Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Top celebrities and their luxury houses are responsible for thousands of young householders feeling disillusioned with their own homes, and neglecting the housework as a result.
A survey carried out by Henley Centre HeadlightVision for Ikea shows that the strongest symptoms are among 25 to 35-year-olds. The phenomenon has been dubbed Irritable Home Syndrome by leading health psychologist David Moxon.
Bombarded by images of luxury lifestyles, home makeovers and celebrity homes, people increasingly feel pressured to keep up home appearances, says Moxon. One in five of us now feel stressed, depressed or worried by negative feelings about where we live.
Amongst the warning signs of Irritable Home Syndrome are apathy towards household chores and neglecting cleaning and tidying as a result, and spending as little time at home as possible by staying longer at work and eating out a lot.
“Our obsession with celebrity has gone from the red carpet to the bedroom carpet,” says Moxon. “We’re constantly fed unrealistic expectations about achieving celebrity status, and we’re now seeing a similar effect as people try to copy celebrity home styles they’ve seen on television, online and in magazines.”
According to the survey, well over 40% of householders affected by the stress of their homes place problems such as clutter, décor and repairs ahead of mortgage concerns.
