When it comes to working from home, what once felt exciting and creative during lockdown is now starting to feel like it's wearing a bit thin.
Across the UK, nearly 9 million bedrooms have been repurposed as offices, gyms, classrooms and even cinema rooms, according to our latest research.
If you've had your fill of one room serving multiple purposes, the office/bedroom/storage cupboard, the lounge/gym/playroom, join the club.
The wardrobe that became the office
While Insta-fans marvelled at desk set-ups built into wardrobes or under-the-stair cupboards, the reality soon started to hit home that this quirky temporary solution couldn't work long-term.
Nothing compares to a permanent desk.
With a decent swivel chair.
And a nice window view.
The house that became the garden
While many of us fled to soak up nature's beauty during the pandemic (after all, what else was there to do?) others turned to tending and nurturing plants at home.
But soon found the lack of garden space in which to put them, to be a problem.
The living room that became the artist's studio
Dealing with the new-found concept that was 'furlough', others turned to crafts and hobbies to occupy their time.
Which was fine if you had paint-wipable floors. With carpets, not so much.
The larder that became the loo
#MightBeTimeToMove when you get trapped in the loo if someone's in the fridge or trapped in the fridge when someone comes out the loo pic.twitter.com/fRJPMF8jwo
— 🌸🌸 Caroline 🌸🌸 (@littleblondpea) August 1, 2021
Quirky features in the home, like the secret loo-behind-the-fridge, no longer felt quite so fun.
Especially when restaurants were no longer an option and an entire week's food had to be crammed into four shelves.
You just had to take your life into your own hands when exiting the WC. There was no other option.
Search for homes with downstairs loos
The bedroom that became the garage
#mightbetimetomove storing the excess furniture in our bedroom was only meant to be temporary….just don’t have the space 😌 pic.twitter.com/Fqg4qjDL4v
— 🌟💕 Nic 💕🌟 (@nikewikewa) August 5, 2021
Clearing out the spare room so that you could transform it into your office sanctuary meant that your actual santuary: the bedroom, no longer felt quite so tranquil.
The bedroom that became the everything
And when your bedroom turns into your office, laundry room, music room and dressing room, you know it's time to face the need for change.
Find homes with three bedrooms
The lounge that became the kids' den
When the best seat in the house is always taken! #MightBeTimeToMove @Zoopla pic.twitter.com/YBGpspJ1qQ
— ❄️⛄️ Su ⛄️❄️ (@ms_kiwi_su) August 2, 2021
Every parent knows the pain of finding every toy under the sun in every room in the house that's not their child's bedroom.
If only they had a downstairs den they could close the door on and pretend it wasn't all happening.
The guest room that became the storage cupboard
Had to clear the garage out to make room for a work from home space...now this is how we get in and out of the wardrobe 😬 #MightBeTimeToMove #SendInTheSmallOnes #PleaseSendHelp #ICantFit 😂 pic.twitter.com/k8m6QsZJio
— Leah Sully Sullivan (@LSullySullivan) August 1, 2021
With no guests allowed in lockdown, the need for a guest bedroom became somewhat redundant.
Now that the world is returning to some sense of normality, families are left wondering why their invitations to stay over are being politely met with a flat refusal.
The wall that became the bike store
Just the smallest need, like a little shed to store the bike, became exacerbated by the lack of space in this new nearly-always-at-home reality.
The faff involved in simply extracting the cycle for a breezy cruise entered the realms of the beyond-worth-doing.
The one loo that just wasn't enough
While in 'the old normal', family members were dispatched to schools and offices which covered their everyday needs, suddenly the home had to cover everyone's essential requirements, at exactly the same time.
It all just started to feel a bit too unsustainable.
Find homes with two or more WCs.
Demand for a new place to live surged throughout 2020-2021 as homeowners hoisted up the for sale signs in search of somewhere more suitable for their household's burgeoning needs.
That demand is still going strong in 2022.
Whatever you're looking for in a home, we can help
Sign up for a Zoopla account and we'll send you all the latest properties the moment they hit the market.
Use our advanced search tool to filter out the essentials you need, like a nice big garden, a garage or that all-important home office space.
And if you're looking to buy and sell at the same time, you can find the right estate agent for you through us.