HouzzUK Reveals Emerging Summer Trends

Home renovation and design platform, Houzz.co.uk, has identified the top emerging interior and exterior design trends based on the latest search insights* from its community of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and renovation professionals. The trends reflect a desire to keep energy-related costs down, how the Daisy Jones & The Six effect might be impacting our interiors and a need to create some separation in our spaces. 

A summary of HouzzUK's findings follows and you can see the full report here. 

Getting Industrial in the Kitchen 

Kitchens are usually a strong indicator of current trends and an increase in searches for industrial-style kitchens (up by 99%) gives a clue as to where homeowners are looking next. With their easy-to-clean surfaces and high-traffic durability, they’re a good choice for busy households. With associated features like ‘stainless steel worktop/splashback’, ‘exposed beams’ and ‘open kitchen shelving’ all more than doubling we’re likely to see a more commercial vibe in kitchens over the next few years.

• Stainless steel worktop/splashback - 179%
• Exposed beams - 166%
• Open kitchen shelving - 136%
• Industrial kitchen - 99%
• Polished concrete - 23%

1970s Revival

1970s-influenced interiors have been trending for a while now, but this summer they’re set to really dominate – maybe it’s the Daisy Jones & the Six effect that has us feeling nostalgic for the richness of 70s decor. Searches for ‘eclectic’ and ‘retro’ design inspiration have risen by more than 2x, along with searches for ‘mustard yellow sofa’, ‘dark wood flooring’ and ‘quirky wallpaper’ (all up 2x). Some of the more extreme elements of 1970s style have also popped up on the radar, with searches for ‘sunken bath’ more than doubling.

• Orange - 259%
• Eclectic - 157%
• Mustard yellow sofa - 139%
• Dark wood flooring - 132%
• Sunken bath - 117%
• Retro - 109%
• Quirky wallpaper - 99%

Contemporary Wildlife Gardens

An interesting pairing seems to be growing in our outdoor spaces. While homeowners are still searching for ways to create a practical and contemporary living space outdoors, with searches for ‘contemporary patios’ up a staggering 21x, we’re also seeing a rising interest in wildlife gardening and growing vegetables.

Searches for ‘outdoor decor items’ and ‘outdoor living/dining’ both increased by more than half, alongside this, searches for ‘railway sleeper beds’ and ‘wildlife garden’ rose by more than 5x. ‘Vegetable garden’ and ‘ponds’ also saw a rise of 61% and 29%, respectively.

• Contemporary patios - 2,061%
• Railway sleeper beds - 498%
• Wildlife garden - 423%
• Outdoor decor items - 95%
• Outdoor living/dining - 61%
• Vegetable garden - 61%
• Ponds - 29%

A Degree of Separation 

After years of loving open-plan living, we’re increasingly seeing homeowners seeking out solutions to help divide up spaces, with searches for several different types of room dividers making it into the rising search trends. Glazing is proving to be a popular choice among homeowners who want to create separate spaces that still feel connected, with ‘internal glass window’ and ‘internal glass door’ both up significantly year over year. 

• Kitchen peninsula - 136%
• Internal glass window - 77%
• Partition wall - 51%
• Room divider - 47%
• Internal glass door - 39%

Big Personality

The interest in cottage-style interiors, characterised by the use of pattern, colour and vintage items remains steadfast. However, it looks set to be combined with a more playful approach, with several searches indicating a desire to create unique and individual spaces. ‘Vintage decor items’ spiked by more than 6x compared to the same period last year and ‘William Morris pattern’ also saw a significant increase, while searches for ‘colourful rooms’ and ‘wall art’ rose too. Intriguingly, searches for ‘secret door’ also more than doubled.

• Vintage decor items - 569%
• William Morris pattern - 144%
• Secret door - 140%
• Country cottage interiors - 136%
• Kitchen dresser - 129%
• Colourful rooms - 98%
• Wall art - 57%

Climate-influenced Updates

The 2023 UK Houzz & Home Study highlighted the increased focus on energy efficiency, with almost half of homeowners citing it as highly important when renovating, rising sharply since 2020. With a changing climate coupled with rising energy prices, it’s perhaps unsurprising that searches on Houzz mirror these findings, with ‘insulation’, ‘heat pump’ and ‘solar panels’ all increasing year on year (up 100%, 99% and 28%, respectively). ‘External cladding’, which not only improves the appearance of a house but also helps to provide further insulation, rose by a third. 

