As we enter 2021 and Lockdown 3, our homes are going to be seeing even more of us than ever before. So it's a good time to finally take the plunge with some of those home improvements — be they quick fixes or big-ticket purchases — that have been languishing on the to do list.

Here are the top trends you can expect to see a lot more of in the new year.

MULTI-FUNCTIONAL SPACE
This will come as no surprise to anyone who has been attempting to work, cook, relax and exercise in anything other than a palace but hybrid and convertible furniture is going to be big.
At the start of the year, few people predicted that ‘murphy bed’ was going to be an emerging search term but with many offices closed until at least June, many bedrooms and spare rooms are doing double duty as offices.

LUXURY VINTAGE
Coronavirus isn’t the only global issue that’s been thrust on our consciousness this year – the environment is also hotting up!
Buying vintage is a more sustainable option than buying new but rather than junk shop finds, the emphasis now is increasingly on high-end pieces of second-hand furniture.
“Buying vintage is always a smart investment because it tends to retain its value. Adding vintage furniture allows you to add a touch of the unexpected and a touch of drama to the room,” says Lifestyle Interiors.

Look on eBay and start with glassware and styling pieces before you jump into buying vintage furniture!

THE ALL-WHITE KITCHEN
A preternatural fear of germs has seeped into the collective consciousness and with it return to all-white kitchens. While other rooms are getting bolder, cosier and more eclectic, we have noted a significant rise in desirability for ‘white kitchen’ this year, while white worktops are also gaining in popularity, reflecting a desire for clean-looking cooing spaces.
While white kitchens feel light and calming, they do show up food smears and dust so it can be more work to keep them looking fresh.

NATURE-INSPIRED PALETTES
Dulux’s colour of the year, a warm putty neutral , aptly called Brave Ground, has thousands of posts on Instagram, while earthy terracotta and foresty sage and pine are also popular.
Rattan, jute and wood all proved stratospherically popular in 2020 and we expect the trend to continue well into 2021. The perfect backdrop to all those houseplants we’ve been nurturing during various lock downs!

SMART HOMES
As it’s improved to offer services people actually want, home tech has become a growing priority in recent years. Once the preserve of millionaires’ homes automated household items are now a feature of the most middle of the road home but Covid-19 has accelerated the trend.
No-touch tech is set to be a boom industry in 2021 with voice- and sensor-controlled taps and lights increasingly popular !

Quooker boiling hot water tap as featured in the Aston Meadows show home

OUTSIDE SPACE
Given the industrious gardeners who sprouted last year, growing your own produce is an unsurprising entry on the list with ‘vegetable garden’ one of the new popular terms on Houzz.
Expect window sills, balconies and small planters groaning under the weight of home grown courgettes next summer.
Another popular search term, albeit one that seems sadly optimistic now, is outdoor entertaining, with searches for firepits, hot tubs and outdoor kitchens proliferating almost as fast as coronavirus.

Hopefully it won’t be too long before we are all entertaining our friends again whilst using our lockdown 1 & 2 pizza ovens we bought !!