Charles Zsebik On What Google Searches Show us About Pandemic Renovation Trends

From April to June 2020, “home remodel” searches spiked on popular search engine sites. While Americans were stuck inside during the early months of 2020 thanks to social distancing protocols, many took advantage of their extra time at home to remodel and renovate. However, what surprised many industry experts was the fact that the remodeling projects families were choosing were in stark contrast to late 2019’s most popular renovations. Charles Zsebik, an experienced home renovator, has taken an interest in these new home renovation trends and hopes to share his findings with readers.

New Focus On Personal And Practical Spaces

It comes as no surprise that the number of hours people spend within their homes has exponentially grown since the start of the pandemic. While previously, people would venture outside of the home to go to work, school, gyms, and restaurants, the pandemic left people with a new focus on practical and multifunctional living spaces. According to Google searches, experts found:

- A spike in searches for “hobby room” in November 2020

- “Homeschool room ideas” searches were 3x greater than searches in 2015

- “Home office ideas” held a steady climb in March 2020 before peaking in August of that year

Appreciation for Outdoor Living Spaces

When COVID-19 social distancing protocols began in earnest, much of the United States was still experiencing cold winter temperatures and were not able to enjoy their home’s additional outdoor areas. According to 2020 google searches, the majority of Americans found their home’s indoor living space confining during the first months of the pandemic and hoped to expand into their outdoor area. As such, searches of “outdoor living” spiked in May of 2020 and were 33% higher than the search’s previous peaks within the past five years. Charles Zsebik states that, for many years, American interest in outdoor renovations has remained lower than other popular renovations; however, in 2020 many Americans searched for:

- Searches for “How to build a deck” peaked in May 2020

- “How to build an outdoor kitchen” searches rose throughout the summer of 2020

- Searches for “DIY fire pit” were two times higher than any year since 2015

Eco-Friendly Renovations

During the first few months of the pandemic, a large number of media sites were reporting on the improvements to the environment ecologists had seen since social distancing began. This reignited discussions on global warming and steps households can take to reduce their carbon footprint. This positively affected home renovation trends, and in 2020, we saw searches for eco-friendly modifications spike in the US. Some of the top searches for eco-renovations included:

- “Geothermal system” peaking in September 2020

- “Solar panel installation” searches peaking in July and August 2020

- “Recycled materials” and “smart green home” rose throughout all