Are families divided on open plan living?

OPEN plan living is going out of fashion as people create separate zones indoors to accommodate working from home, a study found.

The march towards shared started in the 1970s, but is now being reversed.

Some rooms have different uses during the day such as a gym which switches to become a study after breakfast and a play room reverts to a family lounge at night.

The lockdown changes have resulted in increased demand for furniture.

Sales of dressing tables rose 400 per cent with bunk beds up 60 per cent and futons 22 per cent – as a fifth say they have to work in the same room where they sleep.

Home workers also want to look good on camera for video meetings with a third dedicating a room. A fifth

Home comforts... room use becomes flexible, above, as people want to look good in video meetings, left said they had bought house plants, 23 per cent had splashed out on cushions and 13 per cent added artwork or photographs.

The survey found than half ( 57 per more cent) expect to work in future from home on average three days per week with 13 per cent staying for five days.

More than a quarter have repurposed a room for a home office and one in five has created a space where they can spend time alone.

Another 17 per cent have made a home gym and/ or yoga space, to work on their physical and mental health.

Johnathan Marsh, of John Lewis which commissioned the survey of 1,000 Britons, said: “Lockdown changed everything. There was immediate pressure to adapt open plan designs to maximise space for work. Modifying spaces in this way brought a change in mindset.”