Homeowners looking for "easy updates"

People in the UK are more inclined to make small, easy adjustments to their property rather than major improvements, according to an industry expert.

Ben Richards, content editor at housetohome, has said that decorating is still a British passion but the credit crunch is forcing people to postpone planning any significant home improvements.

Mr Richards said that people in the UK were "very aware" of the need to protect their home from falling property prices by upgrading it but they are not "confident" about spending large quantities of money in the current economic climate.

"We are finding that people are now searching for easy updates for their home and putting off large expensive projects until things look a bit brighter," he said.

The content editor suggested homeowners could create a great new look merely by adding a feature wall, a piece of art or even a designer mirror.

An independent survey from by Henley Centre HeadlightVision for IKEA UK, discovered that 18 per cent of householders felt stressed and depressed about the state of their homes.