• Insulation - 100%
• Heat pump - 99%
• External cladding - 32%
• Solar panels - 28%

Hobbyists

Hobbies, and making space for them at home, seems to be a top priority for homeowners, with searches for creative spaces like ‘sewing room’, up an impressive 2.5x and ‘workshop’ and ‘craft room’ also rising significantly this year. ‘Music studio’ and ‘reading nook’ both rose by more than a third and the sporty among us are increasingly seeking out ‘bike storage’ solutions.

• Sewing room - 179%
• Workshop - 82%
• Craft room - 75%
• Bike storage - 70%
• Music studio - 45%
• Reading nook - 33%

Luxurious Bathrooms

Bathrooms continue to be a popular space to upgrade, with more than a quarter of renovating homeowners improving theirs in 2022, according to the 2023 UK Houzz & Home Study. Homeowners are seeking out warm, comforting spaces, with the search term ‘rustic bathroom’ shooting up by more than 5x. We’ve also seen showers continue to rise in their popularity over baths, with searches for ‘shower enclosures’ quadrupling and ‘shower niche’ up 77%. 

• Rustic bathroom - 444%
• Shower enclosures - 318%
• Luxury bathroom - 109%
• Shower niche - 77%
• Spa bathroom - 61%
• Bathroom lighting - 55%

Hosting Guests Again

Brits are feeling sociable, with searches indicating that they’re busy readying their homes for guests. Both ‘guest bathroom’ and ‘extendable dining table’ saw more than triple the amount of searches compared to the same period last year and ‘murphy bed’ more than doubled. 

• Guest bathroom - 290%
• Extendable dining table - 283%
• Murphy bed - 179%
• Guest room - 91% 

Preserving Charm and Character 

With many homes in the UK ageing (according to the 2023 UK Houzz & Home Study 47% of the surveyed homeowners live in homes built in 1940 or earlier), preserving the charm and character of these buildings is a high priority among homeowners on Houzz. The search terms ‘listed building’ and ‘Georgian house’ shot up 2.5x and 2x, respectively, and ‘Victorian terrace’ increased by more than half. 

Restoring and repairing period details and decor is also growing more important to homeowners, with searches for ‘furniture repair’ seeing a huge rise, up 9.5x. Searches for design elements linked to period properties, such as ‘ceiling rose’, also saw a spike. 

• Furniture repair - 877%
• Listed building - 151%
• Georgian house - 107%
• Victorian terrace - 56%
• Ceiling rose - 39%

Kerb Appeal 

This year homeowners are paying closer attention to the exterior of their homes with front doors in the spotlight. Searches for ‘double front doors’ rose an impressive 6.5x and ‘modern front door’ was up 4.5x. First impressions clearly count with a notable uptick in searches for ‘timber cladding’, ‘grey windows’, ‘porches’ and ‘front garden’ (up 89%, 74%, 50% and 48%, respectively). And to hide any eyesores, searches for ‘bin cover solution’ saw a massive 6.5x rise. 

• Double front doors - 551%
• Bin cover solution - 364%
• Modern front door - 353%
• Timber cladding - 89%
• Grey windows - 74%
• Porches - 50%
• Front garden - 48%

Comfort Above All Else 

For homeowners on Houzz, how a home feels is seemingly just as important as how it looks, with searches for ‘cosy’ more than tripling compared to the same period last year. As homeowners seek out these cosy spaces, associated terms like ‘beige sofa’, which is up a whopping 9x, ‘armchair’, ‘neutral colour schemes’ and ‘curved sofa’ have all been rising. Searches for ‘carpet’ are also up by 69%.

• Beige sofa - 806%
• Cosy - 253%
• Armchair - 178%
• Neutral colour schemes - 124%
• Curved sofa - 109%
• Carpet - 69%

* Source: Data reflects year-over-year growth in UK-based searches on Houzz from January-March 2023 versus January-March 2022. 

Source : HouzzUK

For all the very latest news and intelligence on the UK's largest home improvement and garden retailers, sign up for the Insight DIY weekly newsletter.