Remodelling one’s kitchen without going bananas : A critical perspective on the drivers behind self-initiated renovations of owner-occupied housing

Abstract: The present thesis aims to provide new insight into the motives and aspirations behind self-initiated renovations of owner-occupied housing by applying a critical perspective to the phenomenon of home improvements. Furthermore, the thesis argues that the concepts of use value and exchange value point to how economic and non-economic factors are interconnected in contemporary home improvement practice. Moreover, by connecting economic and non-economic factors, the thesis goes beyond previous research in the field, which has been preoccupied with either one or the other. An empirical study consisting of eight semi-structured interviews with homeowners in Uppsala was conducted to support the thesis’s theoretical argument. This study found a combination of vagueness and certainty in the motives behind the participants' renovations. The thesis then recontextualized its seemingly paradoxical findings in terms of use value and exchange value, showing how renovating homeowners navigate contradictory considerations in pragmatic ways. In turn, showing how home improvement needs to be understood with reference to structural mechanisms and individual preferences – taking care to centre how these two aspects are interconnected. Additionally, tied to its conclusions, the study shows how homeowners balance ideals of self-expression with a norm of neutrality stemming from the demands of the property market.