The desire to add space has been a major priority for many people during the pandemic, especially those working from home in urban areas, but there can be few better ways to go about it than with a design suited perfectly to the pre-existing home.
Many areas of the UK have very distinctive architecture and one example of this is Croydon, where a new guide for first time buyers by Pocket Living has identified the borough as one of the best places to buy in the capital.
According to the Evening Standard article on the guide, the top location in the borough is Thornton Heath, where “turn-of-the-century houses and period flats are well priced by London standards”.
Nothing will fit better with Victorian housing than Victorian conservatories, which will blend in beautifully and enable the period qualities of the architecture to match up.
The guide identified Croydon as one of the three best London boroughs to buy in, based not just on factors like property prices and public transport, but also the availability of space. The others – Hillingdon and Havering – are also located in the outlying suburbs of the capital, where most homes will have garden space as well as being near parks and countryside.
Attractive conservatories may also boost the value of homes in areas where prices have lagged behind in the pandemic as people have sought more space elsewhere. The latest Halifax House Price Index has shown this to still be true of London, where prices are up just 1.3 per cent on a year ago, compared with 7.1 per cent nationally.
Indeed, the highest price increases have been in Wales and south west England, where, Halifax noted, a lot of rural living is available.
That might suggest there are potential house price disadvantages in many cities, not just London, making the better use of space and additions to homes to boost their value a good idea in urban areas across the UK.