The home improvement industry was one of the few industries that were busy during the onset of the pandemic when most of us were taking it slow. According to the U.S. Census Bureau report, hardware stores and home centers saw a 22.6% increase in demand for products ranging from home decorations to gardening tools, as well as masonry, flooring, and sandblasting services.
Many homeowners started becoming more interested in improving their homes during the first three months of the lockdowns. It’s likely because they have more time in their hands, and they know that they will be spending more time at home and noticed the parts of their houses that needed to be fixed.
Another reason for the surge in the interest in home improvement projects is the children being at home for most of 2020. Having nowhere and no one else to play with since most parks were closed made their parents decide to create a play area for the kids.
And as the crisis continues, it seems like the home renovation trend isn’t stopping any time soon as 71% of homeowners claimed they would continue their home improvement projects.
The Most Renovated Parts Of The House During the COVID-19 Era
From June to September 2020, the number of home improvement-related Google searches was around 330 million, a 50% increase from the previous year. These searches include home renovation ideas, YouTube tutorials, online shopping, and construction services.
The amount of money that each homeowner spent on their pandemic home improvement projects averaged $8,305. Most families did some renovations to their decks, porches, fences, and roofs. Many homeowners also spent time painting the exterior of their houses.
Besides those, here are the other parts of the house that were renovated, remodeled, and redecorated by a considerable number of American homeowners:
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Kitchen
In 2020, 22.6% of homeowners did some renovations to their kitchens. It’s not a big surprise since it is a part of the house where many homeowners feel happy.
Many food trends also started during the pandemic — from trying new recipes to baking pastries and preparing healthier meals — which may have also made many homeowners more interested in renovating their kitchens. After all, it would always be more satisfying and exciting to do our food projects in a homey kitchen.
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Yard
Landscaping has seen the most significant increase in interest among Americans from 2019 to 2020 as 24% of households did yard work projects. They did not just do a simple lawn mowing job; they also got into gardening. During the pandemic, many trends started, and gardening is one of them. It looks like it’s a trend that’s not going away soon, as most homeowners said they would likely continue gardening and remodeling their outdoor spaces. We have to impress all of our neighbors, of course.
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Flooring
It seems like installing new flooring was one of the most popular home renovation projects for many homeowners, as 25.8% of households did this. It looks like a lot of hard work, but it seems worth it if it diverted people’s attention from the ongoing crisis. After that, they also had a new floor to walk on to. It sounds like it was a good project and distraction after all.
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Bathroom
A total of 30.9% of American households renovated their bathrooms in 2020. It mainly included changing the tiles, changing the curtains, fixing the plumbing and the showerhead, and adding a few decorations. Who wouldn’t want to spend a few minutes taking a hot bath in a nicer-looking bathroom away from all the stress of the world?
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Walls
The wall is on the top spot among the parts of the house that American homeowners spent time and money in renovating and redecorating. Around 34.5% either painted their walls a different color and some changed the wallpapers. After that, many homeowners decided to hang some wall decors like tapestries, family photos, and framed art. It is indeed a good decision because bare walls could be a little boring.
From a House To a Home
Since a big reset in the way many people think started because of the pandemic, we are now in an era where we are learning to focus on the places we usually didn’t much attention to, our houses.
COVID-19 has reshaped the home improvement industry and many other aspects of our world, including our lifestyles. The way we see our houses also changed. It’s become more than just a place where we eat and sleep. Now, it’s the place where we spend most of our time. It’s a place where we live; it has become a home.
