Keeping up with the (Continental) neighbours

Germans are the most capable, the Turkish are the least confident and the French are the champions at spending… on DIY. What about the UK and Ireland? We are the keenest gardeners.

Our Continental neighbours are discovering the joys of "do it yourself" and, at home or in the garden, are going at it hammer and nail, thus feeding changes across the Eurozone in home improvement, according to a recent European Home Report by Kingfisher, owner of B&Q, the UK’s largest home improvement retailer.

Modern Europeans are, at last, following in the footsteps of the UK, where tinkering with home and garden has become a leisure activity. But as with every market, each country has its strengths and styles when it comes to home improvement.

81% of people in the UK and Ireland say they would be happy to take on gardening jobs, while the Polish are confident DIY plumbers (21%). Apart from painting and decorating (53%) and small ad-hoc repairs (49%), the Spanish are very confident at electrical tasks (23%).

Not being content with building the best cars and producing some of the best football players in the world, Germany tops the home improvement confidence table with assured skill levels in every category, including complex jobs such as electrical projects (29%) and structural work (21%).

‘Improve don’t move’ seems to be the mantra across Europe though, with 60% of the UK respondents expressing an interest in making improvements simply to refresh the home and 37% of Russian consumers favouring more opulent “Heritage” styles of décor over the contemporary looks.

Europe is also embracing energy efficiency and eco-friendly homes, with more than half (54%) of consumers in Turkey placing the highest interest in living in an eco-friendly home. While Poland 37%, Russia 36% and Germany 28%, find eco-friendliness in the home very important too.

Ebru Sayilan Commercial Director at B&Q says: “Today’s economy has contributed its part to the expansion of the do-it-yourself movement, as more people turn to it as a way to save money. However, this research shows that we like our houses to work harder and smarter, and that’s why we spend time and money maintaining and improving their value.”

To help us ‘keep up with the joneses’, here's a sneak peak at some more differences across Europe, which are shaping the way we live in our homes and the year ahead in home improvement

UK & Ireland

People in the UK and Ireland have made changes to cater for more home-based entertaining (31%) and leisure activities (34%).
26% of those surveyed say they have started growing vegetables.
More home improvers in the UK and Ireland plan to tackle internal (56%) and external (15%) painting and decorating than in any other country. In fact, we are the kings and queens of painting and decorating without any expert help (82%).
DIYers in the UK and Ireland are the most likely to do their own tiling (38%), and insulation (22%) projects.
The UK and Ireland use ‘click and collect’ more than any other country with 29% saying they use the internet to reserve items online to pick up in store.

France

The French are the home improvement champions of Europe, spending 1.2 times the European average in the past 12 months.
The ‘grow your own’ trend is also evident in France with 21% growing their own vegetables and 30% of respondents saying water butts would be their preferred eco-investment.
People in France are less likely than other consumers to use the internet for inspiration, 57% prefer browsing in DIY stores.

Poland

Leisure time at home is the focus of home improvements in Poland (54%)
Polish people tend to be proudest of their less public rooms – the kitchen (21%), bathroom (18%) and spare bedroom (13%).
Polish gain inspiration for their homes from design and style magazines (43%) and are the most likely to be inspired by places they have visited (27%).
In Poland, people are also very keen to make changes so they can work from home (27%).

Russia

Home improvement is set to remain one of the top leisure activities in Russia next year as people plan to do more (88%) and spend more (47%).
Russians are twice as likely to want to impress their visitors (14%) with inspiration particularly taken from television shows (60%) and the internet (53%).
Energy saving measures, such as new heating controls (25%) and cavity wall insulation (21%), are more popular in Russia than elsewhere.

Spain

‘Improve don’t move’ is the Spanish home improvement mindset, with 60% planning on staying in their current house for over a decade.
Kitchens (16%), bedrooms (16%) and dining rooms (10%) all figure on their lists of projects of which they are proud.
The Spanish are not keen gardeners but their interest in generating renewable electricity (54%) and hot water (43%) via solar/solar PV panels is high.
Spanish take their inspiration from design and style magazines the most.
Spanish are planning on focusing on bathrooms (20%) after internal painting and decorating (48%) and home furnishings (30%), in the next 12 months

Turkey

Turkish women (43%) are more likely than men (36%) to make changes simply to refresh the home environment, rather than to increase its value.
Women (56%) are also more likely than men (46%) to be influenced in their style decisions by television shows and far more influenced by blogs (11%).
Men are more receptive to what they see first-hand in friends’ homes.
Generally, Turkish people are more likely to call in professional help.

Germany

Germans show a greater tendency to adapt the home for BBQs and other forms of outdoor entertaining (25%).
Germans are second only to those in the UK and Ireland for their keenness on making improvements to their gardens and outside spaces.
The Germans are the biggest online buyers of home improvement and DIY products with 48% buying online.
Two thirds of Germans like the way their homes keep changing and improving.

*Survey of 15,000 adults