NEWS COPY
House-proud Brits make snap judgements on a neighbor within just 26 seconds of entering their home, a new survey has revealed.
The study of 2,000 examined the ways people judge a person’s house when first entering and found neatly stacked shoes in the hallway, clean skirting-boards and curtains that aren’t outdated are crucial in forming a good impression.
While a comfy sofa, fresh-smelling hallway and posh coffee are the key to impressing guests in your home and appeared on the list of factors people are silently scrutinising.
Homes that aren’t too cluttered, appear fresh and clean and have a moderately-sized but not too large a television are also likely to be warmly received and featured among the 20 most commonly-judged aspects of a home.
The research, which was commissioned by AirWick, found the scent of a home is the biggest contributor to a positive reception, followed by whether or not the place is cluttered and if it gives off a homely vibe.
Whether or not there’s a fresh scent throughout, a good temperature and no unsightly marks on the walls are other boxes Brits are mentally ticking off as they spend time in someone else’s home.
Piles of junk mail or unopened post don’t aid the first impression, while the same goes for coats on a bannister which also featured in the top 20 factors for judging a home.
Yesterday an AirWick spokeswoman said: “The study shows just how much we process when we step inside a home and the things people make note of, whether consciously or not. It takes less than thirty seconds for people to make that first impression and clearly the scent of a home has a big impact in setting the tone.
“Air Wick Life Scents offers a multi-layered, constantly-changing home fragrance range that helps you to personalise your home and give it an instant fresh feel.”
The study also found ‘are the curtains outdated?’ and ‘are the hand towels soft?’ are also prominent questions in the minds of people assessing a home.
Whether a place has a homely feel is most crucial in helping people warm to a home they are visiting, followed by tidiness and how it smells.
And it’s a natural reaction, eight in ten admit they can’t help but make judgements on someone after looking round their home.
But it’s not always positive, results showed Brits are secretly critical of nearly a third of their friends and family’s homes- three in ten aren’t to their taste or could do with some work according to those polled.
In fact, a fifth dislike a friend’s house so much they will often make excuses to avoid it and instead always offer to host at their own home.
But other homes don’t always leave a bad impression: four in ten have copied something they saw in a friend or neighbour’s house.
Others even confessed to pretending it was originally their idea after being complemented on a particular item or furnishing idea they had stolen from a friend.
The average Brit is confident they can whip their house into being ‘ready for guests’ in just 21 minutes if having to host guests at late notice.
Running round frantically with air freshener and the hoover before shoving everything in cupboards is the most common plan of action.
THE HOME INSPECTION CHECKLIST–MOST COMMON QUESTIONS ASKED
1. Does it smell nice as you first enter?
2. Is the place too cluttered?
3. Is the place homely?
4. Do the rooms smell fresh?
5. Whether the temperature is right/too hot/too cold
6. Any stains/marks on the wall in the house?
7. Is the sofa comfy?
8. Do they have too many ornaments/cheap looking?
9. If there’s lots of coats hanging off the banister
10. Is the overall décor modern/stylish?
11. Are there piles of post/junk mail on the floor/ not opened
12. Are the shoes in the hallway neatly stacked?
13. Is there stuff on the stairs?
14. If the skirting boards are clean/ not dusty
15. Are there a lot of kids’ toys around?
16. Is the artwork nice or not?
17. Do they have nice touches like candles etc.?
18. Is the lighting at a good level?
19. Are the curtains outdated?
20. Are the hand towels soft?
ENDS
