Co-living is nothing particularly new. Like every great business idea, it’s already been done before (to an extent). In the UK particularly, people have been sharing flats for decades to cut on the cost of living. HMOs already comprise a big portion of the rented industry, especially in crowded areas.

However, sharing spaces with other people you don’t know can and will be a daunting task a lot of the time you do it. Especially, since most people living in a flat-share or a house-share don’t really want to, but it’s the only thing they can afford.

This is because most HMOs were never built to accommodate separate households or individuals, but were converted to fit the governmental standards with minimum investment. Landlords don’t want to invest more money than they need to, in order to profit, which is where they fall short of addressing the needs of the market.

The more problems you can solve, the more opportunities there are to profit. Co-living buildings are redesigned to solve specific problems for a specific type of resident. It’s definitely not perfect for every renter, but the digital nomad should feel very comfortable and happy. Here are the solutions that co-living emphasises.

Privacy�– Every resident of the building has their own personal room and bathroom. The rooms come in different sizes so there is coverage for every preference…and budget. There are even full-blown apartments if you demand your own facilities and don’t like to share everything all the time.

Social integration�– Co-living is very social. Working away from the office can be very lonely, especially if you’re single. In fact, loneliness is a key problem for digital nomads. Co-living’s main ingredient is the community. The floor plan of the building is designed to increase interaction when using the shared spaces and make living with other people fun and desirable.

However, the designers also realise people want to have seclusion when they feel like it, so there are additional paths and entrances that bypass the shared rooms.

Move in ready – These properties are fully furnished. Residents can move in with just two bags and will need nothing else as all facilities are fully equipped for use. Digital nomads will be delighted because they don’t want to invest in furniture, appliances, supplies or dinning sets.

The move in ready approach takes the worst out private renting. Furnished properties on the market typically only include a few key pieces of furniture and electric appliances. Everything else you have to bring in with you, or buy.

This is perfectly counterproductive for this demographic, which want’s to invest in their life and not their house.

Built in facilities – One of the most impressive aspects of co-living buildings is the many additional features and facilities available to all residents. HMOs typically include a kitchen and a living room and you all have to get along and make space for yourselves.

Co-living buildings include several kitchens, dining rooms, leisure spaces, games rooms, work rooms to setup a laptop, laundry rooms and a gym. Some buildings go as far as including events spaces, spa and gardens and terraces, restaurants and cafes, cinemas and a library.

These buildings are designed to offer hotel and resort grade amenities included in the rent. And because these features are offered at a scale (for all residents) the cost are kept manageable and can compete with costs at offsite competitors.

Built in features – Another great solution for people who want none of the hassle is to pay one bill for everything. This includes all bills for power, heating and air conditioning. Furthermore, the entire building is supplied with commercial grade internet which is key for digital nomads who mostly work on the internet.

If you never had you important business skype call interrupted by a wacky ISP that takes hours to restore your connection, you live in a bliss.

Furthermore, there is scheduled cleaning of the entire premises. This also includes getting your bed linens changed. You still have to do at least a little bit of cleaning, mainly after yourself. But the cleaning staff makes sure you have all this time to do whatever you like, instead of doing maintenance.

This gives residents the hotel experience everybody likes, while it keeps the building feel like home.

Flexibility�– Most co-living buildings offer great flexibility for moving in and out. There is often no deposit required, aside from a holding fee which gets deducted from the rent. Also, residents can move for short periods like a month, sometimes even weeks.

This is essential to digital nomads who really like to have the option to travel and go to different locations all the time. Some nomads roam the country, others the world. In all cases, they rely on the flexibility of their living arrangements. Renters particularly experience problems because most landlords want to lock the contract for a minimum of 6 or 12 months.

If the renter wants to move out and trek Indonesia half through their contract, they will go seriously out of pocket due to all penalty fees and likely lose their deposit as well. In the end, renting a private property becomes really unaffordable if you have to move frequently, even if you earn a good income.

If you rented out a house or an apartment with pre-installed blinds, it’s a reduced cost on your end. However, if your window has a unique size, your pre-installed blinds might not be the perfect fit for your room.

When your blinds are too massive or small for your home, it can make the room smaller and awkward. Ideally, you should have custom-fit blinds like the Perfect Fit Blinds, as they’ll be able to fit perfectly to your unique window sizes, providing you with everything that you need.

Do you remember how many times you’ve walked through your home, looked out the window and seen your neighbour doing something that should be kept private? It can be an awkward and uncomfortable scenario, especially if the scene calls for it. When you frequently experience this, it’s time to buy new blinds.

To help eliminate uncomfortable moments in your home, you should go for top-down/bottom-up blinds. These help to provide your family with natural light without extending your view.

Top-down/bottom-up shades use a reverse mechanism that brings down the shades from top to bottom rather than the usual bottom to top. In this way, you’ll be able to let natural light come into the room from above, leaving the bottom part secured and safe from your eyesight.

Turning the page over; how many times has your neighbour seen you up to something that you’d have preferred to keep secret? If you frequently spot your neighbours looking into your home, you should consider changing your blinds. Not only does it save you from embarrassing moments, but it also helps you to protect your home and family from prying eyes.

The term “first thing in the morning” usually means by the time you’ve arrived at work. However, it can be quite different with kids around.

When the sun rises and shines into your kid’s rooms, even if it’s way before their wake-up time, they could easily run straight into your rooms and wake you up; they want breakfast and conversation. While that can be fun, it can also be frustrating, especially if it’s at the crack of dawn.

To help your children to stay asleep for longer hours, you should consider getting your kids blackout blinds so that no light can get through their windows until you want it to. This should keep your kids asleep for as long as possible.

Paying rent can be expensive, especially when you have to spend a lot on other things in your homes such as energy, water and your internet bill, as well as your weekly groceries. You may not notice it, but your blinds contribute to how you spend your energy at home.

During the summer season, the afternoons get extra hot, and you need to boost your AC to its maximum capacity to feel comfortable and relaxed. However, it can’t trap the temperature with the wrong blinds. This will make your ACs work extra hard just to cool you down, elevating your electricity bills.

You could go for high-quality blinds that have excellent insulating properties, as these help to maintain either a cool or warm temperature inside the room, depending on which season it is.

One of the most obvious reasons why you might want to change your blinds is because they’re broken. It could be that your pre-installed blinds have been sitting on the window for decades, or that your pet has broken them by pushing their head between the slats of the blinds to see what’s happening outside, or that your children are playing with the control cord causing the mechanism to stick.

If you’ve just moved in and the pre-installed blinds are out of style or your preference, you should change them.

Changing your blinds into something better-looking and updated will allow your room a fresher feel, making your stay at the place a lot homier.

If your current blinds don’t fit your needs anymore, you should consider changing them.

You can update your blinds if you want a blackout experience, proper insulation, increased security or even just for style preference. Just make sure that when choosing your new blinds, you get the perfect fit to give a great look to your window.

There are many factors as to why a tenant would want to change their blinds, but before purchasing a new one, you should check with your lease contract to see if it’s allowed or whether there’s a particular process to follow for repair or replacement. If there is, contact your landlord immediately to get the job done quickly.

Above all, make sure that you purchase the perfect fit, style and purpose according to your preference; good blinds will last you for years after replacement, so make sure that you really like them.