by Final installment of exclusive research for the 2nd half also provides a window into preferred color palettes for various rooms
HIGH POINT — Our latest installment of Consumer Insights Now published this past Monday takes a look at consumer style preferences and other home design trends that help define the look of today’s modern homes.
Fielded between late June and early July, the report surveyed nearly 1,900 consumers of different age groups, generations and ethnicities to get a glimpse of what types of furniture they are looking to buy in the second half.
This installment asked about style preferences across those diverse demographics and also how consumers decorate their homes overall — whether a single style throughout the home or a variation of styles by room.
The most popular aesthetic was minimalist designs, favored by 46% of those surveyed, followed by modern farmhouse, favored by 22% of respondents. The next most popular design trends were coastal and midcentury modern favored by 20% and 15% respectively, and maximalist, favored by 15%. Contemporary and industrial styles were tied at 13%, followed by rustic and traditional, 11% and 10% respectively.
The survey digs deeper into style preferences by age as show in the graphic below.
Perhaps as significant was how people tended to apply styles throughout the home. For example, 48% of those surveyed prefer a consistent style theme throughout the home, compared to 52% who chose a variation of styles by room. Notably, those under 35 prefer a consistent style throughout the home, compared to a majority of those over 35 who preferred a variation of styles by room.
Another key takeaway is that most of those surveyed preferred white and neutral tones in their living rooms, family rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms. These preferences were fairly consistent between age groups as were the popularity of browns, blues and greens.
Here is a further breakdown of the color preferences:
+ For the family room and den, neutral tones and whites were favored by half of those surveyed, followed by browns (11%), blues (10%) and greens (5%).
+ For the living room, 55% prefer neutral tones and whites, followed by blues (14%), browns (12%) and greens (6%).
+ For the dining room, neutral tones and whites were preferred by 52% of those surveyed, followed by browns (13%), blues (9%) and greens (7%).
+ For the primary bedroom, neutral tones and whites were preferred by 49% of those surveyed, followed by blues (17%), browns (8%) and greens (6%), which also was tied with black tones (6%).
+ Other more colorful tones such as reds, yellows, purples and pinks fell mostly in the low to mid-single digits.
Other key takeaways were as follows:
+ 32% of furniture shoppers say it’s important to stay up to date on home design trends, with millennials ages 27-42 being among those most likely to pay attention to these trends.
+ One out of three Gen Z consumers follow furniture retailers on social media and 20% follow furniture brands on social media.
+ 46% of consumers learn of design trends through HGTV, while 43% learn about these trends through family and friends. Some 39% learn of trends by watching shows other than HGTV.
+ 38% learn of design trends by visiting the websites of furniture retailers, and 32% visit the websites of furniture manufacturers to gather such information.
+ 26% follow home design influencers on social media, and 19% read home decorating blogs online.
The survey also reveals consumer sentiments about the use of flowers and candles to decorate and consumers’ plans to purchase decorative accessories and wall décor between now and the end of the year.
As always, we hope this data proves useful to retailers and suppliers alike by providing a road map on what’s of interest to consumers and how to decorate your showrooms and stores accordingly. By having such insight, we hope your businesses will be well positioned to succeed not only for the balance of the year, but also into the new year and beyond.
