We’ve all spent a lot more time in our houses over the last few months, and that’s had quite an impact on how we use the place we call home.

A study by Aviva, taken during lockdown, shows that 85% of us undertook some home improvements, with decluttering, gardening, and home decorating being the main contenders.

In a normal year, as we do our daily dash from home to work and back again, the most time we might spend in our homes is in the evenings, for a few hours between dinner and bedtime. This year, as we’ve spent months within the same four walls, it’s understandable that we’ve taken a closer look at the space we have, and how we use it.

Compared to previous years, the study showed that more of us are craving additional space and alone time, particularly among those aged 25-45. The question is, when you can’t go out, where can you go to find it?

Making more of the bathroom space in your home

There are a few obvious ways to maximise the space in our homes. A simple and less expensive option is to declutter and rearrange furniture to make more effective use of each room.

Another option might be to move to a larger home, but with the housing market also feeling the effects of 2020, fewer people are taking that route.

The third choice is to extend or remodel the rooms we have, starting with the one room we know we can be guaranteed some alone time (unless you have small children!) – the bathroom.

Repairing and improving our bathrooms

Lockdown has only emphasised what we already knew – the bathroom is one of the most important rooms in the house. It’s the place we start and end each day, where we wash our children and, in a normal year, get dressed up for a great night out. It’s also the one place where we can lock the door, fill up a bubble bath and spend an hour alone with a book and a glass of wine – a private lockdown retreat.

Revamping the bathroom will depend on the available budget, starting with simple solutions such as taking care of any repairs and finally fixing that dripping tap.

For those with a larger budget, or who can divert the funds we would have spent on a family holiday any other year, we might consider a complete renovation. If there is one thing we have learned from lockdown, it’s what is most important to us. While a holiday might be nice, a luxury retreat in your own home will last longer and see daily use.

Or, perhaps what we really need isn’t to change the current bathroom, but to add another one to our home. Now is the opportunity to reconfigure the space available, make another shower room, or add an extension that includes a downstairs washroom.

Making the most of the time we have had at home 

This may not have been the 2020 we were expecting, but it has had an interesting impact on how we live. We’re working from home, we’re spending more time in each room and with each other. Now’s the time to think about updating our homes to suit our new normal.

To discuss your bathroom refurbishment, please contact us today.