1st March 2006
Mine, All Mine!
A New Range of Homes at Accessible Prices
A new range of designs, i-LiFE by David Wilson Homes, will sell from £65,000 upwards and is lining up to meet the escalating demand for homes at accessible prices. This will appeal to not only the first time buyer but also those who need the flexibility of a smaller, low-maintenance property. Within the collection are distinctive studio houses, where tradition has been turned upside-down to provide more space for living.
i-LiFE by David Wilson Homes includes studio houses and apartments as well as mews houses; an attractive collection of homes which will appeal to a mix of households, from single people, to couples, to small families.
Changing times, changing lives.
With marriage rates at an all-time low, divorce rates still high, and many people actually preferring to live on their own, it is no wonder that nearly a third of all households have only one person living in them [1] and that the demand is huge for smaller homes.
It is particularly hard for first time buyers; not surprising that they are waiting until their early thirties to get onto the housing ladder. Says David Wilson Homes’ group chief executive, Ian Robertson: “If we don’t address this problem we will end up with young people remaining dependent on their parents or rented accommodation.”
He adds: “But we know that there is a huge market for people aspiring to own their own home or who want a home at a more accessible price. And when that happens people don’t want to accept lower standards just because the home is smaller. This is a range which offers homes that people can afford, but without sacrificing the quality of design and build, which people expect of David Wilson Homes. It is rather like buying a Mini-Cooper when you know it was designed by BMW.”
The Range
Having recently completed Project:LiFE, a major study into house design involving a concept house and a test-drive family, the company has developed the i-LiFE by David Wilson Homes portfolio which includes the distinctive ‘upside-down’ one bedroom studio houses, as well as more conventional two and three bedroom houses, and studio, one and two bedroom apartments.
David Wilson Homes’ development director, James Wilson, explains how the new homes were designed by the in-house design team in consultation with its design partner, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen: “Although our Project:LiFE research study involved a five bedroom four-storey house and a family of four, still we are able to incorporate some learnings into the very smallest of the houses to create that all-crucial element in a home – the impression of space and light.”
Timings
The company plans to build i-LiFE by David Wilson Homes throughout the country from Scotland down to Kent. Planning approval is already granted for 100 homes with many more planning applications in place and construction is already under way on sites at Balderton, Nottinghamshire, and Wootton, Northamptonshire.
Ian Robertson sums up: “What we have here in the studio and mews houses and in the apartments is the realisation of a dream, for people to own their own home. Many of these houses will be bought by first time buyers and nothing can erase that thrill of buying your very first home. The feeling that it is all mine! From this year on, i-LiFE by David Wilson Homes will deliver that dream to many aspiring home owners. And for them that will be just the beginning.”
‘Upside-Down’ Studio Houses
Space in a small house requires clever layout and a more creative approach to design and the company learned from its Project:LiFE house how the small footprint of the family bathroom was enhanced significantly by its high ceiling.
In the new studio houses, the roof construction permits a high ceiling loft-style first floor. Taking advantage of this feeling of space, in three of the studio house designs David Wilson Homes has turned tradition upside down, with the bedroom and bathroom located on the ground floor and the first floor devoted to one living zone which includes the kitchen area.
Not only does the high ceiling of the first floor allow a greater impression of space, in two of the four studio houses extra space is achieved by the addition of a mezzanine floor for valuable additional storage. The mezzanine provides welcome usable space in the ‘dead’ area in the high point of the room to take shelving, filing cabinets and storage cupboards.
Light, so important to the Parnell family ‘test driving’ the Project:LiFE research house in Sheffield, is achieved in these first floor living areas by providing full height French windows opening onto a Juliet balcony or a walk-out balcony where people can sit and feel the sun on their faces.
For the studio houses with the bedroom on the ground floor, the layout aims to create generous space for a double bed and wardrobe storage. To this end, the bathroom includes a shower rather than a bath to allow a washing machine also to be included.
One thing the designers recognise is that when you have an open-plan kitchen living area, you really don’t want the noise of the washing machine breaking into a particularly tense episode of Eastenders.
Commenting on the ‘upside-down’ studio houses, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen says: “This design borrows from the past and exploits the best of the present. Having the living space on the first floor was common in Georgian and Victorian England – and even in Renaissance Venice when the piano nobile was where Venetians received their guests. More prosaically, with modern construction methods this design has energy saving benefits from the fact that heat rises so the living area upstairs is warmer and the bedroom remains cooler.
“But what I love about these two particular studio houses is their potential. Yes a bedroom large enough for a double bed. Yes a shower room with your washing machine neatly stowed away. And yes, a living space which allows you to be truly creative in furnishing. I can’t wait until the first show houses emerge around the country and we see how imaginative the interiors can be. And I will be fascinated to see how people use that mezzanine space.”
Mews Houses
Borrowing from the open-plan aspect of Project:LiFE, in the mews houses the ground floor is one open living space. In both the two and three bedroom houses, the open-plan ground floor is designed for family living with optional sliding screens between the kitchen and living areas.
David Wilson Homes was really keen to maximise the light into the house and the ground floor benefits from much of the rear wall being glazed with access to the garden. More and more of us want to extend our living space out into the garden, and in time, one could add a conservatory to create even more space.
The designers also looked at how best to maximise space in a small home and created storage space for all the usual domestic paraphernalia - vacuum cleaner, ironing board – in the cloakroom, which is also home to the washing machine and boiler.
Both these houses will be popular and are planned to be built this year in various locations around the country and are expected to go on the market from around £80,000 to £90,000.
Apartments
Apartments are the first choice for many single people, and again, with accessible pricing in mind, David Wilson Homes has designed one and two bedroom apartments and a single living space studio apartment.
Space is even more at a premium in apartment living and it is interesting how David Wilson Homes returns always to what it has become known for – open-plan living and bedrooms big enough to take a double bed with space beside.
And of course, as with the houses, open-plan living space requires the washing machine to be tucked away discreetly; a thoughtful point carried through even into the one room studio flat where it lives quietly in the bathroom.
To find out more call 0800 23 44 55 or visit the website at www.davidwilsonhomes.co.uk/i-life.
- Ends -
[1] Office of National Statistics
[2] The Halifax First Time Buyer Annual Review 2006.
In 2005 there were only 320,000 first time buyers (FTBs), 40 per cent down on 2002.
Average price paid by FTBs increased to over £137,000.
Average age of FTBs has risen to 33.
Average deposit paid by FTBs is £24,000 (£44,000 in Greater London).
Note to editors: more information on the Project:LiFE research initiative is available from contacts below. See www.projectlife.info.
Issued on behalf of David Wilson Homes by McCann Erickson Public Relations.
Further information Dianne Page on 0121 713 3784 or Katie Robbins on 0121 713 3787.
E-mail dianne.page@europe.mccann.com or katie.robbins@europe.mccann.com.