More than just a home

IN ITS THIRD annual global survey of people’s feelings about their places of residence, Swedish home-furnishings retailer Ikea has turned up more interesting insights. Almost half of the respondents, for example, think of homes as the locations of their most important relationships. 

And people who said they’re satisfied with their relationships at home are also happier with their living situation and feel better overall.

The survey set out basic definitions for terms like “home” and “space”. Space, Ikea says, includes more than just a physical structure – it also entails the senses of touch, sight, sound, smell and taste. 

The survey showed that smell is the sense people most associate with home. Forty per cent of respondents said their homes have a particular smell.

What we keep at home reflects our identity and has an effect on us in a functional sense. In the study, 53 per cent said the things they have in their home reflect who they are, while 43 per cent attach the most importance to the things that enable them to do what they love doing.

Keeping a home organised affects our feelings, too. The survey indicated that most people have low expectations regarding the appearance of other people’s homes when they visit, yet tidiness was still important to them, more so in some places than others. 

Just 28 per cent of the respondents in Stockholm said they expected homes to be tidy when they visit, whereas the global average was 45 per cent. The residents of Shanghai were most “sensitive” on the subject – 63 per cent expecting tidiness. 

At the same time, people generally don’t have the same expectations of their own homes when it comes to tidiness. While 45 per cent overall said they expect other people’s homes to be neat, only 27 per cent described their own “ideal home” that way.

As a place for relationships, the home emerges as more important than might be expected. More than anything else, spending time at home with friends and family is what people do to foster “a feeling of home”. 

Nearly half of the respondents, 48 per cent, said home is where they have their most important relationships, while almost one in four thought Wi-Fi at home is more important than any socialising places when it comes to nurture relationships.

As a place, the home extends beyond the four walls, especially for the younger generation. Thirty-seven per cent said they see the concept of home including more than four walls, and 38 per cent regarded their neighbourhood part of their home. 

Many people, it became clear, go outside to get the feeling of home, due in part to housing shortages in urban areas.

   

 

FIVE KEY INSIGHTS 

>> Our homes must foster both privacy and relationships.

>> Our home extends beyond the four walls, particularly among younger people.

>> Almost one in four thinks Wi-Fi is more important than socialising spaces to nurture relationships at home.

>> The things that mean the most to us support us in our lives.

>> Our senses can make us feel better at home.