britain at home report - lloyds banking group plc at home report 04 the britain at home report has...

Britain at Home Report

Britain at Home Report 02

Contributors

Thanks go to the following people for their contribution to the analysis of this report:

Melanie Backe-HansenHouse historian and author of House Histories: The Secrets behind Your Front Door

Tim DownesSenior claims manager, Lloyds Bank Insurance

About this report

Britain at Home is the second part of a bi-annual report commissioned by Lloyds Bank Insurance, which is designed to build a comprehensive picture of British home life and spending priorities by shining a light on the way we invest in and utilise our homes and gardens. This insight is based on research among 2,000 UK homeowners.

Garden Values – the first report in the series – was released in April 2013 and revealed that garden-proud homeowners are now increasing spending on luxury, lifestyle items for the garden.

This report moves the focus from outdoors to indoors, exploring how our homes serve our changing lifestyles and how we value what’s inside.


• Solitary living: Our fast-paced lifestyles have driven over half of UK homeowners to eat dinner at a different time to the rest of their family, and 53% watch TV alone in their bedroom, rather than the living room.

• The kitchen renaissance: For nearly a third of homeowners (31%) the kitchen is where the most time at home is spent. The kitchen is also the most expensive room in the house, estimated to be worth £4,909 on average.

• Work/home life balance: Over a quarter (28%) of those polled now has a home study or office. Demonstrating the blurring of lines between work and home life, over half of Britons say they often work from home. For one in 10 workaholic homeowners, the study is where they spend the most time.

• High-end homes: In the past year, homeowners have spent on average £4,813 on new contents (including £1,048 on household and kitchen appliances, £1,330 on furniture and £1,227 on technology for the home, as well as £835 on art).

• Keeping up with the Joneses: Whilst 86% spend money on their home because it’s where they spend the most time, and a further 68% to increase its value, for over one in five (22%) keeping up with neighbours and friends was revealed as the main reason for investment.

• Safe as houses: As we spend more on our homes, homeowners are also becoming more aware of the need to protect them. Eight out of 10 homeowners insist their home contents are insured, although one in 20 admits they don’t know if their contents are covered and one in 10 has no home contents insurance at all.

Executive Summary

In the UK, our homes are not simply a source of endless market and price speculation, television programmes, lifestyle magazines and political debate – they also play an integral part in both shaping and reflecting how we live.

Whereas in the past century a house was primarily considered to be an indication of social status, nowadays it reveals a lot about who we are and our different lifestyles, families and interests.

For the first time, Lloyds Bank Insurance has created a picture of what’s inside our homes, how we use our living spaces and also how we value them. In this report, based on research into UK homeowners and expert analysis, we peer through the curtains of modern Britain to catch a glimpse of the evolution of the modern home.

Introduction


The Britain at Home report has shown that whether we live in a detached house (21%) or apartment (11%) the people with whom we live are also changing. Instead of sharing our homes with partners and children, one in 20 (6%) homeowners now share an abode with friends. And according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) the number of people living alone is rising, with 16% of the UK population going solo in 2011 compared to just 9% in 19731.

Whilst the traditional living rooms and kitchens of the house remain, today’s homes are also beginning to feature more aspirational and lifestyle-led spaces, such as conservatories (24%), studies (28%) and even libraries (7%) and cinema rooms (6%).

Melanie Backe-Hansen explains: “Homes once had very defined living spaces. In more affluent families, homes would feature a main ‘front room’, where guests would be entertained and the family spent time together, as well as separate rooms for the different members of the household e.g. nursery, parlour and study.”

However, recently the trend for open-plan living and conversions has become more popular, as over a quarter (26%) of those said they have changed the structural layout of their home in the past

year. Over one in 20 (7%) knocked down an internal wall to make rooms bigger and more multi-functional, whilst 11% converted attics, basements, garages and bedrooms to add space to their home. A separate study of chartered surveyors undertaken by RICS last year revealed that the slow housing market is prompting a growing number of people to improve their existing properties rather than move house .

“Most listed properties are required to keep their original, external façade, however if you venture inside you often find a transformed layout. This is a reflection of our modern lifestyles, as our homes evolve to suit the multi-tasking demands of everyday life,” according to Melanie Backe-Hansen.

Despite the nation’s love of home improvement, it seems that few people are aware of the wider implications of changing the structure or layout of the home. One in 10 polled said they did not

What do our homes look like now?

1 ONS General Lifestyle Survey, 2011 release: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ghs/general-lifestyle-survey/2011/rpt-chapter-3.html#tab-Household-size

The function and use of our homes have evolved dramatically over generations. The modern home is far more diverse and flexible than ever before. There are now a greater number of people living alone, or sharing with friends, partners and housemates, than the traditional set up.

“Our homes are not only a reflection of who we are, but also the wider social and economic climate. British homes used to be very uniform, as the majority of people tended to follow tradition, living with the family before getting married and moving to start a new home. In Edwardian and Victorian times, a home indicated social standing, whereas in a modern society, our homes give more of a sense of our lifestyles, work and interests.”

