How different countries decorate

A recent scientific study of over 50,000 photos of living rooms in properties advertised for rent on Airbnb has founded that despite globalisation and the ease of being able to buy the same stool in Toronto and Brisbane, countries still have their very own sense of style, especially in living areas.

Homes with lots of books tended to belong to educated people, and showed an investment in knowledge. Australian homes didn’t have as many books in comparison to European countries including Hungary, Austria and Germany.

Research found that 62 per cent of homes around the world reflected an appreciation for art. Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania decorated the least while European homes were the most decorated.

Melbourne was named as one of the 10 least colourful cities. The timelessness of neutrals and whites was found to be more appealing to Melbournians.

Indoor plants were hugely popular in Scandinavian and Chinese living rooms. In colder climates, like Scandinavia, plants can only survive year-round indoors. If plants don’t survive outside well, they are brought inside. This relates to the ‘biophilia theory” which suggests humans have an innate tendency to seek connections with nature.

Worldwide, only 30 per cent of Airbnb listings had décor in the living rooms. The most ornaments were found in Brazilian, Indian and Italian living rooms. However, a limitation to this research is that owners’ may be fearing the theft or damage to personal belongings.

Extrapolated from https://www.domain.com.au/living/how-different-nations-decorate-according-to-science-804868/