The emerging interior and garden design trends for summer 2023 have been identified in a new report from the home renovation and design platform, Houzz.co.uk
The insights are based on year-over-year growth in UK-based searches on Houzz from January-March 2023 versus January-March 2022, made by homeowners, designers, and renovation professionals.
The trends identified in the 2023 Houzz UK Emerging Summer Trends Report, identify a revival of 1970s interiors and vintage décor, a desire to create separate spaces in our homes, keep energy-related costs down and have a wildlife-friendly garden.
Let’s take a look at the main interior design trends for 2023.
Kitchen trends 2023
Early new trends are often indicated by our kitchens, and there’s been an increase in searches for industrial-style kitchens – up by 99%. Incredibly functional with easy-to-clean surfaces, they’re an ideal choice for families and busy households. Searches for associated materials like ‘stainless steel worktop/splashback’, ‘exposed beams’, and ‘open kitchen shelving’ have more than doubled, underlining the big trend for kitchens with a more commercial feel.
Searches up by %:
- Stainless steel worktop/splashback – 179%
- Exposed beams – 166%
- Open kitchen shelving – 136%
- Industrial kitchen – 99%
- Polished concrete – 23%
Interior design trends for 1970s revival
The rich colours and textures of 1970s interiors have been influencing us for a while now, but this summer they’re set to really dominate. Searches for ‘eclectic’ and ‘retro’ design inspiration have doubled, as have searches for ‘mustard yellow sofa’, ‘dark wood flooring’, and ‘quirky wallpaper’ as interior design adopts a more decorative element. A desire to evoke feelings of less turbulent times is perhaps demonstrated by renewed interest in some of the more extreme 1970s home décor trends; for instance, searches for ‘sunken bath’ have doubled.
Searches up by %:
- Orange – 259%
- Eclectic – 157%
- Mustard yellow sofa – 139%
- Dark wood flooring – 132%
- Sunken bath – 117%
- Retro – 109%
- Quirky wallpaper – 99%
Contemporary wildlife gardens
We clearly want to create contemporary living space outdoors: searches for ‘contemporary patios’ are up a staggering 21 times and searches for ‘outdoor decor items’ and ‘outdoor living/dining’ both increased by more than half. There’s also interest in attracting wildlife to our gardens and growing vegetables as we seek to reconnect to the natural world: searches for ‘railway sleeper beds’ and ‘wildlife garden’ rose by over five times and ‘vegetable garden’ and ‘ponds’ also rose by 61% and 29% respectively.
Searches up by %:
- Contemporary patios – 2,061%
- Railway sleeper beds – 498%
- Wildlife garden – 423%
- Outdoor decor items – 95%
- Outdoor living/dining – 61%
- Vegetable garden – 61%
- Ponds – 29%
Interior trends for separating rooms
Another rising search trend is for room dividers, as our long-held preference for open-plan living wanes. Glazing is proving to be a popular choice among homeowners who want to create separate spaces that still feel connected, with searches for ‘internal glass window’ and ‘internal glass door’ both up significantly year over year.
Searches up by %:
- Kitchen peninsula – 136%
- Internal glass window – 77%
- Partition wall – 51%
- Room divider – 47%
- Internal glass door – 39%
Interior design trends for vintage, colour and character
A trend for creating unique spaces in our homes has been identified: searches for ‘vintage decor items’ spiked by more than six times compared to the same period last year and ‘William Morris pattern’ also saw a significant increase. Searches for ‘secret door’ more than doubled, and more people searched for ‘colourful rooms’ and ‘wall art’. There’s still a strong trend for cottage-style interiors with their focus on pattern, colour and vintage items.
Searches up by %:
- Vintage decor items – 569%
- William Morris pattern – 144%
- Secret door – 140%
- Country cottage interiors – 136%
- Kitchen dresser – 129%
- Colourful rooms – 98%
- Wall art – 57%
Climate and energy crises influence sustainable design
The 2023 UK Houzz & Home Study highlighted the increased focus on energy efficiency, with almost half of homeowners citing it as highly important when renovating: this number has risen sharply since 2020. With a changing climate coupled with rising energy prices, it’s perhaps unsurprising that searches on Houzz mirror these findings, with ‘insulation’, ‘heat pump’, and ‘solar panels’ all increasing year on year (up 100%, 99%, and 28%, respectively). ‘External cladding’, which not only improves the appearance of a house but also helps to provide further insulation, rose by a third. Sustainable design is set to become more important in the design world over the coming year.
