2023’s Biggest Home Improvement Trends

March 3, 2023

[ad_1]

With life seemingly back to ‘normal’ after the pandemic, the way we use our homes has changed once again. In 2023, our Home Improvement Trends Report shows we’re now more focused on optimising the design of our homes and repurposing space, rather than just maximising square footage.

So, if you’re a homeowner and you’re looking for some design inspiration, read on to discover this year’s biggest home improvement trends – from the 23 biggest interior design trends that are IN and OUT to the home improvements that now attract the most buyers.

If you’re a tradesperson, head down to learn about where the biggest opportunities are for your trades business this year – from the jobs that homeowners want to spend the most money on to those that have seen the biggest increase in demand.

Picture of a blue kitchen with a table and table service set up

Homeowner Trends

If you’re interested in renovating or redesigning your home, and would like to speak to expert local tradespeople – from kitchen fitters, and builders, to electricians and plumbers, there’s over 50,000 professional tradespeople on Rated People across the whole of the UK who can help with your home improvement projects.

Top 23 Interior Design Trends That Are IN (and 23 That Are OUT) for 2023

The Home Improvements That Now Attract The Most Buyers

Tradespeople Trends

If you’re a tradesperson, these sections reveal insights on homeowner demand and how to capitalise on changing homeowner trends.

The Home Improvement Jobs That Homeowners Want To Spend The Most Money On in 2023

The Home Improvement Jobs With The Biggest Increases In Demand

The Most In-Demand Home Improvement Jobs for 2023

Picture of a kitchen with wide wooden floors and staircase

To uncover 2023’s biggest trends, we analysed Google search volume data over the last year for hundreds of design features – from paint colours to kitchen cabinets, and compared it to 2022 to see which are going up, and which are now on their way out.

Top 23 Interior Design Trends That Are IN for 2023

This year, green, from sage green to forest green, will be everywhere. Other earthy hues like terracotta, beige and taupe will also be key colours for interiors, and we’ll see natural materials dominating home design as ‘Natural materials interior’ is the trend that’s increasing in popularity the most in 2023. Searches on Google have risen by a huge 450%!

Picture of a bedroom with rattan interior design

Creative paint techniques will also be popular this year, with colour drenching (where you paint everything in a room the same colour as the walls – skirting boards, picture rails, doors, radiators and window frames) and painted arches both hugely increasing in popularity.

To find out more about colour drenching and for tips on how to do it, head over to our guide on how to do colour drenching.

When it comes to kitchens – lavender, neutral, blue, forest green and beige will be key colours for cabinets. Elsewhere in the ranking are design features like mushroom wallpaper, curved walls, mindful interior design, marble interiors and brilliant examples of space repurposing, like boot rooms and home massage rooms.

The 23 interior design and home improvement trends increasing in popularity the most in 2023

1	Natural materials interior	450% (Increase in year-on-year Google search volume)
2	Colour drenching	172%
3	Bougie interior design	100%
4	Lavender kitchen	82%
5	Neutral kitchen	81%
6	Blue kitchen	70%
7	Mushroom wallpaper	64%
8	Forest green living room	48%
9	Cottagecore decor	41%
10	Sage green interior design	36%
11	Marble interior	36%
12	Boot room	34%
13	Home massage room	33%
14	Wood panels living room	32%
15	Forest green kitchen	30%
16	Terracotta living room	25%
17	Beige kitchen	22%
18	Chintz living room	14%
19	Broken plan	10%
20	Painted arches	9%
21	Curved walls interior design	9%
22	Mindful interior design	8%
23	Sustainable decor	8%

Picture of a colour drenching living room

Top 23 Interior Design Trends That Are OUT for 2023

Our research also reveals which trends are now on their way out – so if you’ve got some of these, and you’re thinking of redesigning your space, they could be some of the first things to consider changing.

Hanging chairs have seen the biggest decrease in popularity, with 52% less searches made on Google in the last 12 months compared to the year before. Grey décor and grey kitchens have also had their heyday.

After years of dominance, open plan is now making way for broken plan as more of us start to value separate spaces. Dried flowers, Berber rugs, rattan furniture, velvet sofas and Macramé (a creative form of knotting used to create things like wall hangings) also feature in the trends that are decreasing in popularity.

