedrooms,” he adds.

Whatsapp open once series#

He talks about a greater use of “pocket” doors, which disappear into the walls for nine months of the year but transform a large space into a series of smaller rooms in the winter. “But we are looking at compartmentalising those rooms for different seasons of the year.” “Open plan is not dead people still want that main sociable family space, which works for entertaining too,” says Allen. Award-winning architect Ben Allen (of Ben Allen Studios) says he is increasingly having conversations with clients about adding doors rather than knocking down walls.Īllen is restoring a Victorian house close to Belfast and said the cost of modernising it to be energy-efficient was so high that the homeowners are going to tackle the project one step at a time, leaving their planned attic conversion for another day. In the meantime, it seems that many people are falling out of love with open-plan living. The need to be energy-efficient will start to shape our extensions, with people shifting away from vast open-plan spaces with vaulted ceilings (harder to heat) and entire rear walls made of glass (which can lead to overheating in the summer). I dread to think what our EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating is and, looking ahead, that matters greatly – firstly in our responsibility to climate change mitigation and secondly if, and when, selling the house.

Whatsapp open once windows#

While the highly efficient underfloor heating (only in the sunken living area) keeps the space warm, heat must seep out of the old windows in the kitchen. The sun beats down through the glass lanterns in the summer, making the room extremely hot. This is obviously timely given the fact that heating bills –along with mortgages – are at the forefront of all of our minds, even with a pledge from Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister, to cap the price of a unit of gas or electricity in the face of rapidly escalating costs. Visiting kids charge around the sofa and the heat and smells (and smoke when I burn toast) from the kitchen billow up into the sky lights.īut the other factor is temperature regulation. With an autistic 10-year-old, it’s an echoey, sensory nightmare and it is hard for him to find a quiet corner. Having lived in the house for five years, I now regret going open plan for many reasons. The dark walnut floor and green walls (Ulla by Little Greene) were supposed to make the room feel cosier, but despite this and my smattering of furniture and rugs, there is still a lack of cohesion.

The open-plan room consists of three spaces: a snug area with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lining all surrounding walls that steps down into the sunken living room, and the kitchen to the left, only separated by a step back up. It all looks lovely, but it costs an absolute fortune to heat! This additional strip of glass was contrived to show off as much greenery as possible. Double doors open from the hallway into the space and your eyes are immediately drawn to the three sets of double doors across the back with views of the garden and trees through to the valley beyond.Įach set of doors has a transom window across the top with leaded-light detailing – a nod to the windows in the original part of the 1930s house. The room, designed by Stedman Blower, Hampshire-based heritage architects, certainly has the wow factor. We pushed the limits of our planning permission and went as far back (20ft) and as high (30ft) as we could with a rear brick extension of our house in Haslemere, Surrey. My father-in-law describes our open-plan living area as a “village hall” – and it’s not meant to be a compliment.