Searches up by %:
- Insulation – 100%
- Heat pump – 99%
- External cladding – 32%
- Solar panels – 28%
Home décor trends for 2023 include hobby rooms
We are spending more time on our hobbies, and making a dedicated space for them is a priority for many homeowners: searches for creative spaces like ‘sewing room’, are up an impressive two and a half times, and ‘workshop’ and ‘craft room’ searches are also rising significantly this year. ‘Music studio’ and ‘reading nook’ both rose by more than a third and ‘bike storage’ solutions are in demand.
Searches up by %:
- Sewing room – 179%
- Workshop – 82%
- Craft room – 75%
- Bike storage – 70%
- Music studio – 45%
- Reading nook – 33%
Design trends for luxurious bathrooms
Always a key room to upgrade, more than a quarter of renovating homeowners improved their bathrooms in 2022, according to the 2023 UK Houzz & Home Study. Warm, comforting spaces that promote a sense of well being are sought after: the search term ‘rustic bathroom’ has shot up by more than five times. Showers are continuing to rise in popularity over baths, with searches for ‘shower enclosures’ quadrupling and ‘shower niche’ up 77%.
Searches up by %:
- Rustic bathroom – 444%
- Shower enclosures – 318%
- Luxury bathroom – 109%
- Shower niche – 77%
- Spa bathroom – 61%
- Bathroom lighting – 55%
Increased popularity of hosting guests
Welcoming guests to stay in our homes is becoming more popular: Brits are feeling sociable, with searches for ‘guest bathroom’ and ‘extendable dining table’ more than tripling compared to the same period last year and searches for ‘Murphy bed’ (a wall bed, folding or storage bed), more than doubled.
Searches up by %:
- Guest bathroom – 290%
- Extendable dining table – 283%
- Murphy bed – 179%
- Guest room – 91%
Restore and repair
According to the 2023 UK Houzz & Home Study, 47% of the surveyed homeowners live in homes built in 1940 or earlier, and preserving the character of these buildings is a high priority among homeowners on Houzz. The search terms ‘listed building’ and ‘Georgian house’ shot up two and a half times and two times respectively, and ‘Victorian terrace’ increased by more than half.
Restoring and repairing period details and decor is becoming more important, with searches for ‘furniture repair’ shooting up by nine and a half times. Searches for specific architectural details in period properties, such as ‘ceiling rose’, also saw a spike.
Searches up by %:
- Furniture repair – 877%
- Listed building – 151%
- Georgian house – 107%
- Victorian terrace – 56%
- Ceiling rose – 39%
Home décor trends include kerb appeal
House proud owners are paying attention to their home’s exterior appearance: front doors are clearly in the spotlight, with searches for ‘double front doors’ rising by an impressive six and a half times, and ‘modern front door’ rising by four and a half times. An appreciation that first impressions count is underlined by the increasing popularity of searches for ‘timber cladding’, ‘grey windows’, ‘porches’, and ‘front garden’ (up 89%, 74%, 50%, and 48%, respectively), while searches for ‘bin cover solution’ saw a massive six and a half times increase.
Searches up by %:
- Double front doors – 551%
- Bin cover solution – 364%
- Modern front door – 353%
- Timber cladding – 89%
- Grey windows – 74%
- Porches – 50%
- Front garden – 48%
Comfortable and cosy living rooms
The Houzz report reveals that the way that a home feels is just as important as how it looks: searches for ‘cosy’ have more than tripled compared to the same period last year. It’s clear that homeowners want to create welcoming spaces – organic shapes are popular and searches for ‘beige sofa’ are up by a massive nine times; searches for ‘armchair’, ‘neutral colour schemes’, and ‘curved sofa’ are also rising while searches for ‘carpet’ are up by 69%.
Searches up by %:
- Beige sofa – 806%
- Cosy – 253%
- Armchair – 178%
- Neutral colour schemes – 124%
- Curved sofa – 109%
- Carpet – 69%
Final thoughts on interior design trends 2023
Making our homes look good on the outside and feel welcoming on the inside is clearly high on many people’s agendas. Home décor trends in recent years have seen a growing interest in raw materials, sustainable materials and furniture design with a modern interpretation.
While today’s big issues of climate change and high energy bills are driving design trends for energy efficiency and wildlife-friendly gardens, there’s also a clear desire to live in homes that are functional and reflect our individual personality, and we are happy to put time and money into creating them.