The 23 interior design and home improvement trends decreasing in popularity the most in 2023

1.	Hanging chairs	52%
2.	Rattan furniture	49%
3.	Home gym	45%
4.	Navy interior design	43%
5.	Berber rugs	42%
6.	Japandi interior	40%
7.	Velvet sofas	38%
8.	Macrame wall hangings	37%
9.	Grey decor	37%
10.	Luxury interior design	35%
11.	Grey kitchen	35%
12.	Statement lighting	35%
13.	Dried flowers	34%
14.	White wood floors	33%
15.	Granite	32%
16.	Wallpaper murals	31%
17.	Home bar	31%
18.	Subway tiles	31%
19.	Industrial interior	30%
20.	Open plan	26%
21.	Two tone kitchen	26%
22.	Dark grey interior design	26%
23.	Gold decor	25%

Picture of a living room with dark, colour drenched walls

There’s so much advice out there about how to increase the value of your home if you’re looking to sell, from tips on decluttering to dressing your home for sale. But, what are the actual home improvements that would make people more likely to put in an offer?

The pandemic influenced what buyers were looking for, but now that’s ‘mostly’ behind us, homebuyer priorities are also shifting. With energy prices higher than ever, it’s perhaps no surprise that solar panels and extra insulation are among the most coveted add-ons that buyers would appreciate.

Picture of loft insulation by a loft window

The number one improvement that would attract the most buyers in 2023 however is now a downstairs toilet, so if you have space, and you’ve been thinking about it, now could be a great time to get one installed.

Utility rooms, walk-in wardrobes, outdoor entertaining areas, broken plan spaces and kitchen pantries also appear in the top 20. So, with the property market now cooler than it has been over the past two years, these are the things you could consider adding to your home if you want to attract more buyers.

To find out how to install beautiful walk-in wardrobes, take a look at our guide on how to create the perfect walk-in wardrobe.

Top 20 Most Attractive Home Improvements For Homebuyers

1.	Downstairs toilet	26% (buyers more likely to buy if a property had this)
2.	Ensuite bathroom	25%
3.	Utility Room	25%
4.	New kitchen	23%
5.	Solar panels	21%
6.	New bathroom	20%
7.	Walk-in wardrobe	19%
8.	Landscaped garden	19%
9.	New windows	17%
10.	Patio doors (e.g. bi fold) to garden)	17%
11.	Outdoor entertaining area	17%
12.	Broken plan space	15%
13.	New carpet	14%
14.	Loft conversion	14%
15.	Kitchen extension	14%
16.	Extra/new insulation	14%
17.	New conservatory	13%
18.	Kitchen pantry	12%
19.	New driveway	11%
20.	New front door	11%

Picture of an outdoor entertainment area on a patio

We teamed up with COAT to reveal which paint colours will be the most popular this year. By analysing sales data across their colour range, we can reveal that among the top 15 colours to see the biggest increase in demand, are shades of green, beige and taupe – proving beige is anything but bland.

Darlington (a deep green with yellow and grey undertones) is the paint colour that’s had the biggest rise in demand – shooting up by more than 1000% in the run up to 2023. Other greens in the ranking are Nomad (a dark olive green) and Detox (a cool blue green).

Well Grounded (a biscuit beige) has seen popularity increase by almost 200%. Duvet Day (a modern beige) and Kind Regards (a light green greige) also make the top 15. Elsewhere, colours like Mindful (an off white taupe) and Good Intentions (a pale taupe) reflect that increasing popularity of neutral tones and natural materials.

So, if you’re looking to revamp some of your rooms and redecorate this year – either as DIY, or with the help of a trusted tradesperson, these are the top 15 colours to consider.

The top 15 paint colours increasing in demand the most for 2023

1.	Darlington – (deep grey green)	+1078%
2.	The Record Store – (warm black)	+207%
3.	On Mute – (cool grey)	+183%
4.	Well Grounded – (biscuit beige)	+178%
5.	Mindful – (taupe off white)	+171%
6.	Good Intentions – (pale taupe)	+137%
7.	Nomad – (dark olive green)	+129%
8.	Sweatpants – (warm pale grey)	+99%
9.	Duvet Day – (modern beige)	+97%
10.	Screenshot – (pure white)	+95%
11.	Granny Chic – (bright pretty pink)	+92%
12.	Sunday Soul – (warm taupe)	+83%
13.	Detox – (clean blue green)	+79%
14.	Kind Regards – (light green griege)	+74%
15.	Pampas – (natural off white)	+67%

Picture of a bedroom with bed full of pillows and bedside lamps

To understand the home improvement jobs that homeowners want to prioritise in 2023, we looked into the jobs that they’re budgeting the most for this year. After a big rush to increase space in our homes to allow for home working, home schooling, and socialising at home, repurposing space will now be a big trend and a key area of opportunity for tradespeople in 2023.

