On the back of this trend – and the prevailing market sentiment, which is averse to overly heavy investments into residential property - apartment sizes in the Indian metros are definitely shrinking as developers increasingly deploy affordably-priced homes for which the demand is currently the highest. In fact, apartment sizes have already reduced significantly enough to justify any and all measures that help maximize the usability of the available spaces.
Space Saving Furniture is ‘In’
Space-saving furniture is all the rage in cities facing space constraints, the world over. For instance, hyper-expensive cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong have taken the concept of space-saving furniture to highly creative levels. Sofas double up as beds, study units can be folded away, chairs can be stacked, and murphy beds are usually mounted up against the wall when not in use. Brands like Godrej Interio, HomeLane etc. are cashing in on the new trend of Nano homes and coming up with furniture that will aptly fit into constrained spaces. IKEA - the world leader in this niche – is also establishing its footprint in India.
A micro-home comprises a living-cum-bedroom, a kitchenette and very compact bathroom, the overall configuration being just enough for a young professional or a family of two. High ceilings and foldable furniture provide a sense of relative spaciousness within these apartments. To make the house more functional, one can use space-saving foldable murphy beds. While they are tiny within, these micro-homes do come with state-of-the-art outdoor amenities like swimming pools, gyms, clubhouse, gardens and party halls, to name a few.
Brands like Godrej Interio, HomeLane etc., are cashing in on the new trend of Nano homes and coming up with furniture that will aptly fit into constrained spaces
Trend in Budget Housing
While affordable housing tends to be compact almost by definition, mid-segment housing in cities like Mumbai is much more expensive than in other cities. Price points play a big role in housing sales today, and the entire system, in fact, currently favours first-time homebuyers focused on budget housing. While we can see this trend gradually manifesting in other cities, Mumbai is the most land-constrained city where the only alternatives for budget-constrained homebuyers are in the distant suburbs, or in mass-housing skyscrapers where developers will invariably attempt to jam in as many units as possible on relatively small plots.
