Stephanie McMahon
Head of Research
The Strutt & Parker Housing Futures survey of over 2,000 people has revealed the most desired items for our gardens. We take a look at the most popular and why people love them.
Growing your garden
There’s a split among the survey respondents between those who want to use their garden for growing and those that prefer to spend more leisure time outside. But with a trend for growing your own and a move towards more traditional days, a number of the most desired items were related to horticulture.
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The most desired garden feature in our survey was far and away a walled garden, chosen by nearly 1 in 5 people. But also popular were vegetable and kitchen gardens, orchards and greenhouses, clearly signalling that Britain wants to get growing.
Stephanie McMahon, Head of Research at Strutt & Parker said: “From the Secret Garden to period dramas, walled gardens have always been seen as aspirational, romantic and even a bit magical.”
“They’re quite old-fashioned – harking back to Victorian living. There has been a trend towards more traditional living and a harking back to bygone times with companies like Cath Kidston, who update for modern times.”
But they also serve a practical purpose, giving privacy, shelter from the wind and the ability to produce your own food.
“From the rise in farmer’s markets and farm-to-fork dining to celebrities producing their own cheese, growing your own food has become cool again,” Stephanie adds.
The Housing Future’s report identified these people as ‘Rusticarians’ - diverse countryside dwellers looking to embrace new approaches to work and lifestyle. They have all the technology, but also long for the values of a softer, more traditional time past.
“Many have enough leisure time now to partake in activities that in the past would have been about making a living or supporting families, but now we can be done as a hobby,” says Stephanie.
Taking a dip
Of those looking to take things at a more leisurely pace and to spoil themselves, water featured highly – whether that was to take a swim or just enjoy the calming sounds and sights of water in your garden.
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At the opposite end of the scale to the hard-working, grow your own Victorian ethic is the rise in leisure time we’ve seen in recent years.
And nowhere is this better reflected than in the desire for swimming pools and hot tubs. Pools were the number two most desired item in our survey, with 15% choosing them. Other water features like fountains were also on the list.
Stephanie said: “Everyone loves water – it’s like looking at the fire in that it gives you a sense of peace. You can create sounds with fountains and water features. It’s a life affirming aspect to include in your garden.”
Swimming pools reflect more than just a rise in leisure. They show that we’re becoming more personally invested in our homes.
A number of surveys show that, when it comes to adding value to your property, swimming pools are pretty low down on the list. People invest in them because they want it for their lifestyle.
Stephanie said: “For a while people were obsessed with adding value to their homes, maybe inspired by the various home design and home selling TV shows, and the idea of flipping homes for a profit.
“But now - with moving house becoming more expensive and people spending longer in homes between moves - there’s a feeling that homeowners want to create something in their house that’s for them, not just to increase its value.”
Swimming pools and hot tubs, therefore, are very much the ultimate status symbol. They are costly to install, expensive to run and won’t provide much return on investment – instead they’re all about making yourself and your family happy.
Inside out
For people looking to make use of their garden all year round, extending the interior space into the garden is highly desirable -whether in the form of new weather-proof buildings or taking key items from inside and adapting them for your garden.
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While swimming pools and hot tubs don’t represent good value or a sound investment, outside buildings like summer houses, pergolas and garden offices do.
These can actually add value to your home, by boosting the floor space of a property and providing useful and versatile spaces that are huge selling features when done properly.
These spaces aren’t like the conservatories of old, which basically just extended the inside living space. These summer houses or outside kitchens pull people outside, creating new areas and redefining the garden.
People now want their homes to be seen as one continuous space, not inside and outside. Technology has allowed us to do this, despite Britain’s poor weather. The materials can help us create new spaces that are warm, affordable and have all the amenities you need, from electricity to Wifi.
Stephanie said: “Summer houses and pergolas help people to create own little enclaves for reading or for the kids to play. These separate spaces allow people to go a bit crazy with their design as well as they’re not being used all the time.”
And as people move to more flexible working, they’re spending more time in the home office. Now, a laptop at the dining table just doesn’t cut it for many – what they want is their own personal office space.
The Rusticarians mentioned previously would be fans of such buildings, mixing Wifi with wildlife. Around a third of workers in rural areas do so from home, compared to just 12% in urban areas.
The one common feature of the most desired items – from walled gardens and swimming pools to outside buildings – is that they pull people to the outside space. They make the garden a year-round destination, not just somewhere to host BBQ’s in the summer.