As you’d expect, the usual staples like new kitchens and bathrooms make the list. But interestingly, homeowners are now also keen to create things like saunas, dog shower rooms, home massage rooms, walk-in wardrobes, playrooms and games rooms. In fact, homeowners are looking to spend more on installing dog showers this year than things like a new kitchen, creating a downstairs toilet and installing patio doors!

If you’re a homeowner and you’d like some dog shower inspiration, see our guide on what you need to know to install a dog shower.

For tradespeople who are thinking of expanding their skillset or advertising different jobs in their portfolio this year, these are the things that are high on homeowners’ wish lists this year.

Top 20 home improvement jobs that homeowners want to spend the most money on in 2023

1.	Extension	£27,157 (average planned spend)
2.	Loft space/room	£23,383
3.	Dog shower room	£17,650
4.	Annex	£16,942
5.	Sauna	£16,313
6.	Patio doors	£15,880
7.	Outdoor entertaining area	£15,365
8.	Home massage room	£15,278
9.	Home bar	£14,310
10.	New roof	£14,308
11.	Installing air conditioning	£13,283
12.	Downstairs toilet	£12,566
13.	Garden room	£12,500
14.	New driveway	£12,291
15.	Walk-in wardrobe	£12,224
16.	Playroom	£11,667
17.	Home gym	£11,179
18.	New kitchen	£11,114
19.	Games room	£10,392
20.	Outdoor kitchen	£10,112

To discover which jobs are increasing in popularity, and therefore provide great opportunities for tradespeople, we analysed the volume of different jobs posted by UK homeowners through Rated People in 2022 compared to 2021.

UK homeowners appear to be becoming more safety and security conscious, as seven of the top 20 jobs that experienced the biggest rise in demand are related to safety, security and accessibility. Cladding, electrical inspection condition reports, smoke alarm installation, disabled access and mobility service, fire alarm installation, carbon monoxide alarms installation, and security fencing have all seen demand spike ahead of 2023.

The undeniable need to live more sustainably is also influencing the home improvement jobs that saw demand increase the most. Electric car charging point installation rose by 169% and solar panels saw demand increase by 64% as more homeowners want to find ways to reduce their energy bills.

Top 20 home improvements that saw demand increase the most in 2022

1	Cladding	+743%
2	Electrical inspection condition	+404%
3	Repeat wheelie bin clean	+330%
4	Repeat garden maintenance	+305%
5	Suspended ceiling	+279%
6	Electric car charging point install	+169%
7	Smoke alarm installation	+92%
8	Disabled access and mobility	+83%
9	Solar panel installation	+64%
10	Fire alarm installation	+61%
11	Garage doors installation and repair	+49%
12	Electric boiler installation	+36%
13	Door replacement	+29%
14	Storage	+29%
15	Regular domestic house cleaning	+28%
16	Carbon monoxide alarms installation	+28%
17	Security fencing	+27%
18	Metal kitchen worktops	+25%
19	Kitchen tiling	+21%
20	Carpet cleaning	+18%

This year, it’s especially good news for painters, carpet fitters, gardeners, bathroom fitters and plasterers, because those trades feature in the top five jobs planned by the most UK homeowners in 2023.

Building storage will also be an area of opportunity this year – the research shows it’s just as much of a priority as a new kitchen for homeowners in 2023. Tiling, new driveways, loft conversions and new windows will also see big demand from homeowners this year.

Top 20 most popular home improvement jobs planned for 2023

1	Painting and decorating	34%
2	New carpet	19%
3	Garden landscaping	13%
4	New bathroom	12%
5	Plastering / rendering	10%
6	New storage	10%
7	Tiling	10%
8	New kitchen	10%
9	New wooden flooring	8%
10	New windows	8%
11	New front door	8%
12	New internal doors	7%
13	New driveway	6%
14	Outdoor entertaining area	6%
15	Multifunctional room	5%
16	Loft room / space	5%
17	Extension	5%
18	Home office	5%
19	Walk-in wardrobe	4%
20	Home gym	4%