NEWPORT NEWS—Ferguson recently commissioned a consumer study to better understand how the covid-19 pandemic impacted trends in home renovation and updates.
G&S Business Communications fielded the online survey of 1,108 adults in the United States, ages 18 and over. The sample was balanced for age and gender using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to better reflect the demographics of the United States.
It’s not surprising that the results show the living room became the focus of the home during the pandemic. This was either because family members gathered there during times of quarantine to spend time together, eat, and/or watch television or play games. However, a large number of respondents stated it was because this is where they set up their home offices. Other spaces of the home that were converted to home offices included an existing home office, the bedroom, other space converted specifically for a home office, kitchen, any place a laptop could be used, basement, outdoor space, any place away from the kids.
Setting up a home office also led to changes in lighting. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they updated lighting so they could see their workspace or computer better. Another 22 percent said they did so to look better on video calls.
While the living room became the focal point of homes during the pandemic, when asked what specific areas of the home people wanted to update based on being forced to spend more time at home, the top three answers were kitchen, bathroom, and an outdoor space. Living room was the fourth highest answer.
Sixty-four percent of Americans made some kind of update to their home during the pandemic. However, the top overall response when asked why updates were made, thirty-six percent said they didn’t make any renovations at all. For those that did make changes, the next two top answers were, “I was tired of my home’s current style,” and “I needed to make changes for better functionality.”
While some people are now returning to work outside the home again, new strains and outbreaks of the covid-19 virus could eventually lead to another quarantine period. For those who have been considering an upgrade to their home office for greater ease and efficiency, now may be a good time to consider making changes.