With each new year, many of us look to change ourselves, and sometimes we achieve those goals. Rarely, however, do we resolve to make this the year we change our interior design in preparation for moving on. With furniture and furnishings store sales coming to $98.23 billion in the U.S., perhaps this year we should. Let’s take a look at the environment so we can better prepare for our interior design dreams.
If you’re looking to accomplish a home remodel, it would be wise to carefully plan what rooms deserve an updated look before deciding on which interior design services you need. Considering the whole house? Then you may be surprised to learn that only 35% of remodeling jobs involved the whole home (i.e., whole home renovations). Looking around you may notice that furniture is usually the third most expensive thing we regularly buy, after the whole house itself and a car, so investing in every room may be too far out of the budget. What one or two rooms should we focus on then?
Recently a National Association of Home Builders survey revealed that the most common remodeling job requested in the U.S. is for the bathroom (78%), whereas the second most is the kitchen (69%). This matches what is seen on Houzz, a website dedicated to home design and related services. Houzz recently reported that more than half of homeowners renovated their homes in 2014, and the survey showed that 60% planned to remodel their master bathroom. The kitchen is likely a frequent request because thrifty interior designers know that a minor kitchen remodel has an average return on investment of 82.7%. If taking on the task of planning out a whole interior redesign of your favorite room is too much, though, there are plenty of other options for updating you home’s look.
Before you start shopping in a furniture store or gathering insight into interior design trends from a modern furniture gallery, perhaps you should consider updating your floors first. With about 54% of future buyers willing to pay more for a home with hardwood floors, there’s good reason to consider where your new furniture rests. As for that new furniture, many stay-at-home parents can attest that the typical lifespan of a sofa is only 7-15 years. With that in mind, consider updating the seating as late in the process as possible to allow it to keep its fresh new look.
Considering 53% of us have updated our home decor in the last four years, and about 91% of us in the last nine years, it’s little wonder why many continue to keep current on interior design services. Updating the interior, whether the whole place, one room, or one piece of furniture, can be a satisfying goal. Not only can this keep your spaces comfortable and eye-catching, but it can actually improve your overall quality of life. If you’re looking to make a fresh start this year, then investing in interior design services is one resolution that is easy to live with.