Energy efficiency, kitchens, bathrooms and enlisting professional help all scored highly in our annual UK Houzz & Home Study, which shines a light on our collective renovation focus during 2022 and 2023.
Read on to discover which other projects we’ve been embarking on and, importantly, how much we’re spending on them.
* The 2023 UK Houzz & Home Study was sent to registered users of Houzz and fielded from December 2022 to March 2023.
Ann-Marie Powell Gardens Ltd
We’re in our homes for the long haul
Having put in the time, money and, of course, many hours spent trawling inspiring photos on Houzz to renovate your place, you’re probably not thinking of upping sticks for a while. If that’s the case, join the gang: our survey revealed that more than three in five, or 62%, of homeowners who’d renovated in 2022, were planning to stay in their homes for 11 years or more.
Could this trend of loving the homes we’re in be influencing another interesting statistic from the survey, too? While 11% of us cited increasing resale value as a reason for renovating in 2021, only 6% of us gave this reason in 2022, a drop of 5%. Compared to 2019’s survey, where 38% of us were motivated by potential profit, this is a really significant shift in mindset.
Stephen Turvil Architects
We’re still investing in our homes
“How much did you spend?” is a question we often want to ask our friends and neighbours when they do up their homes, but don’t always dare…
Luckily, Houzz has been nosy on your behalf and our survey reveals the median spend* for home renovations in 2022 was £16,250, whereas the spend for higher-budget updates (with the top 10% of spend) reached £120,000.
Renovation activity continues into 2023, with half of homeowners (50%) planning projects this year, at an anticipated median spend of £10,000, and £100,000 for higher-budget projects.
* Median spend is the midpoint level, meaning half of renovating homeowners on Houzz spent more and half spent less.
A New Day - Interior Design Studio
We like to ask an expert
Homeowner demand for professionals continues to grow (93%, compared with 88% in 2020). Among the professionals hired, it was electricians, plumbers, carpet and flooring pros, and carpenters who were most commonly called in (at 60%, 48%, 42% and 37%, respectively).
That said, the demand for design-related professionals has really grown in just one year, with those of us seeking the services of kitchen designers, bathroom designers and interior designers up during 2022 to 25%, 18% and 7%, respectively (compared with 19%, 13% and 6%, respectively for 2021).
Find the right team for your renovation in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Matthew Giles Architects
Good looks matter
We’ll come to the nuts and bolts of your home improvements shortly, but out of the 49% of you who renovated your homes in 2022, updating the look of your space was a major motivation, with almost three in five of you (57%) decorating or furnishing.
While 51% of us are improving outdoor areas and 20% are adding extensions, it’s our interior spaces that are getting the most love, with 78% of homeowners renovating indoors.
YARD Architects
We love our kitchens and bathrooms
So which areas are we renovating indoors, exactly? Given the reliable popularity of our kitchen and bathroom stories, it came as no surprise to learn that these key areas of the home – where function is as important as form – are a priority.
37% of us upgraded our kitchens and 33% of us did the same to our bathrooms. What’s more, these spaces command the highest median spend among renovation projects, at £13,000 and £5,250 respectively.
Anita Sullivan Gardens
Kerb appeal is key
While more of us may be focusing on our interiors, there’s still a strong drive to upgrade our homes’ kerbside appearance.
In particular, the front garden has received a lot of attention, with the numbers of us putting in work to improve this area rising from 40% in 2020 to 47% in 2022.
Other exterior improvements include windows, gutters and exterior doors (30%, 25% and 24%, respectively).
Ecospheric
We’re pushing period homes into the 21st century
Almost half of you (47%) are living in properties built in 1941 or earlier. So perhaps that’s why you’re so focused on modernising what may well have been ancient, creaking essential services in your homes.
Indeed, more than a third of homeowners upgraded heating systems in 2022, closely followed by electrical and plumbing (38%, 37% and 36%, respectively).
Architecture for London
We care about energy efficiency
A combination of environmental awareness and hikes in the cost of fuel and general living may be key drivers in the sharp increase in the number of us citing improving energy efficiency as very important when completing home improvements.
In 2020, this was only the case for 35% of us, but that figure has now risen significantly to 46%. Almost certainly as part of that, upgrades to windows, insulation and ventilation systems have also increased steadily since 2020 (30%, 22% and 11%, compared with 26%, 17% and 9%, respectively). Although purchases of solar power systems are relatively low (6%), there has been a rise in interest, increasing from 2% in 2020.
More: Should You Install an Air Source Heat Pump?
Tell us…
What are your renovation plans for the year ahead? Let us know in the Comments.
