Page last updated on 11th June 2026
Meet Britain’s ‘space stretchers’
With house prices remaining high and moving costs mounting, homeowners in Britain are reshaping the homes they’ve already got to save money. Smart Energy GB have teamed up with TV interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen to discover how families are stretching their home to match their changing needs.
Why are so many homeowners staying put?
With the average UK house price rising by around 30% over the past decade, more and more homeowners are choosing to adapt rather than relocate. In a new study of 2,000 homeowners, three quarters (75%) said they had considered reimagining their home to make better use of every square foot.
The cost of moving is the biggest driver. Almost half (48%) say the main reason they're choosing to renovate rather than relocate is the price of the move itself, and with fees, taxes and other expenses quickly adding up, more than half (58%) believe upgrading their existing home is far more cost-effective than starting again somewhere new.
The mood has shifted to making the most of the space you have, as the average homeowner is now staying put for 17 years and only one in five (22%) say they would prefer to move house rather than adapt their existing space.
By making a few simple changes today, such as getting a smart meter, households can keep track of how a newly adapted home changes the way they use energy.
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen meets Britain's 'space stretchers'
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[00:00] Laurence (voiceover): With moving house so costly and disruptive, more and more homeowners are reimagining their spaces to make the most of every square foot. Now, being something of a space stretcher myself, I'm off to meet two households to see what changes they've made and how it affects their energy usage.
[00:16] Laurence: So, what motivated you to change your home?
[00:18] Homeowner: My mum got poorly. She was my dad's carer. So, we had plenty of space, so we thought, "Right, how could we change this so that they could move in?"
[00:24] Homeowner: I wanted to work from home. I'm a baker and baking from home just makes more sense.
[00:30] Laurence: Talk me through the list of things you actually altered.
[00:32] Homeowner: The first thing, we had to put the stairlift in. – Yeah. A shower room that they could access easily. We had to vacate our dining room space, to make them a living room.
[00:40] Laurence: But it's not just you here as well, because your partner, Charles, works from home as well. – Yes.
[00:44] Homeowner: So, there is the whole bottom floor, which is essentially where I work.
[00:47] Laurence / Homeowner: – "Cake Zone"? – "Cake Zone". And then upstairs is "Charles Zone".
[00:51] Laurence: What kind of impact do those changes have on your energy usage?
[00:54] Homeowner: Having more people living in the house – Yeah – is the major impact. – Yeah. And obviously elderly people need more heating, twice as many showers. So, when you think about it logically, bills were bound to go up.
[01:06] Laurence: So, I can see you've got a smart meter display, are you using that to track your usage?
[01:09] Homeowner: Yeah, it kind of keeps us in control of what we're using. When the oven is on, I can definitely tell a difference. I think it's super important to be able to see how much your energy is going up.
[01:17] Laurence: Do you find that you've changed the way that you do things because of what you see on the display?
[01:22] Homeowner: We did install thermostats when they moved in on all of the radiators. And if we're cooking, we try to think, "Right, Mum's having a fish pie. We'll have something that goes in the oven." – So we're only putting the oven on once. – Gosh, yeah!
[01:31] Laurence: Do you find you're using your hairdryer less?
[01:33] Homeowner: Very!
[01:34] Laurence (voiceover): It's been wonderful seeing the creativity that people use to make the most of every square foot, which is why having a smart meter makes sense. It allows you to see what energy you're using and encourages you to help make savings.
[01:48] On-screen text: Eligibility may vary. Consumer action required.
[01:50] Laurence: I'm just a bit worried about the G-Force.
Why homeowners are 'space stretching’?
For those staying put, a little creativity goes a long way. Almost half (48%) of homeowners who have already reconfigured rooms since buying their home say they'd happily do it again and space stretchers believe their changes will add an extra five years to the time they plan to stay.
Sentimental value of the home influenced a quarter (27%) of homeowners, who have already adapted their space, to make the decision to stay. This was driven by memories of children growing up there (52%), important life milestones from birthdays to marriages (52%) and simply wanting to stay near friendly neighbours (44%).
Popular ways to stretch your space
On average, space stretchers have invested more than £11,000 in maximising their home, yet believe they've saved over £22,000 by updating rather than uprooting. The most popular projects include:
Creating a multi-purpose guest room and office (35%)
Converting a loft into additional living space (21%)
Adapting a garage into a workspace (17%)
Adding a creative space for hobbies (11%)
Future-proofing the home with energy saving upgrades
While the main goal for many renovators (48%) was to simply create more useable space, two in five (40%) have also built in energy-saving measures to help future proof their home.
The most popular simple swap was getting a smart meter installed (77%), followed by fitting loft insulation (68%), LED lighting (67%) and solar panels (28%). The vast majority (85%) of those who made these changes did so to save money on bills, alongside future-proofing their home (33%) and reducing their carbon footprint (27%).
A smart meter is a natural fit for a home that's evolving. Three in five (59%) homeowners with a smart meter say it helps them better understand and manage their energy use across their newly adapted spaces — and it can also help households take advantage of energy reward schemes that incentivise using energy more flexibly, handy for anyone now spending more time at home in a newly converted office.
Saving money
You can use a smart meter to help you save money by using an in-house display to monitor your energy use in near real-time. Read about money saving with a smart meter.
Saving energy
If you're looking to reduce energy consumption and stay on top of what you spent, a smart meter could help. Read about monitoring your energy usage with a smart meter.
Saving the environment
A smart meter is a small step for households but could help reduce our carbon footprint and reliance on fossil fuels. Read about how a smart meter could help our environment.