Take a look around this site and you'll see countless homes that you and I could only dream to live in. As you may have guessed from the title of this post, they're what I call 'wonder homes'.
One thing that is becoming increasingly popular about these multi-million pound dwellings is their reliance on basements. Now, basements are certainly nothing new, but over the years they were forgotten about by a lot of people who couldn't be bothered dealing with the damp and other drawbacks that accompanied them.
Nowadays, they are popping up all over the place. Countless stories have donned the UK newspapers which show how many neighbours are in uproar about all of the disruption that is being caused through the development of a new basement in mega-rich areas. However, this article is not going to delve into the rights and wrongs of such a practice - we'll leave that up to the trusty Daily Mail readers.
Instead, this guest contribution is going to take a look at the reasons why basements are now back in fashion. Once they were the pain of all properties, then they were there to boost a home's value — but now they are even appealing to the filthy rich who already have ten bedrooms sprawling across their huge estate. Here, we’ll find out why this is the case.
They’re no longer a wet room
Ok, a wet room might have been in exaggeration — although there’s no doubt that basements used to be associated with major dampness. Up until a few years ago, there were no damp proofing systems that made these spaces permanently habitable. Fortunately, there are now countless solutions to rectify this issue with this range of sump pumps by Grundfos forming just one of them.
Subsequently, absolutely anything can be stashed down there. Whether it is extra quarters for those needy guests, or a swimming pool and gym to add even more luxury to a property — the size a basement can add can be phenomenal. In fact, looking at most of the properties that are featured on this site, it would be fair to say that basements can affect the overall size of such buildings considerably.
They’re no longer doomy and gloomy
Another area in which building technology has come to the rescue is in relation to the natural light. Again, we’ll refer to a lot of the homes showcased on this site and with most being of the modern variety, it’s not uncommon to see tubes point out of the roof. Contrary to popular belief, these aren’t a quirky design feature, but are instead usually a tubular skylight. They attract natural light, before spiralling it down to the property and to your chosen location where it is then splashed out in multiple directions.
This now means that basements have again shaken off the doomy and gloomy stereotype that used to be attached to them — clearly, a massive draw.
They don’t require planning permission
A lot of the modern homes featured on this site are most likely owned by some of the wealthiest individuals in the world — who simply love to build and build. Unfortunately, particularly in the UK, planning permission is often a hindrance. The government have made steps to make it easier to obtain, but nobody can doubt that it is still a stumbling block for anyone looking to increase the size of their home.
This is where basements can, and always have for that matter, come to the rescue. Most basements designs have no impact on the surrounding land above ground-level and this means that planning permission doesn’t even have to be applied for. Subsequently, a home can be potentially doubled in size, without the planners even knowing.
The privacy factor
Finally — we’ll conclude on that all important privacy factor. You and I might just be grateful to dip our toes in private swimming pools, but those that can afford one for themselves want as much privacy as possible. If they are of the A-list variety, a garden no longer suffices. Therefore, a basement can hide all of their actions from the outside world and through the use of the tubular lights that were previously touched upon, they can still take advantage of natural light and have the blanket of basement privacy above them.