In this guide, we will look at the UK home design trends that expats might not be aware about, so we can provide them with inspiration. Continue reading to learn more.

UK Home Design Trends

Colour Drenching

In the UK, home owners are currently obsessed with colour drenching. This helps them to get as many colours into their interiors as possible, so they can create a more interesting aesthetic. Painting walls, woodwork and doors in rich shades of green, navy or burgundy. This creates a unique blend of colours for improved visual intrigue. Many expats expect stark white or neutral walls to brighten a space, but British design embraces different tones to make rooms feel intentional and cosy.

Collected Looks

Rather than just using one type of furniture design across the home, British homeowners like to decorate with a mix of vintage, antique and modern pieces that look like they’ve accumulated over the decades. This makes the house look lived in with a selection of unique pieces of furniture. Moving into a new UK property can tempt expats to buy matching furniture sets. Britons prefer mixing wood tones and layering old items to avoid a generic feel, so doing the same in your new home would look the part.

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Chintz and Archive Patterns

Brits tend to use ornate botanical prints and nostalgic florals that have previously been seen in historic country-house archives. This brings them back into modern relevance, so they’ve once again become trendy. Modern minimalist trends have taught people in the UK to fear busy patterns and instead use statement wallpaper designs to inject their own personality into their interior. Expats who are making the move should avoid anything considered boring and take the chance to include impactful patterns around their new home.

Material Versatility

UK households tend to use highly durable and dense textiles across each room. For example, they might use heavy drapes with roman blinds to create a good blend of different styles within their home to keep the space looking busy. Another styling choice that expats might not know about is the use of woven materials that feature tightly repeating patterns to add depth. This adds visual intrigue to the home while giving homeowners a chance to embrace their own stylistic preferences.

Broken-plan Layouts

Broken-plan layouts are the modern evolution of the classic open-plan floor plan. While open-plan designs prioritise expansive rooms, broken-plan living has the feeling of light and spaciousness but uses boundaries to divide a home into functional zones. This trend is particularly popular in the UK due to historical housing stock. This gives homeowners the chance to have distinct spaces for remote work, relaxation and cooking without feeling isolated.

Victorian Ceilings

A staple of the UK home for centuries, Victorian ceilings have always stayed in style as they make the ceiling of a property look more interesting. While global design often treats a ceiling as a flat white surface to ignore, contemporary UK design views it as the fifth wall that makes the indoor space stay consistent. Instead of fighting the scale or trying to make these soaring rooms feel like standard modern spaces, Brits use historic properties to create dramatic focal points within each room for a good first impression.

Zonal Kitchen

A layout separating the kitchen into two zones has become very on-trend in the UK. It provides a chance to create a minimalist front kitchen that’s perfect for socialising and having big family meals with a hidden back kitchen where all the heavy lifting happens. Open plan kitchens sometimes feel impractical, as all the pots and pans can be heard and it might ruin the overall appearance of each section. Expats might be used to having their kitchen and dining area in the same part of the house, but this isn’t always the case in the UK.

Final Thoughts

Getting used to a new country means getting to grips with how people decorate their homes here. Colour drenching, mixing up your furniture and using nice patterns can make your place feel properly British. Layout ideas like broken-plan living or zonal kitchens are also really popular and make homes much more practical. Whether you are just renting for a bit or planning to settle down and eventually apply for British Citizenship, bringing these simple design touches into your home will make it feel comfortable and like a proper place to live.

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Today, buyers typically take longer to commit to investing. The property investment market has also seen a noticeable increase in the number of properties and housing stock available to buyers. Both factors have given buyers greater control of negotiating property prices, which is why now is a good time to invest in property in the UK. Here are the UK’s best cities for property investment in 2026.

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Newcastle Upon-Tyne

Newcastle is a popular location for property investment in the UK, particularly for new investors, because of its reasonable entry prices. The thriving city is well known for its large student population in areas such as Heaton and Jesmond. Rental yields in these areas are impressively higher than in other regions in the UK, typically delivering yields of up to 12% -compared to below 5% in some areas of the city. Another reason investors are making Newcastle-Under-Lyme their first choice for UK property investment is the city’s £350 million science and innovation hub, set to bring thousands of jobs across research and technology into the heart of the city

Liverpool

Over 150 miles away from Newcastle sits another highly-promising city for UK property investors. Liverpool is widely known for its exceptional graduation retention metrics that currently sit at over 75%, reassuring property investors of the city’s buy-to-rent demands. Many areas of the city are highly regarded for their affordable property purchase prices that attract smaller scale landlords and investors looking to add value to the properties they buy. 

In 2026, Liverpool has been suggested to sit at the forefront of the UK’s property market growth. While the future of real estate can be difficult to forecast accurately, Liverpool has been predicted to see one of the highest price growth rates in the next five years, compared to any other region in the country.

Manchester

Large-scale regeneration projects such as the £4 billion Victoria North home development scheme have allowed Manchester to pioneer its way to the top of the list of the UK’s best cities for investment. Manchester also has a notable history of stable market growth. Combined with its promising regeneration plans, the city continues to provide stability and security to UK property investors.

Certain postcodes in the city are known to deliver better rental yields than others, such as M11 and M18. Towns in these postcodes include Crumpsall, Smedley and Clayton, which, based on current data, bring investors yields of over 7%. Additionally, Manchester is home to branches of some of the biggest employers in the country like Google, Amazon and the BBC, offering a reliable source of employment to people looking to relocate to the city.

Aberdeen

Property prices in Aberdeen sit considerably beneath the UK’s average price, making the city a popular choice for investors searching for low entry points if they’re expanding their property portfolio. For a number of decades, the North Sea’s oil and gas industry has revolved around the city, creating an abundance of highly paid professions with premium salaries. The city’s major Universities such as Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen, are popular higher education destinations for students all across the country, with thousands of students choosing to permanently settle in the city after completing their studies. 

Aberdeen has consistently demonstrated its commitment to making the city more attractive to buyers and residents. Back in 2022, the city invested in a £28.3 million redevelopment of its long-established Union Terraces Gardens. The project was aimed around improving accessibility of the extensive green space in the area, and introduced a number of new cafes and tourist facilities to boost footfall and attraction.

Leeds

Outside of London, Leeds is the UK’s largest commercial hub, with its thriving economy being home to major operations for business giants like the Bank of England and PwC. The city is recognised for its high demand for property tenants due to its growing student population of around 60,000 students. This impressive figure offers investors a strong rental market 365 days a year. Because of this, postcodes like LS2 and LS6 consistently deliver higher property yields of up to 9.5%. Leeds’ desirable location is another reason UK investors choose to support the city’s growth, as it is highly accessible from some of the UK’s most popular cities.

Leeds Bradford airport welcomes four million passengers into the city every year, with strong connectivity to European cities like Paris and Rome. Leeds have anticipated seeing a 19.3% increase in the city’s rental market by 2028, driven by a £10 billion regeneration project and completion of HS2. Both projects are set to positively impact the city’s transport network and off plan property landscape.

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