With the pandemic leading people to spend more time at home, they are also spending more money on their homes, with homeware brands such as Ikea performing strongly in spite of the economies taking a massive hit during consecutive lockdowns.
Now Taskrabbit, the US online marketplace where you can find skilled labourers to do domestic tasks, has announced its forecast for what will be the major trends of the year ahead. These are predicted to combine both a love of luxury materials with renovated or carefully selected second hand pieces for a vintage vibe.
Furthermore, the group predicts that people will increasingly tap into thier own creative outlets, making modifications to homes themselves rather than always depending on professional services, RTBF reports.
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Fine primary materials are all the rage at the moment. Not only a feature in kitchens, surfaces throughout houses can now be found with solid stone tops – marble being particulalry popular. Many brands offer products in look-alike vinyl finishes but Taskrabbit reports that consumers have a growing appetite for the real McCoy with demand for marble up 34%.
Similarly, the platform has seen demand for gold go up 13% and terrazzo – a composite of fragments of stone or glass set in cement – up 36%.
Brussels is well known for its bric-a-brac shops and markets, such as this one on Place Jeu de Balle. Credit: Orlando Whitehead
DIY is also becoming increasingly common as individuals get stuck in with their own home improvements. This ranges from smaller "upcycling" projects (where items are given a new lease of live with a bit of cleaning and maintenance) to larger works such as insulating houses better.
These are two examples of how many people are becoming more environmentally conscious and decide not to buy the latest upgraded appliances but prolong the lifespan of those that they have already. Taskrabbit notes that window insulation works have soared since the pandemic with many seeing the benefits in savings on energy bills at a time when energy prices are at record highs.
Growing your own vegetables might have started for many as a curiosity of the confinement period but the hobby seems to have caught on, with more and more online discussion about how to grow herbs and vegetables at home.
Those without gardens haven't been held back, finding often creative solutions to cultivate their own produce. Credit: Canva
Other slightly more ambitious, albeit less common, home projects include making space specific for pets and installing fireplaces or woodburners – although the latter do have highly detrimental effects on the environment.
