Homebuilders should make rooms multi-functional

Many householders dream of being able to build their own home, either because their current abode is too small or outdated, or because they believe it will be cheaper than moving to a new property.

When it comes to designing a new home, it is essential to consider what the members of the household will be using each room for. According to Jaimie Kendry, interior designer and director of Jaimie K Designs, using rooms as multi-functional spaces can be much more useful to property dwellers than the traditional set purpose for each room.

"A very strong trend at the moment is the combination of kitchen, dining and family living," she said.

"Families are busy and so this allows time spent in the home to be family focused with a lot more interaction within the family unit as everyone is in the same room. The larger open spaces create a more contemporary feel to the house rather than smaller individual rooms that isolate people from each other."

She added that this type of set-out can really help parents of young children to keep an eye on them while they get on with other tasks, plus with space becoming a premium, the trend looks set to become ever more popular.

Whether that means putting a shaver socket in your bedroom or a dimmer switch in your kitchen-cum-dining room, there are plenty of ways in which you can open up your existing spaces to make them multi-functional.

Meanwhile, the National Federation of Builders last month called on the government to help small businesses in the construction industry to rebuild the economy after research published by the Office for National Statistics revealed construction output in August this year was 11.6 per cent lower than in the same month in 2011.

In the 12 months to August 2012, new public housing work fell by 20.7 per cent and new private housing decreased by 12.1 per cent.