The Biggest DIY Home Improvement Trends of 2026

4:24PM 08 April 2026

With social media and AI tools making home improvement advice more readily accessible than ever, DIY is becoming even more popular across the UK. Where home improvement was once a hobby, it’s now a skill that anybody can learn from the comfort of their home, with the internet offering plenty of advice for budding designers.

We’ve decided to take a look at how DIY is sweeping the nation by analysing some of the biggest trends in home improvement. By looking at search data, we’ve identified the most popular DIY tasks that Brits are taking on in 2026, as well as which improvements are becoming more popular each year. Read on for our full breakdown of British home improvement trends in 2026!
 

What are the most popular home improvements in 2026?

To identify the most popular British DIY projects, we tracked monthly search volume for some of the most common home improvements across the country.

With 16,277 searches per month, installing artificial grass is the DIY project most in demand among British homeowners. Although it leads by a considerable margin, it’s the only garden DIY trend in our top five, with the rest of our highest entries involving interior design.

Painting a room is the second-most popular DIY project in the UK according to our data, but with 4,586 monthly searches, it has almost four times fewer searches than artificial grass installation.

The rest of the top five follow similar topics, with installing wall panelling ranking third with 4,024 monthly searches. Skirting board installation is the fourth most popular project, with 3,884 searches per month, while wallpapering a room rounds out the top five (3,748 monthly searches).


 

Which home improvements are becoming more popular in 2026?

Our data has also shown that certain DIY projects are experiencing a boom in popularity. Whether it’s social media buzz or interior design trends, certain home improvements are seeing huge increases in search volume.

The fastest-growing DIY trend in the UK is building garden beds. As more homeowners are looking to make the most of the great outdoors, garden beds have become a trendy way to relax in the sun, with a 5.4% increase in search interest each month. Installing artificial grass makes another appearance in our rankings, with a 5.21% month-on-month increase in searches, which shows just how popular garden décor is becoming.

Wall decorations are also a rising point of interest for British homeowners. Our rankings show that searches for installing wall panelling are rising by 3.73% each month, while wallpapering a room grows by 3.55% each month.

We return to the outdoors for our fifth-place trend, as building garden decking becomes more popular with DIY enthusiasts. Our data shows that related searches are increasing by 2.5% each month.
 

Which DIY trends are most popular on social media in 2026?

In 2026, it’s not just search engines that are influencing our design choices. There are plenty of DIY influencers who have started to spread their favourite home improvement trends on social media, while newcomers are just as eager to share their favourite projects with family and friends. So, which DIY trends are mentioned the most on social media?

To inform our rankings, we analysed a sample of posts from r/DIYUK, the Reddit community for British home improvement fans. The most mentioned project was painting a room, with 45.19 mentions per 1,000 posts on the subreddit. Since colour trends are constantly evolving in interior design, there’s always a huge demand for room renovations and fresh coats of paint.

Installing doors was the second-most common project on r/DIYUK, mentioned in 30.45 posts per 1,000, but it’s followed closely by tiling a bathroom in third place (28.49 mentions per 1,000).

Skirting board installation was another commonly mentioned project, with 17.68 mentions per 1,000 posts, while installing laminate or vinyl flooring rounded out the top five (15.72 per 1,000). These stats tend to cover more technical home improvement projects, so it’s no surprise that DIY enthusiasts are turning to user-created content for advice from similarly skilled people.


 

Which DIY projects can save Brits the most money?

There are several reasons more Brits are picking up their toolboxes and getting involved in their own projects, but one of the biggest is money. As the cost of living rises across the UK, many homeowners are looking to slash costs wherever possible, and that includes paying for professional fitting services.

In fact, the project where Brits can save the most money is installing artificial grass, which may explain why it ranks so highly in our other lists. While a professional is likely to charge £55–£75 per m² installed, a DIY option can cost as little as £10–£25 per m². That means you can expect to save between £1,000 and £2,000, depending on your budget and the size of your garden!

Building garden decking is another project where homeowners can make huge savings. Professional installations can cost £1,200-£3,500, depending on the size of your deck, while self-installation typically costs £500-£1,500. This means DIY decking could save you £700-£2,000 overall.

DIY bathroom tiling provides the third-biggest savings (£400-£900), while installing wall panelling ranks fourth (£350-£1,000 saved), with installing laminate or vinyl flooring rounding out our top five (£200-£500 saved per room on average).

You can also save money by installing your own window shutters. While professionals charge £300-£1,000 per window, DIY installation costs just £150-£500, which means you could halve the price of your shutters!

What are the UK’s most DIY-curious cities?

Now that we’ve covered the UK’s biggest DIY interests, which areas of the country have the most DIY-curious homeowners?

The British city with the most annual online searches for home improvement projects is Plymouth, where the average resident makes 23.26 DIY-related queries each year. Dundee follows in second place (20.17/year), while Norwich ranks third (19.17/year). Oxford has the fourth-most search interest in DIY projects (17.69/year), while Aberdeen caps off the top five (16.39/year).

By contrast, Manchester has the least interest in DIY projects, with a typical resident making fewer than one DIY search annually (0.67/year)! Sheffield has the second-lowest interest, with 1.76 annual searches, while Liverpool records just 1.85. Southampton places fourth (2.41/year), while Nottingham ranks fifth (2.47/year).

Since smaller cities have more space for home improvement projects, it’s no surprise that the more densely populated areas tend to place lower on our list. Plus, with more tradespeople on hand in larger cities, it’s easier to recruit a professional to help with your renovation needs, while homeowners in smaller areas are more likely to have to teach themselves the tools of the trade.


 

Conclusion

So, what can we learn from our findings? Lisa O’Hanlon, brand manager at Shutter Store UK, says:

“Britain’s DIY landscape is rapidly shifting, as more and more homeowners look to get stuck into new projects, both inside and outside their homes. Our data shows that social media and online searches are playing a huge role in helping Brits become more experienced with DIY, especially in smaller cities with fewer professionals on hand to help. As prices rise across the country, these skills are becoming a valuable way to save money and get back to saving for what matters most.”

The DIY movement is showing no signs of slowing down in 2026, so why not join in with a home improvement project of your own? At Shutter Store UK, we provide a wide range of quality shutters to suit windows of any size and style. You could save hundreds of pounds by installing your own shutters instead of paying for professional installation, so start browsing and find the best bargain for your home today!

Methodology

This study analysed 15 common DIY home improvement projects, including installing blinds and shutters, laying laminate flooring, tiling kitchens and bathrooms, installing shelves and wall panelling, fitting doors and skirting boards, painting, wallpapering, building garden decking and garden beds, installing artificial grass and fitting carpet.

Search data was collected using the DataForSEO API for the UK, with keywords specifically selected to reflect DIY intent (such as “DIY”, “how to install”, and “how to build”) to capture people actively researching how to complete projects themselves. Multiple related keywords were used for each project, and the average monthly search volume per keyword was calculated and aggregated at the project level to ensure fair comparisons across categories.

To identify the fastest-growing DIY projects, the average monthly percentage change in search volume over the previous 12 months was calculated.

Regional interest was analysed using location-level search data across 25 major UK cities, with total search demand adjusted per capita using population estimates from World Population Review to allow fair comparison between cities.

Social engagement was analysed using posts from the r/DIYUK Reddit community, where a sample of posts was categorised by project topic to estimate discussion frequency.

Estimated DIY vs professional cost differences were calculated using desk research from UK trade pricing guides and industry cost benchmarks.