Your Home’s “Face”

The façade of your home is the face that it presents to the world.

Just like our own faces have a big effect on the instantaneous opinions formed of us as people, the front of our house significantly influences the impression that others form of our home, and us.  It’s not just the fronts of our homes that send out messages to the world, so do storefronts and the entrances to offices and healthcare facilities and schools.

The messages sent and received also guide people to act in particular ways when they approach a structure, pass through its doors, and travel about inside, working, socializing, etc.

What can neuroscience tell us about how we should “present” our homes to the world?  Scientists have found that:

• We find familiar façade forms comforting.A key word in the last sentence is “familiar.” That does not mean exactly the same as every other, it does mean “understandable.” Too much the same doesn’t allow much unspoken communication of who residents are, which adds to resident and viewer stress.  A façade that is totally different from any façade that’s ever been built is great for catapulting us into mental efforts to understand how to use it—questions can arise such as “how do I get inside,” for example—all of which can be the designer’s and residents’ effect—and is definitely a plus when this sort of “get ‘em thinking” reaction is the goal.
• For organizations at least, skyscrapers are associated with power and success and corporate campus type buildings seem more approachable.Exterior walls that are transparent bring to mind thoughts of truthfulness and willingness to communicate.  The same sort of links are likely found for homes.
• A home with no windows or curtains always drawn so there is never a view inside seems ominous to viewers and somewhat dangerous to approach.
• Research specifically done with façades has shown that façades with moderate visual complexity are preferred to those that are more or less complex. Façades that are too plain depress visual complexity on the street to uncomfortably low levels just as ones that are very complicated can elevate complexity to unpleasantly high levels, as always, moderate visual complexity overall is best for our wellbeing and stress levels, as discussed in this article.LINK The number, size, and placement of windows influence visual complexity on façades as do surface materials used and ornamentation, for example.
• If all windows are arrayed in a repeating pattern, all the same size and in a long strip, for instance, a structure seems institutional while a homelike feel is created when there are discrete windows that seem to be placed and sized based on how the spaces inside are used or to capture a view, etc.
• Research has shown that a void (say, windows) to solid (for example, walls) ratio of around .5 is generally the most preferred worldwide, it seems, although this factor may change slightly in areas with very cold or warm climates.
• Whether the front of a house seems facelike does not, in the end, influence much how it is evaluated.
• When houses are painted colours that harmonize with each other, no one seems dominant, the harmonious colours create an harmonious “look” and feeling on the street.Again, familiar façade colours are generally preferred.
• Walls with art on them tend to be graffitied less, so if you live in an area where graffiti is an issue, commission something for the outer wall of your home or get out your own paintbrushes.
• We prefer when façades along a street are approximately the same height, none dramatically taller than others.
• Based on average heights and average amounts of eye movement, up and down, researchers have found that people mainly focus their attention on the 20 feet of a façade closest to the ground, approximately.
• If your home is covered with ivy or something similar, the roots of those tenacious plants may be destroying your actual building, but seeing that ivy, etc., is helping anyone who can see your building refresh mentally.
• A few “front of the house” features that aren’t on the façade but do matter:
  • Straightforward to travel (even underfoot, for example) pathways from the street/sidewalk invite people to move forward to your home.
  • When there is some sort of clear demarcation of where your home territory begins, there will be fewer “invasions” of your space (for example, people walking on your lawn or dropping litter onto it), and even conversations with neighbours and passersby will flow more smoothly and be more pleasant/positive as it will be clear to all whose space is whose.Examples of boundaries: even short hedges, a slight increase in the level of the ground, a row of stones, a change in material underfoot.
  • And to the surprise of none who read this newsletter: some nature in front of a home (not enough to block views in or out) can elevate the wellbeing of both people inside (who see peeps of it) and walking by outside.