Is YOUR open plan home starting to look dated? Phil Spencer reveals why more homeowners now want to 'compartmentalise' with separate rooms

Property guru Phil Spencer has stepped inside hundreds of homes during his three-decade career.The expert, who fronts Channel 4's Location, Location, Location and Love It or List It with presenting partner Kirstie Allsopp, has watched interior and design trends come and go. With such extensive knowledge of his field, the presenter - who is also an ambassador for Wickes - has a sharp insight into trends coming down the track. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, Hampshire-based Phil revealed the styles and design choices he's seeing more of - influenced both by Britons' way of living and social media.'I have seen people closing up their previously open-plan homes. It's called compartmentalising,' he says. 'More people are working from home and that's the way of the world. Therefore people are needing separate space.'He refers to a house he'd recently visited for Love It or List it, where the homeowner had created a home office in the cupboard under the stairs.'It was excellent. She'd taken out a cupboard and she'd made this great office. It was brilliant until 3 o'clock in the afternoon when the kids came home.'They were running around behind her - total disaster,' he recalls. Property guru Phil Spencer, who is an ambassador for Wickes, has revealed the home trends he believes are here to stay Sidelined for decades as a 'dated' feature associated with the 1970s, Phil says the kitchen hatch is back in fashion - and it has had an upgradeFor years, Phil says, there was a trend of people buying Victorian homes that were built in the traditional structure of a front room, a back room and a kitchen on the ground floor, and opening them up.'Nowadays I'm seeing more people separate them back to the traditional layout.' It's a trend Phil believes will continue thanks to more people working from home nowadays - and as a result, there is now increased demand for different home features. He refers to the kitchen hatch as an example of how homeowners are creating more openness within their space, without knocking down any walls.'It's a pretty straightforward thing to do and I wonder whether it's coming to the fore again because of people closing up space. They used to have a big open plan kitchen and now they haven't got a big open plan kitchen. They've got an extra room but they want access to the kitchen. Phil says the trend of open-plan living is on its way out thanks to a shift in how people work, with more people working from home'I think it's a nice touch. I was brought up in a home with a hatch and food could come from the kitchen to the table without going round the houses. I think it's quite nice.'Wickes's 2027 Trends report suggests the 1970s-style kitchen hatch is having a renaissance in line with a wider shift away from open plan and towards what it calls 'broken-plan' living. Deborah Sugg Ryan, professor of design history, notes that the return of the kitchen hatch doesn't necessarily hark back to exactly how it looked in the 70s. Instead, homeowners are choosing wider spaces with overhanging surfaces.'A rise in having these separate zones in the kitchen is also resulting in increasing popularity of a ‘main kitchen and a back kitchen’, drawing inspiration from 19th-century scullery,' she says. 'This is being driven by an increasing desire for hidden storage where appliances and food preparation can be kept separate from the main kitchen.'Pantries are another feature having a renaissance, according to Phil.'I think they are back big time,' he says.He may be correct. A survey conducted by Wickes in 2023 suggested a pantry or larder was among one of the most sought-after kitchen features among UK homeowners - with the millennial generation driving the trend. Wickes's Great Kitchen Report revealed that one in five people considered the pantry a 'dream' kitchen feature, while design consultants for the home improvement retailer reported it was one of the most requested additions to kitchens for its storage purposes.'If you've got the space, it takes things off display,' Phil explains. 'It reduces pressure on your normal kitchen storage because we've got ever more kitchen appliances and utensils.'He added the pantry is one of those features that carries the 'wow' factor for visitors.'It does have a reaction because you don't know it's there. It's like 'woah'. It's more than just a cupboard.'Where the hot and trendy feature in an open plan kitchen was once an island or bifold doors, the more closed kitchen lends itself to a pantry, Phil says.'Kitchen islands were a huge thing and I worry some people have gone too big on them.'He explains many homeowners can make the mistake of installing an island too big for the space they're in, joking: 'It's an island, not a country.'He adds: 'You need to be able to get around it. Don't just have an island for the sake of it.' Another kitchen feature he's seeing increased demand for is the pan drawer.'They're [Location, Location, Location co-star] Kirstie's favourite. She puts pan drawers in everywhere.'As the nights draw in, Phil also noted an interiors trend rising in popularity away from the kitchen.'I'm a fan of a smaller, 'snug'-style TV room,' he says. For people who do still have an open plan layout, he says a so-called 'snug' can feel like a cosy place for the family to retreat on dark, chilly nights.Leaning into the trend of 'cocooning', which focuses on turning one's home into a warm retreat from the cold weather, Phil suggests lighting and colour are the best ways to create this atmosphere.'If you want that cosy, warmer feel - particularly at this time of year - don't use overhead lighting.'Get some wall lights, get some lamps. Lower the light, make it a little bit more moody.'He added soft furnishings such as cushions and throws can make a huge difference at creating a style fit for the season - and can be swapped around at different times of year to add a different feel to the space.'I don't think people would repaint their room for summer and winter but you can change a lot in your lighting and soft furniture.' Wickes notes the colour trends coming into focus as homeowners embrace 'cocooning' in their houses. Design history professor Deborah notes: 'Deep blues and chocolate browns are key colours to watch, while we’re also seeing warmer neutral tones and earthy colours coming through. 'Textured woods and surfaces will add further warmth, with walnut and dark oak replacing some of the lighter woods we’ve seen dominate interiors.'