Big on Kitchens – Small on parties
“Let’s not have the Popovers over.”
Ikea might know a thing or two about homes. At least they know about the things that we put into our
homes – beds, couches, tables, chairs, curtains, pillows, plants – those things. They surveyed 12,000 residents of Berlin, London, Mumbai, Toronto, New York & Shanghai as well other cities to bring together the things in the home and the people who make it home. They call it the Life at Home report. It is full of pictures and conclusions that reflect the attitudes of the people surveyed. Interesting pictures if not earth-shaking conclusions.
Technology may be the enemy of the true home environment. Are people really more concerned about a good WiFi connection than having space for friends to gather in their home? 23% seemed to say this. Or is it true that when 19% said they’d rather stay connected with friends online than having them over that this implies they don’t? “We’ll just Skype them in.”
The kitchen is often the center of the home. It is commonly where the family gathers with most regular frequency for meals. And it’s where most of the remodeling money goes. “Kitchens over 200 square feet spent an average of $28,800 updating the room,” said Houzz & Home in their 2016 report.
Ikea found that 63% of the people they queried said they “cook to create the feeling of home.” DigitalTrend’s evaluation follows the same line of reasoning: “Tech comes into play, because the survey found that even though people were eating alone, they would actually connect with family and friends via video to create a virtual, collective dining experience.”
Deep tech in the home comes from smart-home devices. Not a pretty comfortable couch or updated plumbing but an Internet connection to the refrigerator or the heating/cooling system. While there were only 13% of homes with smart devices in 2014, that has doubled to 26% in 2015, according to Houzz.
Oh. Did we mention that, “The majority of Houzz’s respondents make over $100,000 a year and live in a single-family home that’s larger than 2,000 square feet”? Which definitely makes a difference. The respondents to Ikea’s survey were more broadly selected from many socio-economic strata.
I remember when… technology in the kitchen was a digital recipe book. We’ve come a long way!
