Home decoration spending is measured through several lenses rather than one universal category. U.S. consumer-expenditure data captures broad furnishings and equipment, Houzz surveys describe renovating homeowners and selected purchases, and Census retail data reports sales by store category.
Key Home Decoration Spending Statistics
The most useful headline figures span household budgets, renovation activity, purchases and retail channels:
- In 2023, U.S. consumer units spent $77,280 on average across all categories.
- In 2023, housing represented 32.9% of average spending by U.S. consumer units.
- In 2023, household furnishings and equipment represented 3.2% of U.S. consumer-unit spending.
- In 2023, average household-furnishings-and-equipment spending was $2,508 per U.S. consumer unit.
- From 2020 to 2023, average total annual spending rose from $61,332 to $77,280 per U.S. consumer unit.
- In 2023, the average furniture expenditure was $618.65 per U.S. consumer unit.
- In 2023, 14.16% of U.S. consumer units reported a furniture purchase in a quarter.
- In 2022, 68% of U.S. renovating homeowners purchased paint.
- In 2022, 54% of U.S. renovating homeowners purchased light fixtures.
- In 2022, 53% of U.S. renovating homeowners purchased small interior furniture.
- From 2020 to 2023, median renovation spend rose from $15,000 to $24,000 among U.S. renovating homeowners.
- In 2023, 51% of U.S. renovating homeowners spent at least $25,000.
- In 2023, 83% of U.S. renovating homeowners used cash from savings to fund renovations.
- In 2023, 56% of surveyed U.S. homeowners undertook a renovation project.
- In 2024, U.S. furniture-store sales totaled $68,930,029 thousand.
- In 2023, San Francisco’s median renovation spend was $50,000.
Contents
- Household scale and budget share
- U.S. spending trends
- Decor purchase participation
- Renovation size, rooms and timelines
- Funding and planning
- Retail sales and market channels
- Market and homeowner differences
Home Decoration Spending Statistics: Household Scale and Budget Share
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports spending by “consumer unit,” a population concept broader than households that bought décor. Its categories are useful benchmarks, but furnishings and equipment are broader than decoration alone.
| 2023 U.S. consumer-unit measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Average total annual spending | $77,280 |
| Housing share of total spending | 32.9% |
| Furnishings and equipment share | 3.2% |
| Furnishings and equipment spending | $2,508 |
| Household operations spending | $1,985 |
| Housekeeping supplies spending | $818 |
The BLS source states that housing includes shelter, utilities and household categories, while furnishings and equipment includes more than decorative purchases. Household operations and housekeeping supplies are therefore context measures, not direct decoration totals. Consumer expenditures in 2023
Home Decoration Spending Trends in U.S. Household Data
The broad furnishings-and-equipment share changed during 2020–2023, even as nominal total spending increased. The figures below are shares of total spending, not inflation-adjusted decoration growth.
| Year or period | Furnishings and equipment | Other reported measure |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 3.8% of spending | Housing: 34.9% |
| 2021 | 4.0% of spending | — |
| 2022 | 3.6% of spending | — |
| 2023 | 3.2% of spending | Housing: 32.9% |
| 2020–2023 | — | Total spending: $61,332 to $77,280 |
The furnishings-and-equipment share fell 0.4 percentage points from 2021 to 2022 and another 0.4 percentage points from 2022 to 2023. Housing’s share declined from 34.9% in 2020 to 32.9% in 2023, while average total spending rose 9.1% in 2021, 9.0% in 2022 and 5.9% in 2023. Consumer expenditures in 2023
Furniture-specific BLS guidance gives a narrower purchasing view. Average furniture expenditure was $618.65 per consumer unit in 2023, but the mean includes purchasers and non-purchasers; 14.16% reported a furniture purchase in a quarter, which is not an annual buyer-penetration rate. Consumer Expenditure Surveys Tables: Getting Started Guide
Home Decor Purchase Participation Among Renovating Homeowners
Houzz’s 2022 survey describes product participation among U.S. homeowners who were renovating, not the general population. The categories can overlap because one homeowner may purchase several products.
| Product purchased in 2022 | Share of renovating homeowners |
|---|---|
| Paint | 68% |
| Light fixtures | 54% |
| Rugs | 54% |
| Small interior furniture | 53% |
| Large interior furniture | 50% |
| Artwork, storage or organization solutions | 45% |
| Holiday decor | 37% |
Houzz defines small interior furniture as ottomans, accents and shelves, while large interior furniture includes lounge sets, dining sets and dressers. The artwork figure is grouped with storage and organization solutions, so it should not be read as artwork-only participation. See the Decor and Building Products Homeowners Buy the Most
Outdoor purchases formed a separate part of the same survey: outdoor large furniture reached 29%, outdoor lighting 27%, outdoor small furniture 20%, fire features 18%, pillows and throws 16%, rugs 13% and artwork 6%. These measures concern renovating homeowners and outdoor categories, not all household decoration purchases.
