What your home says about you
From your fridge to your bed, to the colour of your walls, your home reveals your personality, and even how much sex you have, Jo Hartley discovers.
If research is to be believed, I’m a gym enthusiast, a passionate lover and meticulous about organisation. Two of those are true – I’ll leave you to guess which ones.
But what’s the link with my home? Well, I make my bed daily, my bedroom is blue and I roll my socks.
Experts say that the way we live, down to the colour schemes we choose and the layout of our homes, is a big reflection on our personality.
For example, one study found that bright open and airy bedrooms represented emotional stability, while a messy bedroom was linked with extroversion.
‘‘The type of house we have, create or prefer is greatly influenced by our personality and also reflects the type of person we wish to project,’’ says Franco Greco, a registered psychologist.
Greco says that there are five main characteristics to consider when it comes to defining someone’s personality.
These are our openness to experience, our conscientiousness, how extroverted we are, our agreeableness and, finally, our emotions.
‘‘A person’s home is increasingly their refuge, the place where they can be themselves and the place where the mask comes off,’’ says Greco. ‘‘What plays out there reflects on these five characteristics and, subsequently, reflects their personality.’’
Greco notes that someone with an agreeable personality will tend to have a home that’s cheerful, clean, organised, comfortable and inviting.
Someone who’s open to experience, or is creative and unconventional, will likely have a home that’s highly decorated, colourful, distinctive and unusual.
Greco says personalities less open to experience opt for conventional decor and colour and focus on a predictable and simple household layout. These personality types are more likely to buy homes off-theplan.
‘‘These personalities lean towards spaces that are easy to keep clean with minimalist design using lots of black, white and grey and only the occasional pop of colour for accent,’’ he says. ‘‘Alternatively, they go for pastels as it’s about using a restricted colour palette.
In line with the minimalist aesthetic, they’ll opt for geometric shapes, angular lines and surfaces that are kept decluttered and clean.’’
So, what do the studies say about our homes?
Well, there’s certainly a lot to be said about our bedrooms. According to a British study conducted by Littlewoods, those of us with purple bedrooms are getting luckier than others in the intimacy department.
The 2012 study of 2000 adults showed that the frequency of sex people had varied depending on the colour of their bedroom as well as their choice of bedding.
People who had purple rooms had sex about four times a week, followed by red (3.18), sky blue (3.14), pink (3.04) and black (2.99).
Another bedroom study of 2000 people found that those with blue bedrooms were getting the best and longest sleep, averaging seven hours and 52 minutes a night, with 58 per cent of those reporting waking up feeling happy.
Interestingly, while builders, teachers and civil servants preferred sleep-inducing blue in their bedrooms, bankers and estate agents opted for a gold decor associated with wealth. Shop workers opted for browns.
‘‘People who are socially introverted and highly emotional are more likely to prefer dark colours, whereas people who are low in agreeableness and highly extroverted lean towards brighter colours,’’ says Greco.
When it comes to lifestyle itself, one study of 68,000 people reported that 71 per cent of bedmakers consider themselves happy, compared with 62 per cent of nonbedmakers who don’t.
Similarly, bedmakers were more likely to exercise, enjoy their work and own their home. Non-bedmakers were the opposite.
But colour isn’t just personal, it can affect how others perceive us.
Research conducted by paint company Dulux found that others may judge you before they’ve even entered your home, quite literally based on the colour of your front door.
A white door is associated with a calm and peaceful home, followed closely by blue, which is considered harmonious and restorative. Red is associated with passion and confidence, while lilac suggests mystery and spirituality, and purple is associated with wealth and power.
However, it’s not just the more obvious and colourful things in our homes that reflect our personalities. The less obvious ones do too.
With the help of nutritionist Dr Joanna McMillan and lifestyle psychologist Martha Tsakalos, Westinghouse recently set out to create the Australian Fridge Stacking Personality Guide.
‘‘How clean your fridge is, the foods you find, whether they’re still in date – even how things are stored and arranged – can provide a snapshot into your inner world,’’ said Tsakalos in an interview with 9Honey.
The experts noted that socialites tend to have unloved, messy and emptier fridges, while conscientious and committed personalities have tidy, organised fridges – hello Tupperware!
People-pleasers have well-stocked fridges with ingredients for treats and baked goods, while creative types have well-stocked fridges with diverse ingredients.
As for me, I probably fit in the latter category, but I’m not too sure I’m a people-pleaser so much as a lover of treats.
This article first appeared in Domain. com.au and has been republished with permission.