What Are the Most Popular Home Renovations to Take on This Year?

There appears to have been something of a home renovation renaissance in the last few years. A combination of increased time spent at home and astronomical rises in house prices have seen homeowners focus more on improving their living spaces than ever before. Indeed, SGS Engineering carried out a survey of 2000 UK homeowners, which discovered that more than a third of respondents were planning to renovate their home in 2021 – equating to major renovation works in more than five million UK residences.

The manner in which these renovations take shape ranges in scope, from one-man DIY projects to full-scale contractor re-fits. Whether you’re using received wisdom and a set of DeWalt power tools to conduct your home renovations, or setting aside a budget for a professional team, your home improvement aspirations mirror a wider national push towards making our living spaces better. But which renovations are most popular according to the nation?

Kitchen

The same SGS Engineering survey found that the single most popular form of home renovation was the kitchen, with 40% of respondents who are actively seeking renovations choosing to upgrade their cooking space. There are numerous ways in which you can approach a kitchen, with basic improvements like new flooring and backsplash tiling making a world of difference to the space. With a little more money behind your belt, changing kitchen units for a sleeker set can utterly transform the room.

Bathroom

The next-closest home renovation in terms of popularity was the bathroom, with 38% of those renovating their home seeking to transform their bathing space. Once again, the range of possibilities for the bathroom is massive; re-tiling can bring a contemporary feel to the space, while replacing the bathroom suite entirely can revolutionise your bathing experience. While tiling work is undoubtedly skilled work, it is also possible to achieve professional results DIY – making it a useful way to renovate while keeping costs down.

Living Room

The third-most popular home renovation related to living spaces, which received 31% of the vote from homeowners anticipating renovation work. The living room is a less popular space to renovate by virtue of its relative lack of appliances; newer kitchen units and bathroom suites can increase a home’s value, where significant changes would be required for a living space in order to make a minimal return on investment.

Still, though, the space remains a relatively popular one to re-decorate. A coat of paint is often all it takes with a living room, but there are some unique opportunities to really make your mark in a renovation. Many older builds hide beautiful hardwood flooring beneath underlay and carpeting, meaning you could unearth a bespoke new floor for the cost of a skip, an electric sander and some floor varnish.