Three Wishes: A Remodeling Fairytale

The arrival of Spring each year seems to provide a lot of us with the kick in the pants we need to get things done around the house. Maybe it’s the warmer weather. Or the birds chirping – you know, Whistle While You Work and all of that Disney folderol that’s been ingrained in us. (Side note: I’m still looking for a few [cartoon] birds and squirrels to help me with the chores à la Snow White). Anyone motivated by the smell of the fresh-off-the-farm mulch? Much to the chagrin of my husband, it puts me in the mood to buy LOTS of new annuals.

At any rate, Spring just seems ripe for DIY. The problem for many of us, though, is that there aren’t enough hours in the day (…weeks…months…years?) to make all of our DIY wishes come true. And let’s face it, we’re still waiting on our fairy godmothers to grant that ultimate request – the means to hire out all of this work and have it done before retirement.

But, if I could make three wishes for my home, I would have no problem coming up with a list:

Our retaining wall WIP…please disregard the weeds #keepingitreal

1. A retaining wall along our front walk. My genie husband is hard at work on this as I type – I guess dreams do come true!
2. A carpet–less second floor (and don’t forget the stairway). I have BAD allergies, and the previous owners loved dogs and cats, so I consider this a medical necessity. (Do you think my insurance would cover new hardwoods?)
3. A remodeled master bath. The layout is just strange, and every gal deserves a spa tub, right?

For our May Consumer survey, we [quasi] granted our nearly 9,000 respondents with one makeover wish for their homes. While Master Bathrooms (12.2%) and Outdoor Spaces (7.0%) made the Top 5, one in five consumers (20.7%) agreed that a Kitchen remodel is at the top of their “To Do” lists. Living/Family Rooms (9.2%) and Master Bedrooms (5.4%) were also high priority. And, more men set precedence on their Basements (5.1%) compared to average; must be all of those unfinished Man Caves [insert chest thump here].

Now where are we drawing inspiration for our fabulous new spaces? Magazines (43.7%) and Television (33.6%) are the top culprits idea starters, followed by Instore/Showroom Browsing (26.8%), Online Searches (24.8%), and HGTV (20.7%). The popular cable channel was even a Top 5 pick for Men – but we’re probably talking more Holmes on Homes here and less Sarah’s House…probably. Somewhat surprisingly, Social Media (Facebook, Pinterest, etc.) piques the inspiration of just 6.6% of consumers, only slightly ahead of one-time domestic maven Martha Stewart (5.0%). Blogs fared worse, with just 3.6% following for DIY ideas [though this blog changed my life].

Interestingly, more than one in five (23.3%) said they wouldn’t remodel a thing, as they were perfectly satisfied with their homes [so maybe some of us do live in fairytales]. This number was higher among men (25.8%), while females were less likely to be so contented (21.0%)…well, “Honey-Do” lists generally aren’t aimed at the fairer gender. #justsayin

For more information on this data, please contact BIGinsight™.

Source: BIGinsight™ Monthly Consumer Survey – MAY-12 (N = 8789, 5/2 – 5/8/12)

© 2012, Prosper®

BIGinsight™ is a trademark of Prosper Business Development Corp.

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Is Pinterest Your New Obsession?

About two months ago my friend asked me why I wasn’t on Pinterest.  Honestly…I had heard of it but didn’t really know what it was, and I didn’t have the time or desire to figure it out.  I’ve always been the last of my friends to IM, text, join Facebook, get a Smartphone, etc.  Why would Pinterest be any different?!  It just so happened to be a dreary Sunday that I received an invite to join Pinterest.  Other than the typical day of cleaning, laundry, trip to the grocery store and family time, I had nothing else to do…why not check it out!  Needless to say, my household chores got put on hold!  That trip to the grocery store had to wait until Monday because I had to start the shopping list OVER with all the new recipes I found!

According to the November 2011 BIGinsight™ Monthly Consumer Survey, 19.9% of Females 25-34 said Pinterest was a “HOT” trend.  [Yes, I happen to fall into this age break.]  Females 18-24 follow close behind at 17% and 13.6% of Moms find Pinterest to be “HOT”.

Did I mention that Pinterest turned that dreary Sunday into a Glorious Sunny Day?!  [In my head that is!]  Once I figured out how to create “Boards” and “Pin” what I liked…I was off and pinning (LOL!)  I have found new ways to organize, creative/easy dinner recipes, Peanut Butter Brownies that are to die for, wedding gift ideas, cleaning home remedies, holiday DIY decorations, fashion tips, parenting ideas…I can go on and on and on!  As you can see below in a few of my favorite boards…

Typically, I log on to my account 2-3 times a week, and have to limit how much time I spend on there.  Time gets away from me too easily and I tend to get consumed by the endless amount of pinning!  According to a recent American Pulse™ Survey, 8.3% of Females 24-35 say they log in to Pinterest 2-3 times a week.  10.2% of Females 18-24 frequent the site more than once a day–they must be more “pinterested” than I am!

 

For more information on this data, please contact BIGinsight™.

Source: BIGinsight™ Monthly Consumer Survey – NOV-11 (N = 8502, 11/1 – 11/8/11)

Source:  American Pulse™ Survey – February 2012 (N=3349, 2/13 – 2/20/12)

© 2012, Prosper®

BIGinsight™ is a trademark of Prosper Business Development.

Trend Spy: November

Each month, we ask respondents in our Consumer Intentions & Actions® survey if latest trends, newest gadgets, and even “it” personalities are Hot or Not. The Hot or Not List is generally comprised of input from our respondents, gathered in the previous month’s CIA® survey.

We publish the overall results in the monthly Executive Briefing (see the November results here). In a nutshell, adults in general voted Giving Thanks, Black Friday, Tablet Devices, and Cyber Monday as the hottest trends for November, respectively.

But what’s hot is really dependent on age and gender, doesn’t it? What a teenager believes to be totes cool might not be the bee’s knees to a grandparent. (For the record, if you had to look up “bee’s knees” or “totes,” you probably have a completely different view of what’s hot or not).

This month, though, let’s Trend Spy on younger adults. Some of our findings were quite surprising when we compared data for younger men (aged 18 to 34) to younger women (also 18 to 34). For instance, who would’ve thought that young men would say that Black Friday was hotter than Tablet Devices? Eight out of ten (80.1%) cool dudes voted one of biggest shopping days of the year as hot, compared to 67.3% for Tablets. Guys for Black Friday even outnumbered the young ladies (75.0%). Perhaps retailers are missing the boat a hot demographic here…

Besides Black Friday and Tablets, younger men also named Giving Thanks (65.9%), Cyber Monday (58.9%), and Occupy Wall Street (45.6%) in their top five. In contrast, the hottest item for young women was Giving Thanks at 82.5%…so these ladies are 25% more likely to vote for Giving Thanks than their male counterparts, who are busy giving thanks for Black Friday. Three out of four (75.0%) women 18 to 34 also voted Black Friday as hot, followed by Tablet Devices (69.1%), Cyber Monday (56.9%), and [swoon] Twilight: Breaking Dawn (52.1%).

P.S. For more on Black Friday, stay tuned for our upcoming BIG on the Street post, where we’re planning to bring you highlights from our Black Friday excursion. With 152 million people planning to shop this weekend, it should be interesting.

For more information on this data, please contact BIGinsight™.

Source: Consumer Intentions & Actions® Survey – NOV-11 (N = 8502, 11/1 – 11/8/11)

© 2011, Prosper®

BIGinsight™ is a trademark of Prosper Business Development Corp.