What Kids Want: Eye-Tracking Study Reveals What Children Value The Most In A Home

New research from Boomin has revealed what children value the most within a home, to help homeowners make their interiors more child-friendly.

Using eye-tracking technology, the study analysed what catches the attention of children aged between 8 and 15 years old the most. Using multiple images of rooms that range from the lounge to the kitchen and bathroom, in addition to exteriors, the study revealed that it isn’t just big TV’s, toys and bold colours that captivate children. Instead, the results show that kids value home comforts, alongside natural elements, more than anything else.

By far the item that holds a child’s attention the most inside a house, is the sofa. The relaxing heart of most homes, sofas featured in various lounge images within the study were looked at over 700 times, more than 200 times more than the shower, which ranked as the second most valued feature in the home.

The Top 10 Most Important Items Within A Home, According To Kids:

Beyond this, nature is clearly another eye-catching element for kids, with the garden lawn and outdoor plants proving popular. Whilst windows, which help to bring the outside in, also ranked as some of the more important features of a home when considering what will make your kids happiest and most engaged during their time in the house.

In other rooms, the eye-tracking analysis also revealed that bright, patterned tiles in a bathroom get a child’s seal of approval, while kitchen islands captured the gaze of the participants of the study, over anything else in the kitchen.

What Kids Look For In Their Bedrooms

In addition to rooms such as the lounge, bathroom and the exterior kerb appeal of a home, Boomin also analysed reactions to various bedroom layouts, to decipher what rules the roost when it comes to creating the ultimate kids’ bedroom.

Being a bedroom, beds unsurprisingly captured the most attention, however interestingly more ‘standard’ beds were found to have greater appeal than bunks. Although beyond the beds, the importance of accessorising shone through, with simple features such as lighting, shelves and decorative cushions captured even more attention than an in-room play house. Highlighting that the little things can be just as important to kids than larger, more expensive items.

The Top 10 Most Important Features of a Bedroom, According to Kids:

Michael Bruce, CEO and Founder of Boomin commented: “As the study shows, it’s clear that children pay more attention to the little things around the home than we maybe give them credit for. It’s encouraging to see that even in 2021, more ‘homely’ elements like the comfort of the sofa, the call of the dining table and the connection to nature are more appealing than big screens and toys.

Whether people are looking for ideas to breathe more life into a kid’s bedroom, or make their house more inviting to every member of a family for when it hits the market, we hope our findings have helped!”

Boomin has also created a dedicated section on its website named the Property Playground, to provide homeowners with inspiration for every room of the house. The Playground enables users to view collections from a host of interior designers and gain on-trend ideas for whatever they’re looking to create, be it a fun and vibrant kids bedroom or a cosy lounge.

To find out more about this, and for the full research, visit: boomin.com/property-news/what-kids-really-want-from-a-home