Whether you’re building a home extension to accommodate for your growing family with more functional space, or as an investment to add value to your property, here are the top 10 home extension trends of 2021:
#1
Family-First, Flexible Layouts
A popular reason to commence a home extension is to make your existing home more personalised for your family. In a previous article, we revealed why home extensions may be far cheaper than moving house, allowing growing families to build flexible space to meet their changing needs. This is being reflected in one of the biggest home extension trends of 2021; open plan living areas, dining areas and versatile kitchens that create a family-friendly space.
To achieve this when planning your home extension, have a think about the size of your family (which is potentially growing), and how often you invite guests over. You may need one main dining table or a range of seating alternatives. This ensures that flexible seating areas, storage and workstations are at the forefront of your kitchen space and dining area. Incorporating a breakfast bar, or an island with storage as well as seating, are great ways to add family-friendly functionality to your layout.
#2
Holidaying at Home
Since overseas travel is still largely out of reach from the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, the staycation has never been more popular. With this, there has been a rising trend in home extensions to include luxury features such as walk-in wardrobes, floor-to-ceiling windows, shower niches as well as custom tiling and lighting to channel resort-style living at home.
#3
Indoor/Outdoor Living
Particularly relevant if you are building a rear extension to connect with your garden, blurring the line between indoor and outdoor living is a popular trend for home extensions. This can be achieved in a number of ways - such as opening up the rear wall with bi-fold doors, adding indoor plants, as well as building an extended outdoor decking area with ceiling fans for comfortable alfresco dining with friends and family.
#4
Let There Be Light
Another one of our top 10 home extension trends is building to allow an abundance of natural light. These days, provided you receive planning permission, homes and home extensions are built much closer to the boundaries of their land. With the shadows cast from neighbouring houses, this can make it difficult for natural light to fill your home.
We are seeing many Australians planning their extension designs with larger windows and skylights, to make rooms feel more spacious, less cluttered, and make ceilings look higher, all while saving everyday electricity costs.
#5
Curved Features
As seen on Channel Nine’s The Block in 2020, a popular trend among contestants was bringing curved features into the home. This trend ranged from the use of curved furniture through to curved structural walls and surfaces, such as Sarah and George’s curved stone island bench in their kitchen reveal, and Luke and Jasmin’s curved stone bath and arched mirrors in their bathroom reveal. From the TV into our real-life living rooms, in 2021 this trend has now filtered through to become a popular interior design trend with renovators across the country.
#6
Butler’s Pantry
Storage, particularly in the kitchen, has always been a valuable commodity with investors and homeowners alike. A Butler’s Pantry is a walk-in small kitchen area, hidden behind a wall or door within a kitchen in order to remain out of sight. This space is used to prepare food and clean-up, providing ample storage for cooking appliances to prevent clutter on your main kitchen benchtops.
A luxury addition once reserved for polishing silver and china in large estates, the Butler’s Pantry has found its way into modern Australian homes for families who love entertaining.
#7
Home Offices and Study Nooks
2020 saw the rise in working from home, which has since become part of the norm - so it is not surprising that many renovators are including a home office into their extension design. Depending on what space you have available, you could add a spare room to work and study from home or alternatively for smaller areas you could add a study nook and day bed.
#8
Colour Trends
The Dulux 2021 Colour Forecast notes three main interior design trends for the year which they have labelled ‘nourish’, ‘reset’ and ‘retreat’.
The Nourish colour trend is a calming palette of warm neutrals, soothing mossy greens and olive tones with a focus on natural beauty in the home. Retreat creates a sense of tranquility with warm whites, dusty blues and caramel colours, while the Reset palette brings energy and optimism to the living space with blue-greens and reds with a subtle retro influence.
#9
Home Tech
Technology in the home is becoming more popular than ever, particularly in terms of home security, fire safety and internet connectivity. Smart home technology has become much more affordable, with modern Australian families opting for fire alarms that send instant alerts to your smartphone when the alarm is activated, right through to motion-activated security cameras streamed to your smartphone and video doorbells with recording capabilities.
#10
Sustainability
Using sustainable and energy-efficient materials built to endure the harsh Australian climate is another home extension trend gaining widespread popularity. Cubitt’s has a wide range of options to make your home extension more sustainable, such as offering double-glazed windows and high-performance insulation for year-round comfort, while reducing your carbon footprint and expensive electricity needs. We have also sourced stylish, energy-efficient cladding from top brands such as James Hardie and Weathertex – which is strong from a fire safety perspective, provides further insulation, all while being virtually maintenance-free.
A family-owned and operated business, Cubitt’s has been building home extensions throughout NSW and the ACT for over 25 years. We work with the most thorough and reliable tradesmen in the industry and are passionate about providing customers with a stress-free experience - with a dedicated point of contact to keep them updated throughout the build. To speak to our experienced sales and design consultants about your dream extension project, call us on 1300 721 150.
References:
What a renovation looks like with Cubitt’s
Here at Cubitt’s, we’ve built our business around home extensions and renovations. We’ve completed more than 300 extensions across Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra and beyond - we love seeing a house transform into a dream home, which is why we’re considered one of the leading renovation teams on Australia’s east coast!
Reinvent your home with Cubitt’s - give us a call on 1300 721 150 for an obligation-free consultation today!
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