3 Ways You Can Transform Your Home Into Your Dream Family Property

If you want to make your home more suitable for family living, this guide will help you make some key changes.

To find out which features homeowners class as ‘must-haves’ for a family home, Origin Global, the leading UK manufacturer of premium quality aluminium doors, windows and blinds, asked 500 people aged 25-44 what they see as fundamental features for comfortable family living.

The top 3 features were:

• Natural light within the rooms
• A large, safe garden
• An open-plan kitchen/diner

These results support the research we did in 2015 on the secrets behind a happy home. In this research, two thirds of families wanted more space in their home, with the kitchen being the room where families wanted to increase the space the most. Since then, the likes of a well-lit room, open plan living and a large, safe garden have had an increase in importance.

Below, you can find out more about how to create these features in your home without too much upheaval.

Natural light within the rooms

Natural light can improve your health and make your home look larger, so it’s no wonder so many people see this as a priority.

5 ways to create more light in your home:

1. Increase the amount of glazing in your home. The most effective way to boost the level of natural light in your home is to increase the amount of glazing that lets light flood into your property. Options include increasing the size of the windows you currently have fitted - this is also a great opportunity to upgrade any inefficient or outdated windows in your home too. You can also combine increasing the light levels in your home, along with improving access to your garden, by installing new sliding or bi-fold doors. These doors will open up an entire wall of your home to natural light and give a beautiful view of your garden.

2. Remove unnecessary walls and partitions. If you’re changing your home to incorporate new doors, then it’s a great opportunity to remove unnecessary walls and partitions that stop light filling your home. Remodelling the layout of your home can also give you the open-plan living area, which is sought after by many families.

3. Fit skylights. If you don’t have the wall space for extra windows or doors, tubular skylights enable natural light to flow into even the most awkward spaces by channelling the sun’s rays into your home through specialist piping.

4. Replace solid doors with glass doors. An easy way to increase light levels in your home is to replace any internal solid doors with glass doors. This helps to stop the interruption of natural light.

5. Replace heavy window dressings. Replace thick curtains with modern blinds that can be opened at the touch of a button to let light flood in, giving the light levels in your home a boost.

A large, safe garden

While extending a small garden is unlikely to be an option in most cases, making it safer just requires some simple changes.

Create a safer garden in 3 steps

1. Secure the garden boundary. Bridge any gaps in hedges with chicken wire and don’t fit any fence below 6ft in your rear garden (this is to stop intruders getting in, as well as stopping your children from escaping!).

If you don’t want to replace your entire fence, you can always heighten what you have with trellises. Securing gates with strong locks that your children cannot reach is a must to keep them secure.

2. Fit new doors and windows. Installing doors that incorporate large amounts of glazing can give you an unprecedented view of your garden, meaning you can keep an eye on your kids playing outside. Made-to-order bi-fold doors and sliding doors can fit most spaces and bi-folds can even be fitted into corner apertures. It’s not just doors that can improve the view of your garden, window systems with narrow sightlines can be designed to fit a range of spaces, including floor-to-ceiling apertures.

Easy access to the garden was a priority for 7% of people surveyed, and bi-fold doors and sliding doors offer the ultimate transition area between the indoors and outdoors, making both areas appear larger (ideal if you’re short on space). If you do decide to install bi-folds or sliding doors, look for models that feature ‘finger safe’ gaskets between the doors and that have encased roller systems at the bottom of the doors. These features can help prevent children from trapping their fingers as they’re opening and closing the doors to access the garden.

Installing new doors and windows has the added advantage of giving you the opportunity to improve your home security and ensure your family is safe. Modern door systems feature multi-point locking systems for optimum security when the doors are locked.

3. Secure storage space. Invest in a secure storage space in your garden for hazardous items such as gardening equipment, barbeques and tools, which can all be hazardous to children. Store dangerous equipment, chemicals and tools high up in a locked garage or shed, well out of the reach of children.

An open-plan kitchen diner

Open-plan areas create the illusion of more space in the home, and can increase the levels of natural light, as there are fewer partitions blocking the sun’s rays.

3 things to include in your open-plan kitchen diner design

1. Storage. Keep your open-plan area uncluttered with under-island storage, open shelving, handy hooks and kitchen cupboards with in-built storage shelves and baskets. If you’re reconfiguring the space, then look out for awkward corners or ‘dead’ spaces which can create extra storage areas or even a pantry.

Open-plan living looks lovely when everything is tidy, but when there are children’s toys everywhere and pots and pans piling up in the kitchen, this can destroy the overall look. Tidiness came out as the third most important factor of a happy home, voted for by the British public in our happy home survey, so it’s clearly important to homeowners.

2. An island. If the space allows, you won’t regret including an island in your plans. Not only do they look super stylish, but they provide seating, storage, extra plug sockets and a relaxed area for the family to congregate.

An island that looks out onto the garden through bi-folding doors is the epitome of modern family living, and gives you the bonus of an abundance of natural light.

3. Zoned spaces. Consider what each part of the open-plan area will be used for when designing the space. Again, an island will help define an area for food preparation and casual suppers with the family.

Well-designed lighting that enables you to keep certain areas of the room lit or in darkness will help define the purpose of each area, whether it’s for entertaining, eating or food prep. A classic way to zone a room with lighting is to use pendant lighting in areas designed for eating and entertaining, and spotlights for practical areas such as the sink and cooker.

The house you currently live in can become the dream home you’ve always wanted with a few changes that will make it more spacious, safer and more beautiful for the whole family to enjoy.

If you’re ready to bring natural light into your home, open up the space and have unprecedented views of your gardens, speak to Origin, the world’s leading brand of aluminium bi-folding doors and windows today.

Contact your local installer for more information or request a brochure here.

To see the full results of the survey, please click here.

You can find out more about the benefits of bi-fold doors from Origin here or visit our dedicated Bi-Fold Doors Advice Centre for more information.