How UK Furniture Shopping Has Changed As Furniturebox Turns 10

28th Aug 2025

Posted by Alice Ewens on 28th Aug 2025

Furniturebox is turning 10! From shifting spending habits to changing interior trends, it’s been quite the journey, and we’ve loved every minute of it.

As we celebrate a decade of helping you furnish your homes with flair, I’m looking back at how furniture shopping in the UK has evolved over the last ten years, and how we’re leading the charge to meet those changes.

How Interior Design Trends Have Changed Over The Last 10 Years

Interior design has seen a real transformation since 2015, and it’s not just about colours and cushions.

2015 Interior Trends Were All About Simplicity & Softness

Scandi style was on the rise, bringing minimalist vibes and cosy textures.
Millennial Grey homes were the big décor style of choice for clean, minimalist looks, but earthy tones were on the rise in high-end design spaces.
High glam was in. Lots of grey crushed velvet, glass, chrome and sparkle 2015 was all about open, clean spaces.
Modular sofas became popular for relaxed family living.
Eclectic mixes of vintage and modern furniture added personality.
Coastal chic made waves, with driftwood, blue hues, and breezy accessories.

stylish modern grey bedroom with grey velvet bed headboard, mirrored bedside tables and modern chandelier light

Credit: our customer @athomewithkirsty_

2025 Décor Embraces Personality & Comfort

Vintage furniture is still going strong, now paired with a focus on quality and longevity.
Comfort reigns supreme, with deeper cushions, oversized sofas and low-slung laid back seating becoming the norm.
Millennial Grey has been replaced with warm neutrals as the new go-to choice. Warmer, cosier looks have replaced minimalist looks. Our homes are more layered with textures. We're also using more curves, more organic shapes and more natural materials that make our spaces feel grounded.
Modular furniture has continued it’s upwards climb in popularity.
Millennial Green has also become a bit of a thing, embracing nature and bolder colours, with the ‘Green Velvet Sofa’ really having a moment (the ‘Orange Velvet Sofa’ is hot on its heels!).
Mixing styles is encouraged. Think antique sideboards with sleek modern sofas.
The pandemic saw lots of home office refurbs, and in 2025, home office decor is a trend all of its own.
Another shift in the post-lockdown world is that we’re using our outdoor spaces more intentionally, turning them into extensions of the home for outdoor living rooms. We’re also bringing the outdoors in with more indoor planting and multi-purpose furniture that can be used both indoors and outdoors.
Post-pandemic homes prioritise relaxation and multifunctionality, reflecting how we live now.

modern green living room with mid century modern wood & green fabric chair, wood & marble round side table, and flowers in vase

Credit: our customer @oakenhome

UK Furniture & Furnishing Spending Trends Over the Last 10 Years

It’s not just the way our homes look that’s changed. The way we make decisions on what to buy and what we spend on our homes has changed a lot, too. According to data from Statista, UK household expenditure on furniture and furnishings has seen some ups and downs over the past decade. From 2015 to 2019, spending steadily increased, peaking at nearly £25 billion. But then came 2020, and we all know what happened. The pandemic shook things up, and furniture spending dipped as uncertainty loomed. While there was a brief bounce-back in 2021 and 2022 (hello, home office makeovers!), the trend has since declined, with 2024 figures sitting at around £20.6 billion.

Shopping online for furniture has become far more normal. According to the ONS, in 2015, we were making around 11.9% of our purchases online. In 2025, that’s up to 26.5%. This means we have way more online choice but also expect the hassle-free experience of easy assembly and fast delivery that we’ve historically been offered with other online purchases.

Why Are Brits Spending Less on Furniture?

Cost of Living Crunch

With rising energy bills, food prices, and mortgage rates, many households are tightening their belts. Furniture, while important, often gets bumped down the priority list when times are tough.

Smaller Homes, Smarter Choices

As UK homes get cosier, people are opting for space-saving furniture and multi-functional pieces. That means fewer bulky buys and more clever solutions.

