The rise of home improvement television has also played its part. Programmes like “Grand Designs” and “Location, Location, Location” have made us all experts on property values and design trends. We watch people knock down walls and build extensions, and we think, “I could do that.” (Spoiler: we probably can’t, but we can certainly paint a room.)
The B&Q boom is also about empowerment. There is a profound satisfaction in fixing something yourself. It is a small victory over the chaos of domestic life. When you unblock a sink, or hang a door, or build a piece of furniture, you have asserted your competence. You have proved that you are not helpless. You are a person who can get things done.
The boom has changed the face of the typical DIY enthusiast. It is no longer exclusively the preserve of the middle-aged man in a tool belt. Young people, women, couples, flat-dwellers – everyone is getting involved. The aisles of B&Q are a cross-section of modern Britain, all united by a common purpose: to improve their bit of the world, one DIY project at a time.
So, the boom continues. The tills keep ringing. The smell of sawdust and paint hangs in the air. And in homes across the country, people are picking up tools they never thought they would use, learning skills they never thought they would need, and discovering the quiet joy of doing it themselves.
