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Four Top Home Trends of 2023
When moving home the prospect of decorating a blank canvas is exciting for many people. The journey to creating your dream home can be a long one, from buying the furniture, to painting the walls – and gathering ideas and inspiration from Pinterest.
Pinterest is one of the largest sites online for browsing aesthetic photographs and DIY decor ideas, making it incredibly useful when settling on design ideas for your new home! Pinterest is also ideally placed to predict the trends for the upcoming year from sharp increases in searches. So here East Anglia removal company Hamiltons Removals bring you the top four home trends of 2023, as anticipated by Pinterest Predicts.
Rainscapes
One of the largest trends for 2023 promises to be what Pinterest aptly names ‘rainscapes’. This trend centres around the conservation of water, and it is driven by both climate change and the heatwaves increasingly experienced. The trend is led by the generations known as Boomers and Generation X (born between 1965-80) and is described by Pinterest as ‘natural ways to make their homes more sustainable’ – highlighting the continued popularity of sustainability and consideration for our planet.
Pinterest reported phrases such as ‘drought-tolerant landscape design’, ‘rainwater harvesting architecture’ and ‘drought resistant plants’ are up by as much as +385%. Plus, a quick Google search reveals article upon article on the best drought-resistant plants, all posted within the last year or so.
This trend can be seen as a natural continuation of green living, as the traditional lawn is also in decline. Instead, more and more are choosing to have a garden of wildflowers, similarly showing an inclination towards protecting natural environments, boosting biodiversity and encouraging local wildlife to thrive.
One aspect of this trend is conserving water – think rainwater harvesting, rain barrels, and other similar measures. This is likely to become a permanent feature in our homes as the effects of climate change continue, resulting in hotter, drier summers.
The second part of this trend comes in the form of drought-hardy plants, often taking inspiration from Mediterranean-style gardens due to their ability to thrive in the heat. Looking to implement this trend in your new home? Plants such as jasmine, lavender, coneflower, and of course succulents and cacti, are all great options to get started. The effects of climate change and rising costs are certainly considerations to keep in mind when planning your new dream home, and this trend offers a great sustainable way to garden.
It’s not just outside the home that the need for water conservation is paramount. ‘Chance of showers’ is also trending on Pinterest Predicts; and this refers not to the weather forecast but to the need to save water by using luxurious spa-like showers rather than large baths. This also helps cut water consumption within the home.
The Hipstoric Home
Forget the mass-produced Ikea and think eclectic vintage! The next trend predicted by Pinterest is that of the ‘Hipstoric Home’. The idea is to combine vintage with modern, mixing antiques and newer pieces together. Often, these antiques are inherited items with an extra depth of meaning and emotion behind them. The ultimate aim behind this particular trend is that of uniqueness. As Pinterest puts it, people are ‘rejecting the mass-produced and re-imagining vintage and hand-me-down pieces’. The trend is so popular that searches for ‘eclectic interior design vintage’ are up +850%!
Phrases such as ‘mixing modern and antique furniture’ and ‘antique room aesthetic’ are likewise up by as much as +530%. Once again, this trend reflects a desire for sustainability through the rejection of mass-produced fast fashion items – even for the home!
Mush-rooms and Weirdcore
Similarly in the push for a unique feel within the home, a trend named ‘mush-rooms’ is rapidly rising in popularity. Behind this trend is the growing popularity of ‘weirdcore’ – in lieu of neutral and plain living spaces and clean lines, funky prints and bizarre objects are taking centre stage in the homes of both Boomers and Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012). Searches on the site for ‘fantasy mushroom art’, ‘funky house décor’ and ‘weirdcore bedroom’ are up by as much as +695%. On Instagram the hashtag ‘#weirdcore’ has been used on almost 971, 000 posts! Pinterest reasons that “during lockdowns, people needed new ways to express themselves creatively without leaving home” – enter fantastical, maximalist homes used as one large canvas of self-expression.
The Home Front
Lastly, 2023 is looking like the year for entrances to receive the care and attention they deserve. Named the ‘home front’ by Pinterest, this trend has seen rising searches for front of house decor. For instance, searches for ‘front hallway decor ideas’ are up by +190% and ‘camper van awning’ by +115%. Sprucing up the entrance way to your new home can be the key for a good first impression and providing a warm welcome to new visitors – luckily, with the rise of popularity for this small and relatively cheap trend, it’s easy to find inspiration for your new space online!
Influences such as climate change and multiple lockdowns are clear behind all these trends, and overall sustainability and self-expression seems to be the call of the day or, more specifically, the year! For those moving home, will you be trying any of these trends in 2023?
Moving Home with Hamiltons Removals
Before you start decorating your blank canvas, you have to move home first. East Anglia removal company Hamiltons Removals can help you move to all parts of the UK and overseas.
We can make kick-starting the whole process very simple; you can either opt for one of our online quotes, or we can guide you through a video survey. And if you need haven’t decided what items to keep and what to throw away in your new home, we also have two secure self-storage facilities in Norfolk – at Harleston and Aldeby. For more information, follow this link.