DIY & Delay Culture

Post-pandemic, many of us discovered our inner DIYer. Instead of replacing furniture, we’re repairing, repainting, and repurposing. Plus, with economic uncertainty, big purchases are often postponed.

couple in modern living space look over paperwork and finances

Credit: Canva Pro

How Furniturebox Has Evolved to Meet Modern Furniture Shopping Needs

Since 2015, Furniturebox has grown from a fresh-faced small biz to a trusted name in UK furniture e-commerce world, sending over 9,000 products out to their forever homes every month. And we’ve done it by listening, learning, and evolving with you.

Making Sure Everyone Can Have Their Dream Home

We know budgets are tighter than ever, which is why we’re committed to offering stylish furniture at affordable prices, without compromising on quality. Our curated collections are always budget-accessible that pack a design punch and, along with our flexi-payment options, we’re helping you refresh your space without breaking the bank.

Supporting Smaller Homes & Smarter Living

With UK homes getting cosier, we’ve incorporated more space-saving and multi-functional furniture. From compact dining sets to clever storage solutions and our growing range of sofa beds, our products are designed to make the most of every square foot, perfect for renters, first-time buyers, and city dwellers alike.

Encouraging Simple Living & Personalisation

No one’s got time to waste sitting around waiting for furniture then stressing over putting it all together. In 2024 we extended our next-day delivery cut off time to 8pm, and our 30 day free returns* takes the worry out of buying online. We’ve made assembly easy with clear instructions and helpful videos, empowering customers to take pride in building their own furniture, as well as offering more pre-assembled products. And with a wide range of colours, finishes, and styles, you can personalise your space to reflect your unique taste.

wooden sideboard TV unit styled, on the left, in bold colourful maximalist pink living room and on right, in warm neutrals Scandi style with wood wall pannelling

Credit: Our customers @aggielang and Adelina (verified customer review image) showing how they’ve personalised our Svit sideboard in totally unique and gorgeous ways

Furniturebox Is Always On Trend

We’ve kept our finger on the pulse of interior design, from the Scandi calm of 2015 to the comfort-first, character-rich homes of 2025. Our collections now feature:

‘Sofa-in-a-box’ options like our Teddy range, to take the stress out of sofa shopping for people that don’t have the luxury of 4-mile-wide doors.
Adaptable and versatile products that can evolve as you do. Our modular outdoor sofas, for example, can be shifted around to suit your layout even if you move house. And we want the pieces you buy from us to work and adapt across different trends so you can update your home with accessories without having to replace the big-ticket items.
Luxurious and tactile fabrics for our sofas, armchairs and dining chairs including boucle, velvet and linen-look weaves that focus on warmth and cosiness.
Oversized and low-slung seating like our Iko set with its super-squishy cushions (psst – did you see these were the Love Island chairs in the season 12 villa?!).
Introducing more evergreen products that can be used both indoor and outdoor, for versatile and adaptable furniture to suit all seasons of life. Our comfy swivel chairs are great for offices, bedrooms or even living rooms.
Vintage-inspired pieces with modern twists (check out our modern-retro lamps and mirrors!).
Neutral palettes with bold accents – our rugs are a great example of this.
Mix-and-match styles across all our room categories, including outdoor, to let you blend old and new effortlessly. Matching colours and materials from our curated collections means each piece looks great with everything else!

modern small round dining table set, green double sofa bed, gold frame wall mirror, low slung wood and thick cream cushions chairs

Showcasing our compact Novara wood-top table & Masa chairs dining set, Bobby green courduroy double sofa bed, Otillie full length gold arch mirror, and Iko indoor / outdoor chairs

Furniturebox Predicts… What’s Next for UK Furniture Shopping?

Looking ahead, we expect to see more:

Modular furniture for flexible living
Tech-integrated designs (smart sofas and beds, anyone?)
Personalised shopping experiences online

And of course, Furniturebox will be right there with you, bringing you the best online furniture shopping experience.

Thank You for 10 Amazing Years!

Whether you’ve been with us since day one or just discovered us recently, we’re so grateful for your support. Here’s to the next decade of stylish and affordable furniture to see us through all of life’s changes!

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