What makes the perfect home?

By Ruth MacEachern

Product Manager

This question will have many different answers depending on who you ask, because of course it’s subjective. Just like the phrase one man’s trash is another man’s treasure – what one of us finds a perfect home accessory the other wouldn’t be seen dead with it in their home. However, before you can even think about the colours of walls and light fittings – you need to ensure your home has the most important features.

The interior design sector is massive, it spans across television shows, radio shows, magazines and social media accounts. Globally interior design is a billion-dollar worth industry and there’s no sign of it slowing down. As a result, there’s so much content that offers advice when planning and decorating a home. There are tons of checklists for when it comes to ‘making a house a home’ and it’s easy to get blind-sighted by all the glittering gadgets and lavish furnishings but you should always start with the basics. The best first step is to compile a list of items you already own and if they’ll do for another few months or if you should actually really replace them. If you are still living at home and reading this as a preliminary measure then I highly advise you start stoking up on items such as; pots, pans, toaster, bedding etc. 

When it comes to the property itself there are numerous things you can do to make it a ‘home’. These things vary from the practical to the plush, for example storage it’s not until you’re looking for somewhere to store your items that you realise how much storage you actually need. An item that comes into both the practical and plush is of course a great bed – it needs to be a decent size, comfortable and inviting so nice bedding. Furthermore, personalising the property puts your stamp on it; photographs, artwork and items chosen personally by you. Additionally, regular activities that you make your own such as a weekly film night, cooking a certain dish and of course having your spot on the couch.

Something that has been historically recommended for a house is plants, under the guise that they bring more oxygen into the property. However, recent studies have shown that having plants around the house doesn’t actually improve the air quality. Michael Waring, from Drexel University advises ‘This has been a common misconception for some time. Plants are great, but they don't actually clean indoor air quickly enough to have an effect on the air quality of your home or office environment’. The study did show a reduction in the concentration of volatile organic compounds over time, which is likely why people have seized on them to extol the air purifying virtues of plants. But according to Waring’s calculations, it would take between 10 and 1,000 plants per square meter of floor space to compete with the air cleaning capacity of a building's air handling system or even just a couple open windows in a house.

Although plants have moved from the practical to the pretty, it doesn’t negate from the purpose everyone wanted to achieve – better air quality in the home. Unfortunately, historically and even still today we want our homes to be as warm and insulated as possible, but this then has a knock-on affect of stopping moisture escaping and air circulating and so condensation and damp build up. We can see this mostly in new-build developments, they are so airtight and well-insulated they often suffer the most with condensation issues. Ventilation often gets overlooked in comparison to insulation, there’s a common misconception that in order to ventilate your property you must sacrifice it being warm. 

Yes, insulation is important, nobody wants to lose heat, energy and money with a property that leaks heat. A properly ventilated property does not lose heat or energy and therefore money either. Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) work as a whole house ventilation system and create fresh and healthy living environments by supplying fresh, filtered air into a property at a continuous rate throughout. PIV systems can be either installed in a loft space or on a wall in a flat or apartment. They ensure that a continuous supply of air is supplied into the home to eliminate or significantly reduce condensation. 

Of course, when it comes down to it making a house a home is completely down to yourself and is entirely individual, just like your ventilation needs. No two properties are the same which is why it is important to ensure the right product is specified and installed correctly. This is why we offer a free home survey as standard to ensure the correct product is installed. We will never tell you what colour you should paint your living room or if the lamp looks better in the other corner but we will give you an honest, expert opinion on what ventilation your property needs.