Our research shows that we’re more likely to feel good about home when it reflects our personality. But not all of us get to experience this benefit. By sharing the solutions that ease the stresses, and celebrating the different ways we live at home, we can create spaces that make us feel like ourselves when we walk through the door.
01 – What makes us feel at home
Find out more in Chapter 01Many of us love spending time at home. It’s a place where we can be our weird and wonderful selves.
For many years, at IKEA, we’ve been exploring what creates the ‘feeling of home’.
Across the globe, it boils down to the same essential ingredients: security, comfort, belonging, ownership, privacy, enjoyment and accomplishment.
But wherever we live, there’s a persistent gap between what we want from our home and what it actually provides.
02 – Creating homes that reflect us
Find out more in Chapter 02“A home is an extension of one’s personality; we can see their lifestyles through their ornaments, their choice of sofa, TV… A person’s home is something that they configure to reflect who they are.”
Tom, UK
At its best, home acts like a mirror to our identities. In practice, this means that when we look around our home we see our unique personality reflected back.
A home that reflects our personality is good for us, too.
When we feel our home reflects our identity, we’re 1.5 times more likely to feel more positive about it. But not everyone feels this way.
03 – The power of much-loved possessions
Find out more in Chapter 03
But who we live with does impact our priorities.
For those living alone, or with family or housemates, meaningful possessions that they’ve bought themselves are especially important, For those living with a partner or children, the people they live with are what matters most, and for those living with grandchildren or siblings, having space for their needs and interests is most important
However, sometimes, the things we love (and the things we hate!) are a source of household tension.
4 out of 5 people are regularly frustrated by aspects of their home.
04 – Giving spaces purpose
Find out more in Chapter 04Multifunctional rooms are a necessity, not an aspiration. To many of us, they can feel like confused spaces.
But rooms with no use are equally frustrating. They can become a source of annoyance and guilt.
It can be challenging to balance giving spaces a clear purpose with the needs of the other people we live with.
Only 4 in 10 people think their home provides privacy for everyone living in it.
Our homes, our way
We shape our home for ourselves, not for the benefit of anyone else.
We’re more likely to feel good about our home when it reflects our personality. Through the items we treasure, spaces we use and people we live with, we create homes as unique as ourselves.
And when our living spaces reflect us – in all our quirky and imperfect glory – they have a powerful, positive effect on the way we view our homes, ourselves and whatever’s happening in the world around us.