What do homeowners want? The answer should be a sweet sound ringing in retailers’ ears and brings all of us in the home industry business good news. They want more updated spaces for their own enjoyment rather than prioritizing profit as the goal when remodeling. I was so happy to hear that according to a new survey conducted by Houzz, homeowners are choosing aesthetics for their home over updating them for profit/ resale, by a measure of two to one. This means that homeowners are choosing to make their home their nest, and decorating them just the way they want so they can enjoy as much as possible. This is apparent as people look for ways to enjoy life while saving money. They are staying close to home, not going out as much, living more in their homes. For example, instead of choosing trips, they are choosing to entertain friends in their homes and want their settings to be comfortable, liveable, and welcoming. Here are a couple of pull quotes from the study:
• 86 percent cited “improving the look and feel of the space” as an important driver for remodeling projects, while only 47 percent cited ”increasing home value.” The gap between these priorities was consistent across all income levels and demographic groups.
• We expected that in this economy Americans’ highest priority would be increasing home value, but instead we found people are focused on pleasing themselves.
• 45 percent of homeowners at upper income levels ($150,000+) are choosing to hire an architect, interior designer, general contractor or another remodeling or decorating professional to complete a project in its entirety, an equal number of them are combining professional help and DIY efforts, a proportion only slightly smaller than the 49 percent taking this combination approach in lower income brackets.
• In the next two years, 72 percent of homeowners surveyed plan to decorate or redecorate.
• 26 percent [plan to hire] and interior designer.
• 52 percent — say they will save money by completing some projects themselves.
• Results are based on 29,127 respondents (87 percent homeowners, 13 percent renters).
Houzz has over 4 million unique users a month.
Welcoming news. Now if you’re planning on improving the look and feel of your space, be sure to check out a quick, easy, and affordable way to do it with our new video. How fun it was to stripe a wall without much effort and stylize the space instantly with Signature Colored Stripes from the Karen Robertson Collection.
Happy striping — happy styling your nest, however you choose.
— Ashley
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