BRITS EMBRACE OUTDOOR LIVING: THE RISE OF ‘THE OUTROOM’ IN UK HOMES

Trend for ‘outrooms’ increases as homeowners extend living space and add value to properties

An ‘outroom’ is the new must-have property feature as the hottest summer on record saw Britons enjoying their gardens like never before. Creating an ‘outroom’ has become an increasingly popular move amongst home owners and interiors influencers, extending the use of properties and adding value to homes without a structural extension.
The number of British homeowners looking for outdoor furniture traditionally only found inside the home hit a record high this summer. Online searches have spiked for terms such as ‘outdoor rug’ (34%+), ‘outdoor cushions’ (33%+) and ‘outdoor sofa’ (18%+), due to the increasing popularity of the outroom. In the last 12 months alone, searches for ‘garden sofa’ have soared by 125%, with more and more people bringing interior trends from the living room out into the great outdoors.2
This new room, located in the space between the home and garden, is created through the installation of folding, sliding doors. According to Palmer Research, the sale of bi-folding doors will increase by up to 28% from 2017 to 20211, as Brits increasingly adopt the trend for an outdoor living room.
A recent survey conducted by Origin, one of the UK’s leading door and window brands, among its customers, showed that 94 percent of homeowners use the space differently in their properties after installing bi-folding doors.3
To demonstrate the value an outroom adds to property price, experts from Emoov, a leading online property agent, were asked to place a value a property plan with and without the inclusion of an outroom through the installation of bi-folding doors. According to Emoov, the property with the outroom was valued at up to six percent more than the house without bi-folding doors.
Commenting on the trend, Ben Brocklesby, Director at Origin, said: “An outroom can add a huge amount of functional living space to a home, whether that’s an additional seating area, dining room or even a second kitchen. While approximately 90 percent of homes in Britain have a garden, the time spent actively living in this space is limited.”
Founder and CEO of Emoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, commented: “A combination of unaffordability and uncertain market conditions has seen an increase in the number of people building up, down and out, rather than upsizing to a new property.
“While basements and loft conversions are an obvious way to add value and space to your property, they can be expensive, so extending into a garden space can also help boost your property potential, creating a stylish living space in the process.
“Living space commands a greater premium than bedroom space and using cost-effective tips such as bi-folding doors to create an outroom is an affordable way to add value to your home. While it is unlikely to push you into a higher price bracket, it can help you stand out from the crowd and if done correctly, could add up to 6% to your property’s value.”
The term ‘outroom’ was first used in the 17th Century by poet Ben Jonson but has since dropped in popularity and is rarely used in modern English. Originally describing an outbuilding or outhouse, today homeowners, as well as influential interior designers such as Hygge for Home, are adopting the word to describe the living space created by the installation of bi-folding doors.
Brocklesby continues: “The average Origin customer said they spend between 11 and 20 hours a week in this space, compared to the majority saying they spent less than hour a week enjoying the space before the doors were installed. What’s more, 98 percent said it has made their home feel larger. Considering the average UK home is 85sq m and has five rooms, this traditional layout is set to change with the introduction of this new room in the house. Homeowners are now using outrooms to increase the square footage of their properties in a way that hasn’t been done before. We believe this space deserves recognition on modern floorplans and Origin is calling all estate agents and online housing websites such as Right Move to include outrooms on property details.”
For further information on Origin, please visit www.origin-global.com

About Origin
Origin is the UK’s leading manufacturer of bespoke aluminium bi-folding and residential doors and premium quality windows; complementary products that make up the Origin Home range.
The company was originally founded in 2001 when cousins, Neil Ginger and Victoria Brocklesby, found they could not get great aluminium folding sliding doors for their building projects. Their ambitious solution was to create a company capable of manufacturing the UK’s best quality doors, backed by uncompromising levels of service. The result was the Origin Bi-fold Door, a cleverly designed, beautifully made and exquisitely finished sliding folding door system that features a unique free-glide running system.
Since then, Origin has worked relentlessly to perfect the design and functionality of bi-folding doors, and to create and maintain the highly respected reputation for quality and service that it has today.
Following this success, the company has expanded its range to include the Origin Premium Window (OW-80), the first of its kind to feature a stunning internal and external flush casement. It’s also the first ever window to offer Aerogel as an optional upgrade. Aerogel, a space age technology, can be combined with the Premium Window to significantly boost its thermal performance, achieving a certified U-Value of 0.9 and A++ Energy Rating.
New for 2018, Origin launched its Slimline Window (OW-70), which features Origin’s slimmest sightlines to date. It was designed to provide Origin partners with an even wider range of high quality products to be able to offer their customers.
Origin introduced its Residential Door in 2016. Manufactured with a high-grade aluminium, there are 35 panel choices on offer that are available in over 150 different RAL shades. The Residential Door has been designed with heightened security and thermal efficiency in mind, with no compromise on kerb-appeal.
At Origin, personal service and attention to detail is everything. High standards of craftsmanship and uncompromising levels of service, together with industry leading initiatives, have positioned Origin as one of the UK’s leading home brands.
As a British manufacturer, Origin has complete control over its operations, from sourcing through to design, manufacture and delivery. Rigorous quality testing at every stage of the manufacturing process means that everything that leaves the state-of-the-art UK factory is at a consistently high standard. This allows for an industry-leading guarantee of up to 20 years to be offered.
Origin is completely unique in its ability to be able to offer a ‘Your Lead Time, Not Ours’ zero lead time service on its bi-fold door and OW-80. This means that if the product is ordered in one of the popular colours on offer, then Origin will change its manufacturing schedule to be able to deliver for the day it’s been specified for – even if that’s for the next day.
As the business has continued to grow and diversify, the foundations of family ethos, pride and ownership in all stages of production firmly remain.

Beth Reynolds
beth@energypr.co.uk

5, The Hayloft
Far Peak
Northleach
GL54 3AP

This release was published on openPR.