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Domestic Bliss


A new study examines the relationship between our homes and our wellbeing and busts a few myths along the way. By Luke Rix-Standing.


A


sk any student, young professional or member of ‘generation rent’ what matters most in their day-


to-day lives, and odds are they won’t mention the decor of their sitting room. If anything, being houseproud is a little out of fashion. Te image of the 1950s housewife fussing over sofa cushions looks increasingly sexist to the modern eye, while the trope of picture-perfect suburbia has been ruthlessly savaged by films like Fight Club & American Beauty. But perhaps we’ve been too hasty. Te GoodHome Report, a study carried out by the Happiness Research Institute in partnership with Kingfisher and B&Q,


12 / PROPERTYMAIL


suggests our homes play an unexpectedly large part in our day-to-day wellbeing. “Frankly, I’m surprised we haven’t looked at this before,” says Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute and author of Te Little Book Of Hygge, “given that homes are where we spend more time than anywhere else.”


THE LARGEST STUDY OF ITS KIND You could be forgiven for approaching the findings with a certain scepticism - defining happiness is always tricky, let alone isolating its domestic causes - but Wiking says it’s the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind.


“Te study spanned 10 different countries and 13,500 people,” he explains, “and it showed a lot of common denominators. We looked at in-home factors like favourite rooms, inviting people over, emotional responses and so on, but also broader factors like age, gender, income and home ownership.” What they found was that home-related emotions accounted for roughly 15% of overall happiness, more than health and fitness, and more than income. “When you think about how many different factors impact our overall happiness, be it employment, money, relationships genetics, I think 15% is surprisingly high,” says Wiking.


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