How Houseproud are you?

We conducted a survey to discover the importance of home...

We recently surveyed over 2,000 Brits to discover how people's relationships with their homes have changed because of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Within our homes we worked, we played, we’ve become teachers, reconnected with our friends and family in new ways, embraced technology and learned new skills, a new way to live.

We discovered that our home really is our castle and we should continue to enhance our homes and prioritise the improvements that will make the most impact on our lives, all year round. Anything that improves our mood, wellbeing and the way we interact as a family should be top of the agenda.

Hover over the circular buttons below to discover the results from our survey...

The time homeowners are spending improving their homes has DOUBLED over the past three months.

Prior to the lockdown, house proud Brits would spend an average of four hours and 44 minutes making their residences perfect.

But this figure has now rocketed to a whopping eight hours and 21 minutes a month since the introduction of recent measures.

Despite their efforts, the study of 2,000 adults, commissioned by Independent Network powered by VEKA found, they are still five years and five months away from getting their homes ‘just right.’

It also emerged 14 per cent have a ‘vision’ of how they want their house to look - including the furnishings they’ll buy, what the décor will be and even how the windows will look.

A spokeswoman for Independent Network powered by VEKA, said: “The research shows just how much of a priority our homes are at this moment in time.

“We’ve always been a house proud nation but clearly this love for our homes has increased dramatically in a relatively short period of time.

“With us spending more time at home  perhaps the nation is finally getting time to get their homes up to the standard they would like.

Three quarters of homeowners described themselves as house proud, with 71 per cent adding that their homes are more important to them now than ever before.

Fifty-four per cent said they were more motivated to improve their homes at this particular moment in time.

This is not only reflected in the time spent working on their dwellings – it’s also reflected in the money spent.

Homeowners have gone from spending an average of £98 a month on improving their homes prior to the lockdown to £181 a month now.

And there is no sign this drive to finish off their homes will slow anytime soon – 85 per cent still have jobs they want to get done this year.

Among them are painting walls and ceilings, giving the garden a revamp and getting the living room done.

Further to this, 43 per cent admit they are a perfectionist when it comes to their homes – and won’t stop until their house ‘spot on’.

Although, 39 per cent don’t think their residences will ever be truly finished.

But this isn’t to say those polled are not content with their homes as they are – 70 per cent said as much.

In fact, those polled even have favourite parts of their homes, with a fifth claiming to be most proud of their bathroom.

However, the living room is the area of the home they are most proud of, followed by the kitchen and the garden.

Four in 10 admitted they are so proud of their homes they ‘can’t wait’ to invite people over as restrictions are reduced – so they can give them a grand tour of all the improvements they’d made.

The Independent Network powered by VEKA study carried out through OnePoll also explored the typical life cycle of different areas of the home.

On average, master bedrooms get redecorated every five and a half years, bathrooms every six years and three months, while windows tend to get replaced every eight years.

The garden gets a revamp after five, the kitchen after six years and four months, and the living room after five years and four months.

The spokeswoman for Independent Network powered by VEKA added: “For many of us, our homes are constantly evolving – whether that’s changing the décor, the layout of rooms, having new windows installed or whatever it might be.

“And that’s very much what makes owning a home so much fun – seeing your plans come to fruition and being able to step back be delighted at the work done.

“And that’s exactly how we want our customers to feel when they use our services.”