Melanie Backe-Hansen, house historian and author of House Histories: The Secrets behind Your Front Door

Homes of the nationOver a fifth (21%) of us live in a detached house, a third live in a semi-detached house, a quarter in a terrace, 7% in a bungalow and 11% in a flat.

21% 33% 25% 7% 11%


inform their insurer of any changes being made, whilst a further 7% said they only did so after the work was complete.

Tim Downes, senior claims manager at Lloyds Bank Insurance, urges homeowners to notify their insurer before making any structural changes. He said: “We know that we are a nation of DIY-enthusiasts and home improvers, but it is essential to inform your insurer – and obtain planning permission where necessary – of any structural changes you are planning on making to your home before you take the hammer to the wall. Failing to do so could invalidate your cover so it is not worth being left significantly out of pocket should things go wrong.”

As the rooms in our house shift function to align with modern lives, the items within are also evolving. Highlighting the increasingly dominant role of technology in the home, the vast majority of homeowners now has a laptop or PC (93%) at home and a flat screen TV (86%). Nearly half has a tablet device (48%) and one in five has a 3D TV.

The impact of technology on our home lives has led over half of homeowners (53%) to watch TV in the bedroom rather than the living room, which experts argue is leading to less time together for families. With recent research showing that by the age of seven years, the average child born today will have spent one full year of 24-hour days watching screen technology3, this in turn is creating new barriers to family interaction.

Melanie Backe-Hansen said: “Even a few decades ago, families would only tend to have one television per household whereas now it’s more likely for homes to have more screens than people. Whilst many say this is leading to families spending less quality time together, even as far back as in Edwardian times it would be common for families to have separate spaces.”

3 Remotely Controlled: How television is damaging our lives by Aric Sigman

Luxury items in the homeof homeowners now have a flat screen TV and 19% have a 3D TV

have a home cinema system

have a laptop/PC at home

have a tablet device

have a fish tank

86%

27%

93%

48%

21%

have an exercise bike

have a treadmill

have a walk-in wardrobe

have a bar at home

have a sauna

20%

16%

15%

10%

9%


What we spend at home

Living room96%3 hours 48 mins£4,296

Conservatory24%£3,461

Bedroom95%3 hours£3,268

Bathroom93%£2,454

Nursery7%

Gym7%£2,648

Basement11%£2,946

Kitchen96%1 hour 36 mins£4,909

Dining room: 64%54 mins£2,530

Study28%42 mins £2,579

Utility room34%£2,096

Cinema6%£2,711

Attic55%£2,197

Library7%£2,674

Games room10%£2,415

Britain at home report 06

% homeowners who have this

Average time spent there per day

Average cost


The kitchen renaissanceThe report found the kitchen to be the most valuable room in the house, worth around £4,909 on average. It is also one of the most used, with one in six homeowners saying it’s where the family spends the most time together.

In an apparent nod to the influence of popular TV cooking shows such as The Great British Bake Off, UK homeowners have spent £413 on kitchen gadgets in the past year, and a number of those surveyed now own trendy and high-value kitchen items such as coffee machines (41%) and bread makers (33%).

“The Victorian author on household management, Mrs Beeton recommended a kitchen range as costing up to £23, 10ds, depending on the size. In today’s money this would be £1,015, so

substantially less than the £5,000 price tag attached to a top-of-the-range oven,” said Melanie Backe-Hansen.

Yet homeowners are not spending time and money on their kitchens simply to enhance their culinary skills, over half (58%) now entertain friends in the kitchen rather than the living room. According to Melanie Backe-Hansen, this could be an indication of the resurgence of home entertaining amid a challenging economic climate.

“In more austere times, spending – especially on entertainment – tends to move closer to home. Rather than splash out on going out for drinks or dinner, we are instead choosing to invite guests to our home for dinner. This is a resurgence of a long-established tradition which has perhaps been popularised by TV programmes such as Come Dine with Me, as well as tighter purse strings.”

Death of the dining room?Yet as the kitchen rises in popularity, the dining room appears to be falling out of favour. Two thirds (64%) of homeowners have a dining room in their home, although the vast majority (84%) say they usually have dinner in the living room.

The breakdown of families sitting around the dining room table has been blamed on busy lifestyles and increasing dependence on technology causing more of us to eat in front of TV and computer screens. The report showed 59% of homeowners said

they ate at a different time to their families, while eating dinner alone was common for 60% of those polled.

“A hundred years ago the dining room would be one of the few truly inclusive areas of the house, and in smaller houses it often doubled as the only communal family space, whereas now it seems that the tradition of families sitting down to eat together each night might be impacted by our longer working hours, more hectic social lives and the influence of technology,” said Melanie Backe-Hansen.

For one in five (18%) though, the tradition of family meals isn’t over completely, as they said the dining room was the place where the family spent most time together.

The office creeps into the homeThe impact of our hectic lives and longer working hours doesn’t just extend to the kitchen and the dining room. Work is increasingly occupying our homes, as well as our thoughts. Almost a third (31%) of homeowners has set up a home office, and a further 53% admit that they often work from home. One in 10 homeowners even confess that they spend the most time in their home study.

