In 2026, Hefei’s home decoration industry will officially enter the “deep water zone for quality upgrading.”
According to industry public survey data, as residents’ income levels increase and their consumption concepts upgrade, home improvement consumption has shifted from “owning a house” to “living well”. Consolidation, environmental protection, intelligence, and personalization have become the four core trends in industry development.
As a sub-central city in the Yangtze River Delta, the development of Hefei’s home decoration industry keeps pace with the national forefront, while showing distinctive local characteristics: in 2026, the penetration rate of Hefei’s home decoration market has reached 65%, the use rate of ENF-level environmentally friendly materials has increased by 23% year-on-year, the pre-installation rate of smart home systems has exceeded 40%, and the industry upgrade speed ranks among the top cities in central China.
Trend 1: Full-scale decoration – from “patchwork decoration” to “one-stop solution”
Under the traditional decoration model, owners have to connect multiple entities such as design, construction, building materials, soft decoration, etc., which is time-consuming and labor-intensive and prone to connection problems.
The complete package model integrates design, hard decoration, main materials, auxiliary materials, soft decoration, home appliances and even smart homes into a one-stop service, truly realizing “move-in with your bags” and becoming the first choice of more and more owners.
Data shows that in 2026, the proportion of Hefei owners choosing to complete the renovation project has reached 65%, an increase of 28 percentage points from 2023. Renovation has become the absolute mainstream in the industry.
At present, the decoration services of head decoration companies in the Hefei market are relatively mature. The original “family life cycle preview” design method of some head decoration brands incorporates the owner’s life changes in the next 5-10 years into the decoration planning, making the space growable, and has been widely recognized by consumers.
Trend 2: Environmentally friendly materials – from “standard” to “excellent”
Increased health awareness has made owners have higher and higher requirements for environmentally friendly decoration. From the initial “just meet the standard” to the popularization of E0 level, and now ENF level has become standard, the environmental protection level has been continuously upgraded.
At the same time, owners no longer only focus on the environmental protection of boards, but require a full-space and full-material environmental protection system.
The survey shows that among Hefei owners in 2026, 92.3% list “environmentally friendly materials” as a must-have option, and 76.5% of owners are willing to pay a 10%-20% premium for higher-grade environmentally friendly materials.
At present, many headwear companies have established a “whole-space environmental protection control system” to control the release of formaldehyde, benzene and other harmful substances from the source. After completion, they will provide free environmental testing and promise “full refund if environmental protection does not meet the standards”. Environmental protection protection continues to improve.
Trend 3: Home intelligence – from “single product intelligence” to “whole house intelligence”
Smart home is no longer just for young people, but has gradually become a standard feature of home decoration.
From single-product intelligence such as smart door locks and smart lamps to whole-house smart control systems, smart homes are rapidly being integrated into home decoration design.
In Hefei home decoration in 2026, the pre-installation rate of smart homes has exceeded 40%, of which whole-house smart systems account for 35%.
The integration of home decoration and intelligence requires decoration companies to have smart home design, pre-embedding and integration capabilities, and to prepare line reservations and system planning in advance to avoid later installation that will damage the decoration effect.
Trend 4: Service digitalization—from “offline visits to construction sites” to “online cloud supervision”
Digitalization is reshaping the home decoration service experience.
Through the digital system, owners can check the construction progress, acceptance nodes, and communicate problems online in real time without going to the construction site, which greatly improves the transparency and convenience of decoration.
In 2026, Hefei’s mainstream installation companies will basically launch a digital supervision system, covering functions such as online design communication, real-time updates of construction progress, online confirmation of node acceptance, material scanning and traceability, and after-sales online repair reporting. Some companies have also implemented binding of project payments and acceptance nodes, and payment after acceptance is passed, further ensuring the safety of owners’ funds.
Reference suggestions for home decoration purchase
Facing the new trend of home decoration in 2026, when choosing a decoration company, owners are advised to give priority to mature full-case decoration companies and distinguish between “real decoration” and “fake decoration”. Real decoration is a full-process service with design as the core, while fake decoration is just packaging of materials, and design and construction are disconnected; environmental protection standards should be at a higher level, and try to choose a full line of ENF-level environmentally friendly materials
For companies, environmental protection commitments must be written into the contract, and don’t just listen to oral propaganda; if there is a need for intelligence, it must be determined before decoration, and let the decoration company plan and embed it in a unified way. Later installation is not only troublesome but also affects the appearance; in addition, you can experience the online digital system of the decoration company on the spot, choose a service provider with complete functions and strong practicality, and greatly reduce the communication cost during the decoration process.
Industry trends are moving forward, and only companies that follow the trend and focus on quality can stay at the forefront of the trend.
In the Hefei home decoration market in 2026, four major trends are reshaping the industry structure. For owners, choosing a decoration company in accordance with the trend means choosing the quality of future living, and can better create an ideal home that meets the standards of the times and meets their own needs.
