I feel so lucky that my home feels so good to me. And it’s felt that way from Day 1. Pretty sure, I offered to buy it the minute I stepped in the front door. It had such good vibes then….as it does now.

Which is why I was so curious about the new Global Home Report just put out by Ikea. They publish one annually, focusing on specific rooms e.g. kitchens, bedrooms etc. This year, however, the focus is on what makes a place feel like “home.”

• They interviewed 22,000 people all over the world, did 12 “Home Safaris” and got insights from home experts including designers, architects, influencers and bloggers.
• And what they found is that life at home is changing, profoundly, all over the world.

Living in cities and having to share/airbnb living spaces has created a host of issues related to belonging, loneliness, privacy.

• One person in Rome, for example, reported going out to sit in their car on the street to find a fleeting moment of “mental privacy.”
• Almost half of Americans (45%) go to their car, outside of the home, to have a private moment to themselves.

 

Read on below for more findings and for a link to this excellent report.

 

“We wanted to know how people feel about their homes. So we went off to explore what gives people the feeling of home, and where they go to find it.”

 

Ikea wanted to learn more about:

• What goes into creating the feeling of home?
• And how Ikea can make our homes feel better.

Here are some of the findings:

• 1 in 3 people all over the world say there are places where they feel more at home than the space they live in.
• In cities, this has risen from 20% in 2016 to 35% in 2018.
• Over a third of us shower or bathe outside of the home multiple times a week.
• Neighborhoods and communities are extremely important in homemaking experiences.
• 64% of people globally would rather live in a small home in a great location as opposed to a large home in a less than ideal location.
• 23% of people feel they have to leave their home to find alone time.

Specifically related to homes, Ikea discovered:

• Our physical homes are getting smaller, smarter, busier and noisier.
• This impacts how successful a single space can be in delivering what we need from it – functionally and emotionally.
• When we can’t get what we need at home, we head outside.
• In short, life is on the move, and home needs to catch up.
• “Life at home” is becoming a network of places and spaces.
• The feeling of home can be found in more than one location

For more info: link to full report

 

Bottom Line.

Nothing is better than that feeling of being snug-as-a-bug in your own home.

If we’re lucky, we have other places in our lives that also provide that same feeling of home. It’s one of the reasons I am such a fan of the Soho Houses. They feel like a perfect extension of my home (but way more fabulous!). It’s why I’ve moved all of my major celebrations e.g. Thanksgiving, birthdays etc. to Soho House. It’s truly my home away from home.

And finally, Ikea if you are listening: Home Safaris? Expert bloggers? Tuned into the feels?  Your annual global study is MY kind of project. Forward-looking, insightful, challenging.  My dream gig – let me contribute!