While it isn't something we stop to think about, most folks would recognize that the layout of our homes has changed over time.
The pandemic undoubtedly changed how we lived at home, as many of us were spending more time there than ever before. Our homes became our work offices, classroom, workout gyms and more.
The more permanent move to working, at least partially, at home, has meant more of us want proper home offices, with ergonomic furniture, rather than balancing a laptop on the couch or sitting at the kitchen table.
But change has been a constant in our home design long before COVID.
More historically, the middle class saw garages become part of the single-family home when the car grew in popularity.
If you walk around Squamish today, more of us use our garages for our toys — mountain bikes, snowmobiles — or as makeshift workshops to tinker with our toys.
Historical context
Architectural historian and professor at McGill University’s School of Architecture Annmarie Adams notes that there weren't typically garages attached to middle-class houses until after the Second World War.
"In around 1950, you see the garage actually embedded in the house. And that idea of parking on the driveway and using the garage for more domestic uses, that's not new," she said, noting residents have long used their garages for storage or as an extra bedroom.
Patterns and trends
The pandemic forced many of us to work at home, so it seems logical that more people might want an office at home, but other changes happen for less obvious reasons.
For example, when a new technology is introduced to a house, sometimes another space disappears, Adams said.
"When the old-fashioned telephone was first introduced to middle-class houses, we saw the disappearance of the little entry lobby, where you would have a private conversation, or stairs with landings on it, bay windows with built-in seating — all those places where you had conversations, one-to-one, were usurped by this machine where you could talk to basically anyone.”
The phone on the wall with the long cord also meant that women (primarily) could talk on the phone while still getting their cooking done.
"The arrangement of the kitchen and the space and the technology were really closely linked," Adams said.
Before flat TVs were mounted on the wall, TVs were often the centrepiece of a room as the family room grew in popularity.
"Before [the Second World War], you wouldn't really have a family room," Adams said. "You'd have a formal living room, which was full of the family's most precious objects, and usually just used by parents and on special occasions."
With the baby boom in the 1950s and ‘60s, there was the rise of the family with more kids, but also stay-at-home mothers who were "expected to watch the kids while they made jello and all of that," Adams said, adding that much of the food of the time, like the design of the homes, was geared toward achieving a look of perfection. Packaged food items that turned out like the picture on the box, for example.
Open concept
Adams said the open concept — meaning the floor plan is open, with few walls dividing spaces — happened in the early 20th century.
Architectural historians usually give credit to U.S. architects Frank Lloyd Wright or Henry Hobson Richardson for those changes, she said.
"First, we had pocket doors, so the rooms sort of flowed into each other, and it evolved into a more open plan," she said.
"Of course, it really raised housekeeping standards, because the kitchen is on display. And I think it's really part of the servantless house," she said, noting after the First World War, in the 1920s, middle-class or wealthier families no longer had servants. So the kitchen became a core room in the house.
During COVID-19, Adams said she noted how much better the Victorian house, with its many rooms, was suited to isolate sick family members.
Backyard oasis
One of the big changes in terms of the use of outdoor space was the invention and use of gas barbecue, which became more popular in the 1960s.
"That's associated with the rise of the so-called patio — the hard surface that comes out from the house and is often an extension of the kitchen."
Squamish specific
Kayla Hildebrand, lead designer with Squamish's Blue Water Concepts, a company that designs, builds and renovates homes in the Sea to Sky, was familiar with many of the trends mentioned by Adams, but noted some corridor-specific changes she is currently seeing.
While open-concept homes are still popular, locals are also asking for separate spaces away from common areas.
"Including offices, of course, because still a ton of people are working from home, and they need that separate private space. And we've actually had a lot of people ask for accessory buildings: for an office or a separate media space; we've created loft spaces for the kids to hang out in," she said.
More people are also asking for smaller separate dwellings, like carriage houses, that can serve as rental spaces, in-law suites or somewhere for the kids to move when they are older.
“It helps them with the mortgage and that sort of thing, and nobody has an issue renting those out. And then the plan is that when the kids are older, they have the option to move into there,” she said.
Clients in the Sea to Sky are also asking for indoor-outdoor spaces in their homes.
"We're putting in really large patio doors in the main living spaces so that when you are in the kitchen, or you're hanging out in the living room, you feel like you are outdoors," she said, adding that mini vacation-like spots in the yard are also popular.
"Putting in outdoor kitchens for people. Lots of outdoor covered spaces with patio heaters, lots of patio furniture and stuff in their outdoor spaces."
She said saunas are making a comeback too.
"A little vacation oasis right at home," she said.
Getting clutter put out of sight is also important to folks, she said, noting storage is a priority for homeowners.
"I would say 80% of my clients are asking for storage. And it's bikes, it's kayaks, it's climbing gear, all that stuff. So that definitely is something that we're incorporating in most of our designs."
This includes having ways for the clutter in the kitchen to be put away and items in closets organized, she added.
In terms of technology, Hildebrand has noticed a trend toward requests for wiring for security, such as cameras and the like, as well as for electric cars and solar panels.
"It's nice to see that people are thinking about the future and thinking about how they want to use their houses and their spaces," she said.
At the same time, the wood stove is also making a comeback, she said.
"There's some that are sleek and modern," she said.
In terms of materials and style, Hildebrand said buyers are wanting low-maintenance materials they don't have to spend a lot of time keeping up or replacing.
Durable siding and metal roofing are the most common, she said.
Inside, the stark white kitchen is less popular than it was, according to Hildebrand.
"Most people now are kind of going towards warmer tones," she said. "And people are exploring a bit more with bolder textures and patterns and bolder colours in their tiles or in their paint."