The Greenest Cities in the UK
Are you looking to make a city move in 2023, but aren’t fully sold on an urban jungle? In case you missed it, the first research of its kind was published in November last year, ranking the UK from its most to its least green cities.
The research, published in the scientific journal PLOS One and cited below, based what defines a city as ‘green’ on factors such as tree canopy coverage, vegetation, and area of parks. The study analysed 68 city centres, for the first time focusing on urban centres themselves without considering the surrounding suburban area.
The benefits of a city immersed in nature are numerous. A green city promotes mental and physical wellbeing, reduces both sound and air pollution, encourages local wildlife and biodiversity, and advances what the study calls ‘urban ecotourism’. In short, the natural beauty of a city can only help increase its appeal to potential visitors.
The study found the top five greenest cities to be Exeter, followed by Islington, Bristol, Bournemouth and Cambridge. Here, East Anglian removals company Hamiltons Removals identify the features which allowed the quintet to top this particular chart – and how we can help you move to all of them.
Exeter
Top city Exeter was found to have a tree coverage of 11.67% and a mean greenness (or, technically, mean Normalised Difference Vegetation Index or NDVI) of 0.15%. NDVI calculates the difference between vegetation and artificial land cover.
This is down to the large number of public parks (there are more than a dozen in and around this Devonian city), as well as important wildlife habitats and biodiversity sanctuaries.
Another contributing factor is the large number of trees planted around the University of Exeter’s main campuses. There are more than 10,000 in total, including pines, cypresses, elms and various coniferous trees.
Islington
Although this North London borough is one of the capital’s most densely populated, it also made the top five thanks again to its large number of public parks, including Highbury Fields, Islington Green and Paradise Park. It’s also part of the Trees for Streets scheme, and the borough’s council operates the Greener Together programme which provides funding for environmentally friendly projects.
Bristol
It’s perhaps not surprising that this south-western city scores so highly in the rankings, as it has some very impressive green credentials dating back a number of years. Bristol was named as the UK’s most sustainable city by the Forum for the Future charity in 2008, and in 2015 it received the European Green Capital Award. The environmental charities Sustrans (which champions sustainable transport), the Soil Association and the Centre for Sustainable Energy all have their UK bases in the city.
Bristol’s four principal central parks are Brandon Hill, College Green, Queen Square and Castle Park, but there are plenty of others on the outskirts of the city. And, like Islington, the local council has signed up to the Trees for Streets scheme.
Bournemouth
This resort city, like Bristol, also has an impressive track record when it comes to environmentally friendly living. It was named the UK’s Greenest City in the 2013 Vitality index, and it’s also a Fairtrade Town and (with its neighbour Poole) a Sustainable Food City and World’s first Sustainable Fish City. Bournemouth also boasts five Blue Flag beaches, as well as almost 2,500 acres of parks and gardens – covering a fifth of the entire borough. There are 17,000 trees lining the streets of the city, and another 30,000 in the borough’s parks and gardens.
Cambridge
Close to Hamiltons’ headquarters on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, the East Anglian city of Cambridge was found to have the second highest mean greenness, also of 0.15%. Major parks and gardens include Jesus Green, close to the college, and Parker’s Piece,
If you are interested in removals to Norwich, then our nearest city performed impressively as well, at a respectable 0.11%.
And the Not So Green Cities
At the other end of the spectrum are Glasgow (the least green), along with Middlesbrough, Sheffield, Liverpool and Leeds.
Perhaps the most important finding of the study was that the five greenest cities are all in the south of England, whereas the lowest scoring were all to be found in the north of the UK. The geographical divide is primarily due to the industrial background of many of the low-ranking northern cities.
Moreover, a correlation was found between ‘relative deprivation and level of green attributes’. This correlation suggests that affluence plays a role in the number of green spaces, particularly publicly accessible ones, a city possesses. Consequently, this means that the less affluent a city centre, the less likely its inhabitants are to benefit from an abundance of green spaces.
Lastly, the study likewise discovered a link between the size of a city and the level of green attributes. The results signalled that the larger the urban centre population and area, the fewer publicly accessible green spaces there are likely to be.
So for those looking for the thrill and vibrancy of city life, yet not willing to sacrifice the benefits of nature, Exeter, Islington, Bournemouth, Bristol and Cambridge are some of your best bets.
Sheffield does, however, deserve an honourable mention; despite their low ranking for overall greenness in an urban city centre, the level of greenness for the surrounding more suburban area was one of the largest. In fact, with the work currently being carried out within its centre, it is likely Sheffield might soon nudge its way into a top-five spot.
With it being estimated that almost 70% of the world’s population will be living in towns and cities by the year 2050, adding green spaces to city centres can only be a good move for us all!
East Anglian Removals Company Hamiltons Removals – Relocating You to All Parts of the UK
Whether you want to move to Exeter, Islington, Bristol, Bournemouth, Cambridgeshire or Norwich, Hamiltons Removals will be able to get you there. We can help with moves to all the cities, towns or villages wherever they are in the UK.
You can kick off the whole process with our free online removal quotes; we also offer video surveys if those are more convenient. And we also offer a number of optional extras, including packing and unpacking, insurance, as well as cleaning services. To learn more about our UK removals services, follow this link or call us on 01379 855203.