Generation Y Joins Home Improvement's "It Crowd"

Wilkesboro, N.C. - They grow up so fast. And they want you to see it for yourselves. In fact, more than four in ten (43 percent) teens say they or their parents have remodeled or plan to remodel their current bedroom to make it more personalized or representative of their age, according to a recent survey of 600 teens ages 13 to 17 conducted by Lowe's and Ipsos-Public Affairs. And teenage girls (54 percent) lead this teen room makeover boom. "Teens have always fostered very distinctive tastes and an intense desire to express themselves," says Melissa Birdsong, director of trend forecasting and design at Lowe's. "With popular culture embracing home improvement as a catch-all activity and more dйcor options than ever to choose from, more teens realize their (bed)rooms are canvases through which they can reveal their true personality and style." Junior Jacks and Jills of All Trades Teens are hands-on when it comes to home improvement. Nearly four in ten teens surveyed (39 percent) say they have tackled or plan to tackle a home improvement project on their own, such as painting a room or furniture or building a loft or a piece of furniture. And more girls (43 percent) than boys (34 percent) claim to be budding do-it-yourselfers. Nearly half (46 percent) of all teen respondents said they'd paint their room a new color if they could change one aspect of their room, followed by 22 percent who stated they'd buy or paint furniture to give their room a new look. A Homeroom Divided Style of decor marks a dividing line between genders. When asked what best describes the style they'd most like to have in their bedroom, teen girls (37 percent) favored funky and trendy looks marked by brightly colored walls, linens and furniture. In contrast, teen boys (34 percent) leaned toward a sporty, preppy motif, preferring styles such as rugby-stripes, plaids, neutral colors and natural woods. I Want My HGTV Teens' TV remotes seem pre-programmed for a do-it-yourself television show boom. An overwhelming majority of teens (65 percent) say they sometimes watch TV home improvement-related television shows, such as Trading Spaces, This Old House, VH1's Rock the House and MTV's Cribs. According to the survey, 74 percent of girls tune into these shows, as do 55 percent of boys. The United States is home to more than 32 million teens ages 12 to 19, a population that has steadily grown since 1992 as children of Baby Boomers enter their teen years. According to figures released by Teenage Research Unlimited, teens spent $170 billion in 2002, an average of $101 per week. Other findings:

• One-quarter of all teenage boys surveyed prefer edgy dйcor, harboring a fondness for camouflage or stark black prints and steel or metallic accessories
• Of those teens who sometimes watch home improvement-related television shows, 74 percent have tackled or plan to tackle a do-it-yourself project on their own
• Of those teens who have remodeled or plan to remodel their bedrooms to reflect their age and style, 60 percent have tackled or plan to tackle a do-it-yourself project on their own

About Lowe's With 2002 sales of $26.5 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE 100 company that serves approximately nine million customers a week at more than 875 home improvement stores in 45 states. In 2003, FORTUNE named Lowe's America's Most Admired Specialty Retailer. Based in Wilkesboro, N.C., the 57-year old company is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit Lowes.com The margin of error for this survey is +/- 5 percent. For more information on this release, please contact: Chris Deeney Ipsos-Public Affairs 847.692.1888