What makes a house a home?

When folks start searching for their dream house, they are probably focused on things like the neighborhood, or whether a place has a great kitchen or enough bathrooms, but are these factors what really makes a great house a home?  Well, according to a new survey, the obvious answer is no.

The folks at Angie’s List asked their customers to share their thoughts on what makes a house a home, and not surprising, most of the answers weren’t concrete or tangible things.

"We were really curious to see what people would say, unprompted. We didn't give them a list of words to select from.  We wanted to hear what their first thought was," Angie's List founder Angie Hicks says. "We found that 'home' doesn't have to be exquisitely decorated or even particularly clean."

  • The majority of folks, 54% to be exact, used words like “family,” "people," "friends," "spouse," "children" or "kids" in describing what makes their house a home, while 49% cited “comfort” or “comfortable.”  Animals also played a role in making a place a home, with 5% citing “dog,” “cat,” or “pets,” although dogs were more popular.  “Clean” was used by a few select folks (3%), which seems to mean I'm not the only one who doesn't care about the mess in my living room.


Source: Angie’s List