Many are the reasons why you renovate your home from time to time, but this research sheds an interesting light on Brits' redecoration habits.

Brits And Home Renovations: The Research

As daylight extends and nature blooms, people put new life into their homes and transform living spaces by refreshing interiors and introducing seasonal accents. This inspired the luxury bedroom furniture retailers Feather & Black to conduct a study of 2,000 respondents via OnePoll to discover the redecoration trends in the UK.

The research revealed that much of the UK population (30%) redecorate every 2-3 years. For a quarter (25%) of the population, redecorating comes in the form of an annual refresh, while nearly one in five (18%) of people redecorate every six months. 13% of people redecorate every 4-5 years. They are followed by redecoration enthusiasts – who refresh their homes more often than every 6 months (6%) – while 3% of the population redecorate every 10+ years. The living room (61%), kitchen (11%) and bedroom (10%) are the spaces that get the most attention when redecorating, followed by the guest room (4%), bathroom (2%) and study/office (2%).

34% of respondents, or 1 in 3 people in the UK, cited boosting mood and well-being as the main reason for redecorating. Addressing interior wear and tear (31%) was the second most important factor, followed by keeping up with trends (10%), increasing functional space (9%), updating key pieces of furniture (7%), life events (3%) and impressing house guests (3%). When it comes to the most popular redecoration methods, introducing a new colour scheme (31%) tops the list. Changing interior design style (18%) is the second most popular way to infuse newness into homes, followed by decluttering (17%), adding new accent pieces (11%), rearranging furniture (8%), and changing furniture (7%). Nearly half of people (48%) named interior design websites as their main source of inspiration for home redecorating. They were followed by social media - 41%, print interior design magazines - 34%, friends and family - 32%, films and TV shows - 27%, influencers - 17% and celebrity homes - 15%. Budget (59%), lack of time (38%), inconvenience (37%), lack of inspiration (21%), emotional attachment (17%), and not being familiar with current interior design trends (10%) came out as the key factors that prevent people from redecorating.

Other Key Findings

• Nearly 1 in 3 (28%) of Brits aged 25-34 redecorate every six months.
• Southampton, Wrexham, Worcester, Oxford and Belfast have been named redecoration hotspots.
• Those aged 35 and over are far more likely to focus on redecorating communal spaces such as the living room or kitchen, whereas the younger generation (18-34-year-olds) are more likely to prioritise redecorating their bedroom.
• 1 in 5 (19%) of 18–24-year-olds are redecorating to increase the functional space.
• People aged 18-24 (31%) have more of an emotional attachment when redecorating than older generations [25-34 (15%), 35-44 (21%), 45-54 (14%), 55-64 (13%), 65+ (19%)].
• The main inspiration for 18–44-year-olds is social media, while for the 45 and over it comes from online interior design websites.

Home Redecorations In The UK: Men vs Women

Perhaps surprisingly, men (15%) care more about keeping up with trends when redecorating than women (9%). Men (7%) are more likely to redecorate their homes to impress their house guests than women (2%). Women (20%) are twice as likely to use decluttering as a redecoration method than men (10%). For what concerns the main source of inspiration for home redecorating, for women comes from online interior design websites (49%), social media (44%) and print interior design magazines (34%); while men get inspiration from online interior design websites (48%), friends and family (37%) and print interior design magazines (34%). The last data from the poll seems to dispel a myth: more men (23%) care about emotional attachment when redecorating than women (15%).

Laura Burnett, buyer at Feather & Black said: “As a brand passionate about luxury and nurturing harmony through interior design, we wanted to find out how people approach reviving and elevating their interiors. The results highlighted wellbeing as one of the top reasons for home redecoration. Wellness-centred interior design has been an ongoing trend for the past few years and we are delighted to see that the decorators of all ages are embracing the importance of treating their homes as a sanctuary and creating a relaxing ambience through interior design."

Do the study results resonate with your renovation habits? Find out more on the Feather & Black website.