Design preferences vary widely based on personal style, inspiration sources, and valued characteristics. However, how do these preferences differ across age groups, regions, and other demographic factors?
To find out, TK Maxx surveyed over 2,000 individuals across the UK to explore the nation’s current home décor trends.
Most Popular Styles
While it’s no surprise most Brits prefer home design – the survey revealed ‘contemporary’ is the most popular design choice, selected by 14% of respondents. This was closely followed by Minimalist (13%) style, and the least popular style was ‘Industrial’ (3%). However, TK Maxx’s survey did find that 1 in 5 (19%) Brits don’t have a preference on the way they style their home.
Interestingly, respondents aged 45-54 were the most likely to say they preferred a ‘contemporary’ interior design style (17%), with only 10% of 16–24-year-olds saying the same. The survey found that 16–24-year-olds were most likely to say they prefer a ‘minimalist’ and ‘coastal’ style, with 13% of the age group choosing these options.
Where Inspiration Hits
The most likely place for people to gain inspiration for their interior design is ‘social media or influencers’, with over a quarter (28%) of respondents saying this. Trailing closely behind was ‘TV shows about home improvements’ (26%), ‘home improvement stores’ (25%) and ‘friends and family’ (25%).
Diving deeper into social media, Instagram was the top platform in which people used to spark inspiration from, with 44% of people saying this, and in close second the next top platform was Facebook (43%), followed by YouTube (40%) and Pinterest (30%).
There were, of course, stark gender and age differences in the response to this question, 53% of 16–24-year-olds has got their home décor inspiration from TikTok, compared to only 10% of those over 55. On the other hand, Facebook was more popular with the over 55 age group (59%) than 16–24-year-olds (17%). To nobody’s surprise Instagram is the most popular platform with millennials, with 54% of respondents in the 25-34 and 35-44 age categories saying this.
Changing Trends
Home décor trends may not be as fickle as fashion, but there are similarities in their cycles. Overall, 40% of respondents said their home décor had not changed recently, but only 16% of 16–24-year-olds said the same.
When asked how frequently they refresh the décor in their home with new purchases, the average response was every 16.3 months, and 43% of respondents said they do it ‘once a year’. The frequency vastly differed between age groups, with 16–24-year-olds saying an average of every 7.2 months, and over 55-year-olds saying averagely every 23.64 months.
Sustainable Décor
58% of all respondents said sustainability in their home décor was important (net), and 20% said it was ‘neither important nor unimportant’. Those in Greater London were most likely to say that sustainability is ‘very important’, when shopping for home décor, with 37% of those from this region saying this.
In general, younger participants were more likely to prioritise sustainability when shopping for home décor, reaching a peak of 69% among 25–34-year-olds.