A new study from Confused.com has revealed the things guests notice most when they visit our homes. The research uses eye-tracking technology to pinpoint the areas of each room in the house that are the most eye-catching, and hold our gaze the longest.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the amount of time spent working from home over the past 18 months, office chairs were the most viewed item in the home, followed by kitchen floors, a child’s cot, throws on a bed, and kitchen cabinets.
The kitchen is possibly more integral to family life than any other room, and the research shows how much our guests love to have a look around. Our kitchen floors drew most attention, pulling in 100 more views than our cabinets in second place, and almost seven times as many as the sink, in third place. The least interesting spots for guests was the hob and extractor fan - so despite our assumptions, no one is really looking at how clean our cooking area is...
The top 10 areas that guests look at most:
- Office chairs
- Kitchen floors
- Child's cot
- Throws on a bed
- Kitchen cabinets
- Bathroom mirror
- Drawers under the sink
- Home office computer
- Child's bookcase
- Bedroom chest of drawers
The office chair is an overwhelming point of interest for guests, which is understandable given its relative novelty over the past 18 months. Surprisingly, the desk itself was almost unanimously ignored, along with our choice of indoor plants and desk lamp.
We've all been guilty of giving our bathrooms an extra deep clean when we have company, and this study confirms that we're right to do so, with guests showing most interest in our bathroom mirrors, sink, toilet, and bath. Somewhat disappointingly, our styling holds less intrigue, with lighting, plants and choice of tiles going relatively unnoticed.
In the living room, soft furnishings and key furniture pieces were of most interest - coffee tables, rugs and decorative cushions pulled in the most views, and it is cushions that hold our guests' attention for the longest. This trend is reflected across all the rooms in our homes - in the bedroom, most guests will clock the throws on your bed before looking at any furniture - whilst our choice of wall art and curtains was of little interest.
The study used the same eye-tracking technology to reveal which interior design trends are most eye-catching. According to the research, people hone in on boucle furniture the fastest – on average, just 1 second – close behind was rattan furniture, dark kitchen cabinets, mid-century furniture, and Berber rugs.
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