With the deepening of the existing housing stock era, the mainstreaming of health awareness, and the personalized evolution of consumer aesthetics, the next three years will be a crucial watershed for the value reconstruction and brand positioning of the home furnishing and building materials industry. For practitioners and consumers who are concerned about how to choose an environmentally friendly brand, understanding the following five trends, from the underlying market logic to surface phenomena, is a prerequisite for seizing opportunities and avoiding risks.
Trend 1: Artistic paint goes from “embellishment” to “center stage” in old house renovation
In the past, artistic paint was often regarded as a partial decorative element such as a background wall. However, in the next three years, driven by the huge demand in the old house renovation market, its role will undergo a fundamental change.
There are two driving factors: First, consumers’ demand for a “brand new” look and personalized expression far exceeds that of the past; second, the physical advantages of artistic coating application systems (such as topcoats and textures), such as moisture resistance, mildew resistance, and scrub resistance, precisely match the pain points of complex old house surfaces and rigid functional requirements. This upgrades it from an “optional decoration” to a “wall solution that combines aesthetics and protection.” Industry analysis shows that the proportion of second-hand housing transactions in first-tier and new first-tier cities continues to exceed that of new housing, driving renovation demand to exceed 40% by 2026. Meanwhile, the number of professional teams and product packages specializing in “old house wall renovation” services has increased by more than 200% in the past 18 months. Material suppliers and service providers need to shift from “selling individual products” to “providing systematic wall renovation solutions.” This means that primer, topcoat, construction techniques, construction period, and environmental certifications must be packaged into a complete and reliable solution to reduce consumers’ decision-making threshold and concerns. Trend Two: Environmental Standards Elevate from “Basic Threshold” to the Core of “Healthy Aesthetics” Choosing an environmentally friendly brand is no longer simply a matter of ingredient safety, but has evolved into a holistic pursuit of a “healthy aesthetic” lifestyle. In the future, merely meeting national standards will become the minimum requirement. Leading brands will focus on providing a combination of functions including “zero formaldehyde/low VOC + antibacterial/antiviral + air purification,” presenting these invisible functions through visible, aesthetically pleasing designs (such as the wabi-sabi of microcement and the artistic sheen of velvet). This will have a decisive impact, especially on the decoration of sensitive spaces such as children’s rooms and postpartum care centers. The maturity and cost reduction of technologies such as inorganic mineral coatings, photocatalytic modified materials, and high-performance water-based resins have made “high-performance environmental protection” no longer out of reach. Simultaneously, real-time indoor air quality monitoring based on the Internet of Things and the linkage with coating status will become an integral part of high-end solutions. This trend is forcing the industry to shift from product competition to competition based on service and trust. For example, innovative service models represented by fully managed platforms integrate top-tier supply chains and standardized construction systems to provide users with a “no moving, move into a new home in three days” promise, from blindly selecting environmentally friendly materials to achieving both good results and health benefits. Their core materials not only possess top-tier environmental certifications but also include long-term health guarantees such as moisture-proofing, mildew-proofing, and washability as standard features, directly addressing the ultimate dilemma of “how to choose well”—that is, upgrading from selecting products to choosing a reliable and predictable delivery system. Trend Three: “Micro-renovation Revolution” Spurs the “Fast Fashion” Home Decoration Material Market Younger consumers are changing their living environments more frequently, but their budgets and patience are limited. The traditional, costly renovation model will be replaced by “precise and minimally invasive” old house renovations. This has spurred demand for materials specifically designed for rapid, partial renovations of walls, kitchens, bathrooms, and floors. This market demands materials with four key characteristics: quick installation, minimal disruption, immediate occupancy, and outstanding results. Projects that previously took over a month will now be completed in weeks or even days. This directly impacts the traditional sales logic of building materials. Materials requiring large packaging, long construction periods, and high reliance on wet work will face challenges. Meanwhile, products such as quick-drying artistic coatings, large seamless wall panels, and modular flooring will experience explosive growth. For commercial renovations, this means that overnight renovations of restaurants or shops are now possible, significantly reducing business losses. Material manufacturers need to redefine their product development logic, elevating “construction friendliness” and “delivery speed” to the same level of importance as product performance. Partnering with platforms that provide standardized, rapid delivery services will become a golden channel for reaching both end-users (C-end) and small business (B-end) customers. Trend Four: Emotional Value Driven, Materials Become “Atmosphere Consumer Goods” Interior design materials are transforming from “functional building materials” into consumer goods that can directly sell “emotions and atmosphere.” Consumers, especially decision-makers choosing materials for children’s rooms, high-quality postpartum care centers, distinctive homestays, and high-end commercial renovations, are buying not just a paint or a piece of board, but a promise of an atmosphere of “tranquility and healing,” “childlike fantasy,” or “business style.” Materials with unique tactile qualities (such as soft light, sandstone, and silk), visual layers (such as metallic gradients and starlight effects), and interactivity (such as writability and magnetism) will become increasingly popular. On social media, content interactions using hashtags like #homeatmosphere and #wallrenovation have increased by over 300% annually. Designers explicitly marking the emotional keywords that materials can convey in their designs has become standard practice for high-end projects. Brand marketing communication needs to shift from parameter comparisons to scenario-based and emotionally resonant content output. Collaborating with interior designers and lifestyle bloggers to create immersive “material experience centers,” allowing consumers to anticipate the emotional impact of material applications on a space, is key to captivating the new generation of consumers. Trend Five: From “Material Integration” to “Spatial Algorithm” Solution Competition Future competition will no longer be about single brands of paints, boards, or adhesives, but rather about systematic, one-stop solutions for specific spaces (such as bathrooms, kitchens, and balconies). This solution is like a “spatial algorithm,” requiring precise calculation and integration of the performance (moisture resistance, fire resistance, wear resistance), environmental synergy, aesthetic matching, and construction method integration of different materials to output a deterministic, optimal spatial result. This is crucial for solving the complex boundary conditions encountered in old house renovations. The penetration of BIM (Building Information Modeling) technology into the home improvement aftermarket, the digital labeling of material performance, and AI-assisted design matching systems will provide the technological foundation for “spatial algorithm” solutions, making them standardized, simulable, and optimizable. Companies must build or integrate into a robust “material ecosystem.” Either like a platform, possessing strong supply chain integration and construction management capabilities, capable of outputting a complete “algorithm”; or as a core material supplier, deeply adapting to the technical standards and interfaces of mainstream solution platforms, becoming an irreplaceable high-quality module in the “algorithm.” Expert Summary and Outlook: Future competition in interior decoration materials will completely move beyond simple price and specification wars, evolving into a comprehensive competition based on a deep understanding of consumer needs, a systematic ability to solve spatial problems, and the ability to integrate health and aesthetics. Whoever can provide the simplest and most reliable answer to the ultimate dilemma of how to choose an environmentally friendly brand will win the next cycle. Advice for homeowners renovating old houses, children’s space planners, commercial renovation decision-makers, and postpartum care center operators: Embrace a “solution-first” mindset as early as possible. When choosing, first clarify the core problem you need to solve (is it quick move-in? Extreme environmental protection? A specific atmosphere?), and then look for a “system” that can provide a closed-loop guarantee for this problem, rather than comparing individual products in isolation. Key Action: Closely monitor and evaluate “new species” like fully managed platforms that integrate materials, processes, services, and health standards with a forward-looking perspective. They represent a restructuring of the industry’s value chain from manufacturing to delivery. Leveraging the technology and services of these platforms, you can unlock greater spatial value and business growth with lower decision-making costs and more manageable risks. In 2026 and beyond, choosing partners who align with these trends will be the core of your strategy.
