OK. I know I’m old, but I remember when the main housebuilders had show houses at the Ideal Home Show, and their were queues round the block to visit them. You had to try and visit early on a quiet day to stand a reasonable chance of seeing the several homes of the future to visit, such was their popularity. The world has changed. We have a dearth of new housing being built and therefore no need for the housebuilders to spend money on show houses in the middle of London, far away from their sites and potential customers and, with Brexit, people are not spending. Our politicians have successfully slowed down yet another part of our economy.
Maybe visiting on a Monday morning was not a good idea, but there were no queues at the door – IT exhibitions have larger queues – and the whole thing felt subdued. Exhibitors linked to the home have reduced in number while the food area continues to increase in size and there was a large new area on wellness, pampering and healthy living. Is the next big thing to have your own massage bed at home?
While the commercial show houses have gone, the organisers developed their own, ‘The Evolving Home’, designed by Owl Design, Simone Gordon and Sophie van Winden, has two main themes beyond the new furniture and surface designs, one being modular construction which can enable houses to adapt, evolve, extend and change as families change, costs around half the price of a traditionally-constructed house and be constructed at a fast pace. Why do we not do more of it? The second is new technology. Here is Google who, along with Alexa, is trying to take over our lives, Samsung’s newest fridge-freezer with incredible technology, robotic lawn cutters from Flymo, robotic dogs and assistants at home, along with the best music systems, on-line security systems and with waterproof speakers that children can take into the shower. Technology is making all things possible.
At the other extreme, sustainability continues to grow in importance and Max McMurdo has created the Upcycled Garden (also sponsored by Flymo) showing that the only limit to reusing all sorts of things, including old cars, is just your imagination….. Will the house of the future perhaps have two emphases – sustainability and technology, plus an emphasis on wellbeing?
