This Is the One Product People Buy the Most When Renovating

If you’ve ever undergone a home renovation, you know it involves making a lot of purchases. And in recent years, the median spends on projects has gone up. According to Houzz’s newly released 2024 U.S. Houzz & Home Study, that amount has increased exponentially over the past three years—a 60% jump between 2020 ($15,000) and 2023 ($24,000). Additionally, more than half of renovating homeowners spent $25,000 or more on renovations, a 37% increase from 2020. 

The study found that kitchens and bathrooms are the most popular rooms targeted for renovations. But what exactly are people buying for these renovations? Well, according to Houzz, the most popular purchase is paint. The study found that 64% of homeowners bought paint for their projects in 2023, which is actually 4 points lower than in 2022. Light fixtures came in second (52%), faucets and shower heads in third place (49%), lawn and garden supplies in fourth (43%), and building materials in fifth (43%).

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Interestingly, major kitchen appliance purchases dropped by 4 percentage points in 2023, while solar panel purchases remained stable at 3%. When it comes to smart home devices, the study found that smart lighting declined from 17% in 2022 to 13% in 2023, but the share of homeowners who installed smart thermostats grew by 4 percentage points in 2023. And there’s a big interest in smart outdoor security cameras that can be controlled via a phone—25% of homeowners installed them.

Once the renovations are complete, then it’s time to decorate, and the Houzz study looked at decor purchases, too. It turns out that homeowners bought decor items less frequently in 2023 than in 2022, similar to home improvement purchases. Houzz found that the highest share declines were for indoor decor—small furniture (39%, dropping 14 percentage points), large furniture (37%, dropping 13 percentage points), and storage and organization solutions (33%, dropping 12 percentage points). The top interior decor purchase in 2023 was rugs, then pillow & throws and artwork.

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Outside decor saw a drop, too, with large furniture and fire features down by 7 and 6 percentage points, respectively. Outdoor lighting remained stable, though, and outdoor rugs and artwork purchases even grew by 1 and 3 percentage points, respectively. 

To compile these stats, Houzz surveyed 33,830 registered Houzz users (over 18 years old and homeowners) regarding trends in home and improvement design between January 19 and February 27, 2024. You can see the full report here.