The isle of style: what the UK thinks about interior design

Just like fashion, interior design tastes are forever changing. In this exclusive TK Maxx survey, we explored modern Britain’s home decor likes and dislikes. Here’s what we discovered:

- ‘Contemporary’ is the most popular interior design style in the UK – chosen by 14% of respondents. Top of the table was Birmingham, where 20% selected this option
- Instagram is the most popular social media platform for interior design inspiration – chosen by 44% of people we surveyed. But among Gen-Z, the top answer was TikTok (53%)
- ‘Minimalist’ home interior design is most popular in Brighton (18%) while Leeds is the capital of ‘traditional’ styling (19%)
- Greater London is where people are most likely to say sustainability is “very important” (37%) when they shop for home decor
- On average, the UK public make new home decor purchases every 16 months. Among 16 to 24-year-olds, the average was just 7 months

Contemporary is king

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, whether we’re looking for fabrics, furniture or those finishing homeware touches, most of us have a personal vision of what our homes should look like.

In our survey, almost 1 in 5 (19%) people expressed no preferences on styling a home. However, we discovered that most Brits have an eye for design. And while many people are traditionalists are heart, for the rest of us, there’s no time like the present.

While ‘contemporary’ was the most popular response overall – meaning sleek lines and neutral colours – this preference was actually driven by the older generations.

People aged 45 to 54 were most likely (17%) to prefer ‘contemporary’ interior design styles, compared to just 10% of 16 to 24-year-olds, who were likelier to opt for ‘minimalist’ (13%) and ‘coastal’ (13%) aesthetics.

But while ‘contemporary’ was the most common answer across the country as a whole, there were pockets of popularity for each home decor style.

As the results show, Brummies are most likely to embrace modern interior design trends, while traditional home decor styles tend to find favour in Leeds. Niche styles like 1930s-inspired Art Deco are most popular in Glasgow.

Across the regions more broadly, 1 in 4 people (25%) in the East Midlands said they ‘don’t have a preferred style’ – the highest of any region. In Greater London it was the opposite, where just 13% said they have no interior design style preferences.

Style in the social age

In previous generations, word of mouth – or flicking through glossy mags – were some of the main sources of interior design inspiration. But as our survey shows, many Brits are now keen to get home decor ideas at the touch of a button.

When creating the perfect home interior, there’s no shortage of people having their imagination sparked online. And this trend has a big age split. Almost half (49%) of 16 to 24-year-olds said their interior design decisions are shaped by social media and online influencers, while just 10% of people over 55 said the same.

Additionally, females were more likely than males – 35% versus 19% – to cite the importance of social media and influencers.

But where specifically are people getting their design ideas from? Among those who said they gain inspiration from social media, here’s what they told us.

While people are most likely to use Instagram when dreaming up design ideas, this is by no means universal.

- Males were more likely than females to say ‘YouTube’ – 52% versus 30%
- Females were more likely than males to say ‘Pinterest’ – 40% versus 18%
- Males were three times more likely than females to say ‘Twitter’ – 16% versus 5%

There were also different responses across the generations.

- 53% of 16 to 24-year-olds get their home design inspiration from TikTok, compared with just 10% of people aged over 55
- In comparison, 59% of over-55s use Facebook for interior design inspiration – just 17% of 16 to 24-year-olds do the same
- As for millennials, Instagram is the dominant social source – 54% of people across a wide age category (25-34 and 35-44) opt for Insta when freshening up their home

Design for our times

The world never stands still, and the way we think about interior design can reflect our changing circumstances. Whether we’re living at home with parents, renting a flat or renovating a house, our homeware habits can change as time goes on.

And while 40% of respondents said their home decor taste hasn’t changed recently, Gen-Z bucked the trend – just 16% of 16 to 24-year-olds agreed that their tastes have remained static.

In fact, it’s not just furnishing a property that matters to people – but protecting the planet.

Overall, over half (58%) of people cited sustainability as important to them when shopping for home decor.

Greater London was the region where people were most likely to say sustainability is “very important” (37%) when they shop for home decor. Meanwhile, Birmingham was the city where people were most likely to say that sustainability is either somewhat or very important (67%) when buying home decor.

In terms of age, younger participants were generally more likely to say that sustainable shopping is important when furnishing a home, reaching a high of 69% among 25 to 34-year-olds.

Finally, the UK public make new home decor purchases every 16.3 months on average, but among 16 to 24-year-olds the figure was just 7.22 months. Priorities change, but young people are some of the biggest trend-setters when it comes to shaking up their homeware.

Home sweet homeware

Luckily, TK Maxx is the place to be for amazing homeware deals. From bathroom essentials to bedding sets, we’ll help you put the finishing touches on your crash pad and create a beautiful living space that reflects who you are.