17 October 2018

Quartzy: IKEA investigates why so many of us don't feel at home in our own homes

After interviewing nearly 23,000 respondents in 22 countries, IKEA’s ethnographers say that five components need to be present for one to feel “at home” in any space: privacy, security, comfort, ownership, and belonging. For many, these five emotional needs are no longer fulfilled by a single place. “Our physical homes are getting smaller, smarter, busier and noisier,” the report states. “All of this impacts on how successfully a single space can deliver what we need from it—functionally and emotionally. When we can’t get what we need at home, we head outside.”[...]

But ambitions have changed since, explains Jackson. “A decade ago, a dream home was designed to wow your friends and neighbors,” she says. “Today, it’s designed to house your relatives. Or your Airbnb guests. And also be your workplace. Homebuilders say one of the biggest selling points in 2018 isn’t a three-car garage or a grand entryway—it’s a home with flexibility.”

Feeling untethered to a particular address doesn’t necessarily have to be dour. Creating a sense of home in multiple places—real, virtual or imagined—can arguably even foster a sense of freedom. “We discovered a new behavior, where people use a network of spaces and places, both within and beyond the four walls [of their homes], as part of their homemaking experience,” says IKEA researcher Maria Jonsson. “We believe that this expanded notion of life at home gives people more opportunities to create the feeling of home, no matter where or how they live.”

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