Say hello to broken plan living

Fashions ebb and flow, but for all those (myself included) that consider open plan living as the way to go, then I’m afraid that the tide has turned.

Instead of wide-open, social spaces that might combine a kitchen and dining room, interior designers are now waxing lyrical about re-introducing quieter, more manageable and more private spaces into homes, separate areas that can be used for home working or bolt holes for teenagers that require uninterrupted screen time.

This might be bad news for all the builders that have cashed in on previous demand for knocking down walls and installing steel supporting beams, but it’s actually good news for our industry because all those big spaces that now need to be compartmentalised means we’re seeing the introduction of a new trend – broken plan living.

And one of the best ways of achieving that is with Crittall style screens, a solution that can divide rooms while still delivering a decent amount of light.

The genuine Crittall steel product is called ‘Innervision’, but there are other systems available that offer a similar heritage look for internal screening and doors.

If the amount of PR and marketing material on these types of products is anything to go by, then it would appear that the industry is already one step ahead of this latest design trend – but I would be interested to know if any businesses have seen a particularly high take up in demand. You can email me at luke@glasstimes.co.uk

In other news, WindowBase MD, Mike Rigby, has identified a big spike in marketing spend (specifically direct marketing) and suggests that this is ‘an extremely positive sign’ for the building and construction industry.

According to Mike, ‘the tide is turning’ for the economy and businesses should prepare to make the most of these conditions, and ‘get ahead of the competition by investing in effective marketing’.

You can read the full story here.