Child’s play ! We put laughter, light, furniture that we like, and that decorative je-ne-sais-quoi that changes everything and makes the atmosphere warm. However, this is easier to imagine than to achieve. We’ve all experienced it: embarking on renovations and decorating one or more rooms is often hell, with the added risk of being disappointed by the final result… It is almost easier to change everything than to modify your interior bit by bit. And yet, thanks to the successive confinements, our homes have once again become the center of our lives, and we all have furious desires for a change of scenery…
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The difficulty of undertaking work
The French have a complex relationship with their renovation work. They like a change of scenery: “beautifying their interior” comes second in their plans, just after “going on a trip” (9th edition of the Barometer of purchasing power Cofidis/ CSA, June 2020). 73% of them have done work in recent years and 48% plan to redecorate certain parts (CSA Research for Cofidis France, March 2020). But it’s not that easy, as Magalie, 35, testifies: “For almost two years, I’ve wanted to change. I was tired of my sofas but also of the eggshell on the walls, which had seemed timeless to me six years ago and which I finally find dull. By dint of staying all day at work, I can’t stand it anymore! It became obsessive… But I would need advice to be sure not to be wrong this time.” Agathe, 42, shares this fear. “Between the confinement and the successive curfews, our apartment has become both a school for the children, a workplace for Fred and me, a restaurant for everyone and, even, a gym and cinema to relieve the pressure a little. ! We would like to rethink the layout of our main room, but we would really need the help of a pro.”
Indeed, only 63.4% of French people say they are satisfied with the services of the professional to whom they have entrusted their work, despite all the precautions taken, in particular the opinion of consumers on the Internet, which 90% of French people consult to choose a craftsman. or a company (Ifop for More than pro, 2021). Ultimately, one in two individuals did not materialize their project and would give it up because they had not found the right partner, according to Raphaël Muller, marketing director of the La Maison Saint-Gobain platform. “At the time of the preparatory phase for the design of our service, in 2019, we had surveyed a hundred individuals to understand their expectations versus their work, and what was holding them back from getting started, he explains. Those who gave it up actually didn’t meet the right pro and/or didn’t find enough tips and ideas to take action.”
How has confinement changed our relationship to decoration?
Like Magalie and Agathe, a large number of French people, who had been postponing their decoration renovation work for some time, felt the urgency to take action. Between March 2020 and March 2021, 40% of them carried out work in their main or secondary residence: 24% renovated the bedroom, 15% the living room, 15% the kitchen and 33% took the opportunity to change their furniture. (Sociovision for French Furniture, March 2021). From January to May 2021, videos relating to home improvement or renovation exceeded 100 million views in France on YouTube. Tutorials, do-it-yourself, demonstrations… everything is good to familiarize yourself with the modus operandi. Online sales of furniture and decoration have exploded: + 53% in 2020 with peaks of + 100% during the two confinements (ICE100 panel of Fevad*). “During the first confinement, we multiplied our turnover by six”, confirms Aude Boisadan, director of communications at Lafuma. Ditto for paint, whose sales jumped 22% between 2020 and 2021, when decoration recorded + 16% (Inoha report for FMB**). Many specialist brands have stepped up the development of online tools allowing customers to prepare their project before visiting the store: personalized video meetings with salespersons-designers (like the “Rendez-vous shopping ” by Ligne Roset), or remote appointments (as at Schmidt or Mobalpa) have flourished. These “good” customer support reflexes during the pandemic have paved the way for new project support services, in the living room, including the bathroom, entrance or bedroom: all rooms in the house. are concerned.
The good decorating geniuses
With decoration consultants integrated into a growing number of furniture brands, we can finally consider our projects in “secure” mode. With a lot of “moodboards” and 3D plans, they help us concretely to rethink our decor and boost our work projects. Made.com has just launched a free service dedicated to teleworking: a 45-minute telephone consultation with an expert who guides us to create an efficient and pleasant office area and suggests a selection of suitable furniture and accessories. Since the end of 2020, “Armani/Casa chez vous” has offered a full interior design service provided by a design office made up of designers and architects, supervised by Giorgio Armani himself. At Devon&Devon, “Tailored Interiors” designs our bathroom from A to Z via a team of specialized architects who work in collaboration with the best craftsmen in wood, marble, ceramics, metal and glass. Beyond these comprehensive services, some players have developed tools that help us project ourselves. The Italian manufacturer of stoves and fireplaces MCZ has launched a online configurator : in a few clicks, we determine the pellet stoves best suited to our needs, before receiving an estimate with supporting photos and videos to contemplate the chosen product in a heating situation. Duvivier, a French sofa manufacturer, and Tylko, a specialist in storage solutions, use augmented reality to allow us to configure, personalize and project our future furniture at home via a tablet, then place an order directly.
Small or large budgets: everyone concerned
These advisory services are not the prerogative of specialists alone. General practitioners are also getting involved, with a paid service. Leroy Merlin, via his site Mon coach déco, allows us to make a online request, by uploading photos or plans of the room to be redecorated. An advisor sets up a telephone appointment to identify the request, and sends a 3D project with a 360° virtual preview. Same principle at Maisons du Monde, where the 40 decorators of its partner Rhinov accompany us online to design our interior decoration and optimize our layout, according to our budget and our desires. Want to rethink the layout of our green spaces? The start-up Draw Me A Garden, in conjunction with landscape designers, helps us in three clicks to design our garden, supported by 3D plans. Then we get a turnkey package to achieve it, guided by the advice of experts.
All these initiatives allow us to be better at home, to regain control of our daily routines, which are heckled by the new constraints we are experiencing. The pandemic will have had at least this advantage: we now know who to turn to when we want to redevelop our homes. Suddenly, the dream is at our doorstep. It becomes reality. It would be the house of happiness…
Article published in issue 529 of Marie Claire Maison – November 2021
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