The IKEA Life at Home Report 2023 reveals the secrets to a happier home & a better everyday life

Today, IKEA Retail (Ingka Group), releases its 10th annual Life at Home Report – revealing the secrets to a happy home. Over the last 10 years, the IKEA Life at Home Report has become one of the biggest annual studies in the world on how we live and what really makes us happy at home. Also releasing in February, is the first Life at Communities Report from Ingka Centres that explores what makes us feel at home beyond our home environment.

In this year’s report, IKEA has reflected on a decade of data collected from a total of more than 250,000 research participants around the world, to identify the eight essential needs for a better life at home – control, comfort, security, nurturing, belonging, enjoyment, accomplishment, and aspirations. The report finds that those who often feel their emotional needs are met are much more positive about the future.

“Now we have the formula for creating a better life at home, we want to help as many people as possible ease the big tensions that get in the way – whether it’s finding enough privacy or making more sustainable choices – and put home at the heart of living well. We’ve got the knowledge and the solutions to give everyone the opportunity to make a better life at home,” says Belén Frau, Global Communication Manager, IKEA Retail (Ingka Group).

Other key highlights from this year’s report provide some insight into creating a happy home:

1. Pets boost at-home happiness: Half (52%) of those surveyed in this year’s 2023 report say that home is their favourite place in the world. This rises to 60% of people that have pets. Paws for thought indeed for households that didn’t adopt a furry friend in the pandemic puppy boom.
2. Dream homes equal a dream life: Almost three quarters (72%) say it’s important to have a home that helps them feel positive about the future, and sleep is the secret weapon for a better everyday, with a third (33%) saying catching some much-needed Zs is essential for happier mental health. Time to start manifesting. And upgrade that mattress…
3. Tidy home, tidy mind: Two fifths (40%), say that a tidy and organised home makes them feel more content and relaxed. Luckily, IKEA has countless options for home storage units and cabinets that can stand up to anything life can throw at them.
4. Greener homes are happier homes. Sustainable living gives a boost of positivity – almost three quarters (72%) of people who think they live sustainably today also feel positive about their current life at home. By 2030, IKEA aims to inspire and enable a 1 billion people to live a better everyday life within the limits of the planet. Smart solutions include everything from IKEA’s Buy Back and resale circular services, to solar panels that can turn rooftops into power stations.
5. Love thy neighbour: Connecting with those around us is essential in creating a sense of home. A quarter (24%) of those living alone get a sense of belonging from chatting with a neighbour, which rises to 28% of those living in rural areas. It’s never too late to knock on the door and introduce yourself.
6. Contentment can be found behind closed doors. With the boom in renting, and rise of shared living spaces and multigenerational living, home isn’t always the private sanctuary that we need it to be. But privacy at home is a key for a happy home, with a third (33%) agreeing that privacy is one of the most important things for feeling content and at ease.
7. Multi-sensory spaces boost relaxation. Those polled perfect their spaces by setting the mood with music (19%), ensuring their home smells fresh (18%), and adjusting the temperate (14%) so it’s just right.

Highlights from reports in year’s past show that:

1. Unplug to rekindle romance: Detoxing from digital devices is essential for nurturing our IRL romantic relationships, with over a quarter (27%) of those surveyed admitting they are spending less time with a partner because of spending time online. Steering clear of screens for a few hours a day can create more time for connecting with that special someone. (IKEA Life at Home Report 2017).
2. Home is where the heart is. Surprisingly, 1 in 3 people say they feel more at home outside of the space they live in. Whether it’s the local neighbourhood or another person’s home, it’s not always the four walls we reside in that feel most like home. (IKEA Life at Home Report 2018)
3. Balance starts at home: 4 in 10 (40%) people who felt more positive towards their home also saw a positive impact on their mental health during the previous year. (IKEA Life at Home Report 2021).

For the first time, this year’s report also looks ahead and imagines a variety of possible futures for life at home in 2030 and beyond, using foresight research to delve into how the shape of our homes and how we interact with it might change in the future.

The report imagines three different future scenarios, where distant family members join Sunday lunch in hologram form; bio-solar wallpaper uses algae to generate electricity from sunlight; and chairs are created by 3D printers using a mushroom compound. It also explores the new ways we live, looking at how community and our reliance on the land may change.

Katie McCrory, Global Leader for the IKEA Life at Home Report, adds: “Over the years, it’s become clear that the way we feel about home has a massive impact on how we feel about ourselves. Our research shows that by making positive changes to our home, we can create enormous impact in our lives and in the communities around us. A better life really does start at home!”.

Some examples of home visits we have developed for the Life at Home Report 2023: https://lifeathome.ikea.com/home-stories/.

Notes to Editors:

Download the full report here: Home – IKEA Life at Home.

10 Years of Making the IKEA Life At Home Report:

The IKEA Life at Home Report gives us the opportunity to dig deeper into life at home around the world, and how we can make it better. Over the last 10 years, it’s become one of the largest and most distinctive research projects of its kind, involving a mix of approaches and partners to explore the needs and dreams of people all over the world.

Home visits are at the heart of everything we do at IKEA, including the Life at Home Report. Meeting people where they live gives us a greater and more empathetic understanding of the challenges they face at home. In addition to home visits, our research methodology always includes a nationally representative survey across a wide range of countries, and we work with world class research agencies to ensure that our data collection is robust and representative.

The Life at Home Report began in 2014 exploring the practical aspects of home, and over the years has expanded into the emotional landscape of where we live. One of the most distinct qualities of the Life at Home Report is exploring how people feel about where there live, and not just what they do there. This blend of functional and emotional insights helped to develop a framework which presents eight emotional needs for a better life at home. This year, the research survey was based on these eight emotional needs of home.

Methodology for the Life at Home Report 2023

A nationally representative sample of 37,428 people aged 18+ were surveyed across 38 countries. We surveyed over 1,000 people from 36 of the countries and over 500 from two of them. Quantitative surveys were conducted by YouGov using the online CAWI (computer-assisted web interviewing) method. Data was collected from May to June 2023.

About Ingka Group:

With IKEA retail operations on 31 markets, Ingka Group is the largest IKEA retailer and represents about 90% of IKEA retail sales. It is a strategic partner to develop and innovate the IKEA business and help define common IKEA strategies. Ingka Group owns and operates IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. It has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres. Read more on  www.Ingka.com.