After three very uncertain years, 2023 marked a return to a more typical or normal state. Similar to the overall trend in the construction sector, Shomera has experienced a very busy year.
Garden Rooms
Towards the beginning of the year, we featured a Garden Room in one of our blogs, which was custom-designed for an existing customer. Around this time, our design team was working on our new Contemporary Garden Room, which we have since launched and included in our full range. We are delighted that it, rightly so, is proving really popular with our customers!
The Shomera Contemporary range focuses on a minimalist approach. Sleek overhangs seem to float, supported by hidden structural elements that exemplify invisible craftsmanship. Inside, generous headroom and space unfold within a modest footprint. Light pours through expanses of glass to nurture plants or illuminate creativity.
Product Changes
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, among many other products, there was a ban imposed on purchasing Siberian Larch as part of the economic sanctions imposed on Russia. Although Larch had been our preferred cladding, sustainability has always been a core value of Shomera’s, so now was the time to consider and find alternatives. We had already been discussing composite cladding with one of our suppliers, so we bit the bullet and offered it to our customers as a replacement for Larch. It has turned out to be a great change. The composite cladding looks great, requires less maintenance and is very sustainable. Most importantly, its composition is 90% recycled material (60% wood and 30% plastic), and our customers love it.
Unveiling our new show area
After much planning and work, we are delighted to be looking forward to unveiling our revamped Shomera show area in March 2024. Seeing a Shomera Garden Room or House Extension first-hand is the best way to appreciate superior craftsmanship while getting a really good feel for what will work best in your home. We welcome all visitors to Shomera Village to see a selection of our Garden Rooms and House Extensions.
We are particularly looking forward to unveiling the new Shomera 25 Garden Room with some lovely finishes, which will be ready for when the season kicks off in March 2024. Stay tuned for more details on that coming shortly.
House Extensions – renovation vs extension or both
People are more aware of energy consumption and the need to have our homes perform better. Consequently, a Shomera house extension project involves both renovation and a deep retrofit. As it suggests, “deep retrofit” involves getting into the existing fabric of the building and upgrading it so it will perform better for warmth and healthy air management. At Shomera, we have many years of experience across numerous home types, knowing exactly how best to retrofit your home.
Shomera are now well advanced in registration with SEAI as a one-stop shop for retrofitting your home. The dilemma for many is how much to spend (or can you afford to spend) on upgrading your home and how much to spend making the adjustments to your home (re-ordering, extending, etc.). With costs having increased in the past three years by over 50%, this is a very difficult issue for most families. At Shomera, we have a good understanding of what delivers the best value in terms of a house that works for you and performs for you.
Unfortunately, the construction sector is still battling some residual inflation and a skills shortage. Shomera has taken great steps to mitigate these issues, but our refusal to compromise our standard of product and service, together with increased demand for our services, has seen our lead time grow for house extensions.
Due to the exploded demand for Garden Rooms during and post-Covid, we have worked hard to increase our capacity in this sector. Currently, we are delighted to have tighter lead times on a Shomera Garden Room (8-12 weeks).
As we look ahead to 2024, we look forward to continuing to design and build products that really transform the way our customers live. We are proud to be entering the New Year, knowing that we are market leaders in both the house extensions and garden rooms markets. In 2023, we worked hard to upscale our business, ensuring we could keep up with the massive demand for our products while delivering the exceptional finished projects and services we are well known for. If our 5 star Trustpilot reviews alone are an indicator of customer satisfaction, we can certainly end 2023 proudly.
We look forward to working with many of you in 2024. We wish you and yours a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
