How much has the British family home changed in 50 years?

THE EVOLUTION OF THE FAMILY HOME

New survey commissioned by Anglian Home Improvements to mark its 50th anniversary looked at how our tastes in home improvements and the way in which we use our homes have changed over the past 50 years.

The study generated some fascinating results, painting a portrait of just how much the way we use our homes has changed since the Swinging Sixties and identifying which home innovations of the last 50 years have changed our lives the most.

Surprisingly it wasn’t the television or the refrigerator, or even the internet, that came top in our poll, but inventions that keep us comfortable through the long British winters. Warmth comes top for the majority of home owners, with seven out of ten of us ranking central heating as the most positive change to our homes in the last 50 years, followed by indoor toilets, hot running water and better insulated windows.

The survey also identified the most loathed and most loved home improvements over the past five decades.

Top 10 most loved home improvements

1. Indoor-outdoor flow (58 per cent)
2. Separate dining room (56 per cent)
3. TV/music/cinema room (44 per cent)
4. Wet room (43 per cent)
5. Decking (40 per cent)
6. Dressing room (39 per cent)
7. Open plan living (39 per cent)
8. Gym/exercise area (25 per cent)
9. Coloured bathroom suite (20 per cent)
10. Crazy paving (15 per cent)

Most loathed of all home improvements

• Pebble dashing (52 per cent)

Tell me about your best loved and most hated home improvements.

More details from the British homes survey – Fifty years of the British home laid bare, from the Swinging Sixties to the Twenty-Tens

Link to a great Anglian Home Improvements infographic on 50 years of the British home