With COVID-19 restrictions all over the world and travel to elsewhere being cancelled, people are left with no choice but to spend the money they earn working from home on their homes. Home renovations all over the country are on the rise as the government’s stimulus packages for that exact purpose are doled out. The home renovation industry nationwide has recently seen approval for home renovations worth $1 billion in total.
The ballooning number of renovations are caused by most people continuing their work from home set-up and, as a result, are spending more time at home. There is a prominent desire to improve their environment to meet their needs and avoid leaving their homes. Home spas, new rooms as entertainment centres, and refreshing outdoor spaces are helping people cope with the fact they’re not allowed to leave.
Another standard adaptive measure everyone all over the world has taken is a do-it-yourself attitude. People were forced to stay at home for their safety. They learned to make do without the services they were used to on the way to and after work. They also had to provide the service to themselves. People cut their own hair, made their own bread, and blended their own fruit shakes. The do-it-yourself phenomenon has increased personal spending as people purchased equipment that would have been otherwise found in, say, a barbershop.
Furthermore, with heightened travel restrictions, many opted to spend their trip fares and allowance on renovations instead so that they could feel and see a change of scenery.
Different Renovation Ideas amid the Pandemic
People used home renovations on exercise rooms so that they would not have to leave their homes to maintain their habits. Purchases of personal exercise equipment would have risen during the pandemic.
Kitchen renovations were also common during the pandemic, probably due to more people cooking their own food instead of eating out. It would have provided some comfort to homeowners in seeing a brand-new kitchen, encouraging people to become more creative in what they can prepare for themselves and their families.
Other common renovations were transforming spare rooms into home offices or making home offices more conducive to work. With more people working from home (and intending to do so even once restrictions are lifted), dedicated workspaces at home have become a necessity. This is because the environment in which employees performed their tasks correlates to their productivity. A less stressful work environment allows for a clearer recall of memory, better creativity, and an overall higher chance of productivity. The employees will be set in their behaviour to work in that particular part of the room.
Another direction towards which the stimulus funds were headed was bathroom renovations. People could no longer leave their homes to experience a stress-free spa, so they made their own at home. They also bought a bathroom vanity from sales to see something new in the only bathroom they were going to be using for the entirety of the pandemic. Cleaner lines and a minimalist design for the bathroom renovations have been on trend since last year.
Lastly, people also invested in paint jobs for their homes. Again, different aesthetics for their homes are set to affect their mindsets, as seeing a brand new colour scheme can change how they feel and behave. Paint jobs can also help relieve specific psychological and health issues, such as removing a colour that stimulates depression or higher heart rates. For example, blue light reduces heart rates, while red light was found to increase heart rates.
Changing for the Better
Even though it has ultimately been a challenging year for everyone, the rise in home renovations will increase the overall value of their homes. Aside from having newly designed areas in their home for some relaxation or some deep focus at work, the ongoing renovations are an investment in Australia’s housing market. It will also help to provide jobs to construction companies and increase the spending of homeowners on new furniture and fixtures in their homes.
All in all, the HomeBuilder program’s goal to help construction workers, especially the smaller businesses, seems to have worked. The industry is booming during the pandemic, and the companies no longer have to be rid of their employees. Involvements in construction can keep citizens less frantic about the current situation because they will be busy minding the progress of their renovations. A billion dollars this month could well be the peak of the expenditures on home renovations, or it could be an indicator of what’s to come.
