It’s been over a year since COVID-19 was labelled a global pandemic. A year is a lot of time for homeowners to spend mostly in their homes, with the occasional group of people being asked to go back to work throughout the time that has passed, and the few careers out there that cannot be worked from home.
With all that time in the same four walls, everything begins to look a bit drab. The home improvement industry has boomed a little during the reign of the Corona Virus, with a large percentage of homeowners deciding to do some home renovation or start a new home design project during this past year.
Houzz, a leading platform for home improvement, performed a survey of its members that showed that approximately 68% of them had been inspired to work on their home during the pandemic. This number only pertains to the 3,700 UK homeowners that are members of the platform, but the figure does make you wonder how many UK residents have been getting hands-on with their home.
And it’s not just homeowners, either! Though tenants cannot do as much home improvement due to the regulations in their contracts that are undoubtedly there, that won’t have stopped households from starting a few projects of their own or taking up a spot of gardening.
Spending long hours, days, and weeks at home without being able to leave your city for fear of being fined is one sure-fire way to get people spending their time on home improvement and doing some aesthetic renovations.
Work which involves tradespeople was given the green light to go ahead during the pandemic’s most recent lockdown, but even if homeowners couldn’t call in workers to help with renovations, we have no doubt in our minds that home improvements have still been happening without professional assistance.
There are several other articles that touch on this subject, many of which highlight the surge of the home improvement market during this past year.
According to information gathered by the Checkatrade Home Pride Index, UK homeowners have spent over £39 billion on home improvements since last January. The monetary average per homeowner spending on home improvement has risen 12% since 2019, meaning that people are spending around £2,700 on their home projects.
Though that’s the average, homeowners in London were spending a little more – around as much as £3,700 or so. Londoners also employed the most tradespeople during the year.
From home cinemas to sheds repurposed as offices, there’s been plenty for homeowners to shake their bank accounts at.
Beyond these smaller projects, homeowners have also elected to install conservatories and orangeries; trying to make the best of the weather or have a more natural place in the home to spend time in place of going outside during a pandemic.
Big money has also been spent on replacing windows and doors, as well as professional cleaning services, among other projects.
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