Home Renovation Spending Statistics by Project Size, Room and Timeline
Renovation is broader than decoration, but it shows the scale of projects in which décor purchases may occur. Among U.S. renovating homeowners, median renovation spend increased from $15,000 in 2020 to $24,000 in 2023, while the 90th-percentile figure rose from $85,000 to $150,000.
In 2023, 51% of renovating homeowners spent at least $25,000, compared with 37% in 2020. These are self-reported Houzz survey results and are not inflation-adjusted.
| 2023 project measure | Planning | Building or spend |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen renovation timeline | 9.6 months | 5.1 months building |
| Living-room renovation timeline | 8.1 months | 4.1 months building |
| Primary-bath median project spend | — | $15,000 |
| Primary-bath top-decile threshold | — | $45,000 |
The primary-bath median reached $15,000 in 2023, up from $13,500 in 2022. The $45,000 figure is the threshold at which the top 10% of primary-bath projects began in the cited Houzz study, not an average. 2024 U.S. Houzz & Home Study: Renovation Trends
Home Decoration Spending Funding, Budgets and Planning Timelines
Funding sources often overlap, so the percentages below do not describe mutually exclusive financing groups. In 2023, 83% of renovating homeowners used cash from savings, and 37% used credit cards; credit-card use increased from 28% in 2022 to 37% in 2023.
For projects costing $50,000–$200,000, 32% used credit cards, 23% used home loans and 21% used cash from home sales. These are subgroup measures among renovating homeowners with projects in that budget band, not shares of all household spending.
The planning timelines show why a spending figure and a purchase date may differ. Kitchen projects averaged 9.6 months of planning and 5.1 months of building in 2023, while living-room projects averaged 8.1 months of planning and 4.1 months of building. 2024 U.S. Houzz & Home Study: Renovation Trends
Home Furnishing Retail Sales and Market Channels
Census Annual Integrated Economic Survey data reports store-category sales rather than total household decoration spending. The categories below should not be summed into a single décor market total because they cover different merchandise and exclude channels outside the named NAICS groups.
| U.S. retail category | 2024 sales |
|---|---|
| Furniture stores, NAICS 442110 | $68,930,029 thousand |
| Floor-covering stores, NAICS 442210 | $26,324,360 thousand |
| Window-treatment stores, NAICS 442291 | $2,652,949 thousand |
| All other home-furnishings stores, NAICS 442299 | $27,119,015 thousand |
Furniture-store sales include store merchandise beyond decorative purchases, while floor-covering, window-treatment and other-home-furnishings categories each capture only defined retail channels. The Census table therefore provides a market-channel view, not a household budget estimate. Annual Integrated Economic Survey 2024: Retail Trade Summary
Home Decoration Spending Differences by Market and Homeowner Segment
Renovation spending varied substantially across U.S. metro areas in the 2023 Houzz survey. These are median renovation spends among renovating homeowners, not decoration-only budgets.
| Metro area | 2023 median renovation spend |
|---|---|
| San Francisco | $50,000 |
| San Jose | $40,000 |
| Memphis | $38,900 |
| Seattle | $36,000 |
| Los Angeles | $35,000 |
| Kansas City | $15,000 |
| Raleigh | $15,000 |
Generational medians were $25,000 for Gen X homeowners and $24,000 for Baby Boomer homeowners in 2023. The source also reports that 56% of surveyed homeowners undertook a renovation project, more than 90% of renovating homeowners hired professional help, and 47% hired specialty service providers; these participation measures do not identify decoration spending amounts. 2024 U.S. Houzz & Home Study: Renovation Trends
These distinctions matter when interpreting home decoration spending statistics. BLS means describe all consumer units, Houzz percentages describe selected renovating homeowners, and Census figures describe sales through specific retail categories; none alone is a complete national decoration-spending total.