How much has the British family home changed in 50 years?

  • 12 Oct 2015

THE EVOLUTION OF THE FAMILY HOME

New survey commissioned by Anglian Home Improvements to mark its 50th anniversary looked at how our tastes in home improvements and the way in which we use our homes have changed over the past 50 years.

1-Fullscreen capture 12102015 094359 The study generated some fascinating results, painting a portrait of just how much the way we use our homes has changed since the Swinging Sixties and identifying which home innovations of the last 50 years have changed our lives the most.

Surprisingly it wasn’t the television or the refrigerator, or even the internet, that came top in our poll, but inventions that keep us comfortable through the long British winters. Warmth comes top for the majority of home owners, with seven out of ten of us ranking central heating as the most positive change to our homes in the last 50 years, followed by indoor toilets, hot running water and better insulated windows.

1-Fullscreen capture 12102015 094546The survey also identified the most loathed and most loved home improvements over the past five decades.

Top 10 most loved home improvements

  1. Indoor-outdoor flow (58 per cent)
  2. Separate dining room (56 per cent)
  3. TV/music/cinema room (44 per cent)
  4. Wet room (43 per cent)
  5. Decking (40 per cent)
  6. Dressing room (39 per cent)
  7. Open plan living (39 per cent)
  8. Gym/exercise area (25 per cent)
  9. Coloured bathroom suite (20 per cent)
  10. Crazy paving (15 per cent)

1-Fullscreen capture 12102015 094748Most loathed of all home improvements

  • Pebble dashing (52 per cent)

Tell me about your best loved and most hated home improvements.

More details from the British homes survey – Fifty years of the British home laid bare, from the Swinging Sixties to the Twenty-Tens

Link to a great Anglian Home Improvements infographic on 50 years of the British home

Leave a Reply

Latest news

Mitsubishi Electric

Mitsubishi Electric: 8 out of 10 homeowners still using gas

UK consumers still overwhelmingly rely on carbon-intensive home heating systems, and 79% use a gas boiler. Just 4% of homeowners use an air-source heat pump in their homes – all according to a new survey from Mitsubishi Electric and Censuswide.

Posted in Air Conditioning, Articles, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Services, Facility Management & Building Services, Heating Systems, Controls and Management, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning - HVAC, Innovations & New Products, Pipes & Fittings, Plumbing, Publications, Research & Materials Testing, Retrofit & Renovation, Sustainability & Energy Efficiency

Breathing Buildings
Recofloor

Recofloor celebrates 15 years of vinyl recycling success

Leading vinyl take back scheme, Recofloor, has been celebrating 15 years of successful recycling. Launched in 2009 as a collaborative initiated by manufacturers Altro and Polyflor, Recofloor collects both offcuts and uplifted vinyl for recycling.

Posted in Articles, Awards, Building Industry Events, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Services, Floors, Site Preparation, Sustainability & Energy Efficiency, Waste Management & Recycling

Purplex

Purplex Founder & MD on the power of specialist marketing

Andrew Scott, MD of construction-focused, full-service agency Purplex, explains how deep industry expertise and offering tailored campaigns outperforms one-size-fits-all approaches every time.

Posted in Articles, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Services, Information Technology, Innovations & New Products, Research & Materials Testing