“Whilst it was fairly common at the turn of the century for larger houses to have a study or library, these would have been predominantly occupied by the male head of the household. In contrast, the merging of work and home life has very much become a modern day phenomenon,” Melanie Backe-Hansen noted.

Home life today

As we have seen, the look and feel of our homes has slowly transformed over the previous decades and the way we use our living spaces has also moved on.

The Britain at Home report identified the three rooms in the house that have changed the most – the kitchen, the dining room and the study.

“Up until recently it was common for the kitchen to be a purely functional ‘back room’, used for preparing meals before they were eaten in the dining room. Nowadays, our homes are more streamlined and suited for multi-tasking, and combined with revolutions in household appliances, this has transformed the kitchen into a family hub.”

Melanie Backe-Hansen, house historian and author of House Histories: The Secrets behind Your Front Door


Despite the difficult economic climate and homeowners often being too time-poor for gathering with the family at home, there is still a clear trend for investing in what’s inside our homes. UK homeowners spent an average of £4,813 on new contents last year, including furniture, appliances, technology and art.

As Melanie Backe-Hansen remarks, this is not a new trend. “We have always been house proud as a nation,” she said. “In past centuries, our home closely reflected social position and whilst this is not as prominent now, there is still very much an element of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ in how we fix up and fill our living spaces.”

The research revealed that whilst three quarters (77%) of homeowners surveyed splash out on their homes to improve wellbeing, one in five (22%) admitted to spending money on their homes to keep up with neighbours and friends. A quarter (25%) also cited TV and magazine influences as the main reason for sprucing up interiors.

Tim Downes, senior claims manager, Lloyds Bank Insurance, said: “The home has always been an extension of an owner’s identity and that investment in improving is often driven by a desire for personal comfort but also for presenting an image to visitors.”

Safe as housesAs we spend more on our indoor spaces, we are also becoming more aware of the need to protect them. Although 83% of homeowners reported that their home contents are insured, one in 20 (5%) admit they don’t know if their contents are covered or not.

Given the substantial amount we are spending on our possessions, it is worrying that a further one in 10 UK homeowners has no home contents insurance at all.

Tim added: “As we have seen, our homes are now mirroring our whirlwind schedules, but it is essential that homeowners slow down occasionally to check that their prized possessions are adequately protected.”

The value of the home

Home spending: how much we’ve spent in the past year

Household and kitchen appliances:

£1,048Furniture:

£1,330 Technology:

£1,227 Art:

£835

How much are our rooms worth?Kitchen:

£4,909Living room:

£4,296Conservatory:

£3,461 Bedroom:

£3,268Dining room:

£2,530 Bathroom:

£2,454Utility room:

£2,096


As these findings have shown, a combination of wider developments in the socio-economic environment, along with innovation in technology and the workplace, have had a dramatic impact on Britain at home over the past few generations.

Even the shift during the last 50 years has been remarkable, with the number of people in each household falling, while investment in our homes – and the contents within – continues to rise.

But being poorer with our time, busier with work and conscious of keeping up appearances, our living spaces must meet the demands of these busy lifestyles more than ever.

Our homes must now fit around our lives as our needs evolve, so it is vital to protect what’s inside in order to keep up this rapid pace.

Conclusion

Tips for ensuring your home contents are properly protected:

Under lock and key: Ensure windows, doors, sheds, gates, garages and outbuildings remain securely locked at all times.

House proud or advertising to thieves? Keep any expensive items out of sight and, wherever possible, locked away. Smaller items such as jewellery and tablet devices are relatively easy to put in a cupboard or drawer. With bigger items such as flat screen televisions and audio systems, make sure that these can’t be seen from the street so that they’re not being advertised to would-be thieves – keep curtains drawn, put them in rooms away from the street and consider putting them in cabinets.

Picture this: Make sure that you keep the receipts and take photos of valuable items in the home. This will ensure that you can progress an insurance claim as quickly as possible.

Password protected: While the value of electronic devices in the home might be high, the chances are that the information stored on it is even more valuable and harder to replace. Make

sure that you have different passwords on all devices and wherever possible, choose the option to wipe the data if the incorrect password is entered a certain number of times. Make sure you back up irreplaceable data such as family photographs to avoid losing any treasured memories.

Make your mark: Use an ultra violet pen to write your postcode on your valuables items. This way, if they do get stolen, you increase the chance of it being returned to you by the police.

Notify before you knock down: Make sure you contact your insurer if any work is being carried out which will change the structure of the home such as an extension or garage, etc as this might impact your insurance policy.

Check your policy: Knowledge is power – if you have home contents insurance be sure to check what is covered. Whilst buildings insurance covers the structure and fixtures of your home, contents insurance covers the items within the house.

For further information please contact:

Kimberley HamiltonLloyds BankTel: 0131 655 [email protected]

Melanie MatthewsLloyds BankTel: 0113 235 [email protected]

Louise FernleyCohn & WolfeTel: 020 7331 [email protected]

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