ORDEN DE PRELACIÓN DE PAGOS

Some of the strongest sub-fields of interactive comfort were facilitative in nature. The engagement of householders in desirable activities, the grouping of items of similar function, the ability to make changes to their homes and the adaption of the space were all significant qualities in the experience of interactive comfort. Participants described engaging in activities which they also noted as desirable during private and social comfort, for instance Lewis uses the privacy of his bedroom to play the guitar, and also noted playing the guitar as a desirable activity. Discussions of the multi-functionality of spaces and the grouping of similar functioned devices are attributes of facilitative comfort which were also significant for social interactions as previously discussed (Figure 23 and Figure 26). Walter provided an instance of this when describing social interactions in his living room (see Figure 26). Furthermore certain participants were able to enjoy a better quality of social interaction with the addition of conservatories to their properties.

Characteristics of perceptual comfort were also expressed in participants’ responses to interactive comfort. Participants had a tendency to describe private spaces as small and cosy and social spaces as large and spacious, pertaining to the perceptual dimensions required for the desired interaction (see Figure 22: Kevin,

Pauline: “When there is only a few of us it's good to go into the backroom & the small dining table, cosier and not so formal as the large

dining room in the conservatory. It is bright and light, looking out

165 Study, Interactive Comfort and Figure 29: Pauline, Dining Room, Interactive). There was also the need for quiet environment in certain private areas for work or studies, a quality which is also perceptive in nature.

Personalisation Comfort 8.12.4

Personalisation comfort gave participants the opportunity to describe how they bonded and added their own personal taste to their home. Eleven participants chose to capture images of various ways in which they had personalised spaces in their home including choices in décor and furnishings, aesthetic pieces and displaying photographs. Having a décor which reflects the taste of the individual or household was important and participants had actively been a part of the decision process; Maria described how she had considered the dimensions of the room, natural lighting and relaxation when decorating her living room:

Figure 30: Maria, Living Room, Personalisation Comfort

Olivia also explained how she had thought about the décor and furnishings of her study room in order to provide motivation to do her work:

Maria: “I've personalised this area through my choice of furniture, decor and colour. I've used bold and neutral colours, which helps me to relax. It also makes the most of the light that comes into the room, which I like. I also chose a sofa that fit neatly into the corner of the room and enabled me to relax by having a range of

seating positions.

I've personalised the area because it is my home and I wanted a space to be able to

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Figure 31: Olivia, Study Room, Personalisation Comfort

With participants who lived with their families, the decision to decorate was shared so that the surroundings were suitable for all [Eva, Pauline, Walter, Kevin, Mike, and Rachael]. Eva explained how:

Of the participants who were making shared decisions, half of them also expressed the lack of decisiveness or urgency to personalise their home [Walter, Kevin, and Rachael]. In addition they noted as long as the décor wasn’t unappealing then it did not negatively impact on them. Rachael, in discussion on personalising her home, stated:

Eva: “Every room/area in the house is for all to enjoy… if I personalise I’d have all my ornaments all displayed and I keep saying to the children I can’t wait till you guys get older, and I’d have all the rugs back that I used to have.

But when you’ve got kids I have to fit the house around them, I think that’s so important.”

Olivia: “I redecorated and furnished the room. I love NYC, have spent a lot of time there and would love to live there. I liked the

style and lightness of white and lime green for my office - it's calming. I made the pictures on the wall from my own photos and

a subway map.

I wanted a study I would like to sit in to work, I can sit on the sofa to read or use the desk

computer. It makes me happy to look at memories and motivates me to work to finish

and move on. New York makes me feel confident so this reminds me of that feeling -

167 Overall, a majority of male participants [Walter, Kevin, and Mike] expressed less interest in the décor of the home than the female participants, some stating that they let their partners lead the decision, Walter said:

The aesthetic pieces and keepsakes which participants placed around their home added individuality and reminders of significant life events; these ranged from photographs, souvenirs from travels, and items of personal attachment [Pauline, Sarah, Kevin, Mike, Rachael, Jessica, and Olivia]. These pieces added uniqueness to their homes; Pauline displayed photographs she had taken of a tree in a local park over the year, demonstrating the attention played to personalising:

Rachael: “Most of the house we haven't done much with as it's neutral and inoffensive… we’ve not decorated this room [living room] since we’ve moved in, been here six years… the thing is I am the only one that would do any DIY,

so basically any kind of painting or whatever is when I get fed up and kind of go, oh I can’t stand it anymore.”

Walter: “The décor, oh no, I leave that to my wife, the decoration.” Interviewer: “So do you think that it’s more important to your wife?”

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Figure 32: Pauline, Hallway, Personalisation Comfort

Unique designs were also partly the motivation for Kevin’s ‘retro/industrial’ styled kitchen in which he displayed keepsakes from his grandfather:

Figure 33: Kevin, Kitchen, Personalisation Comfort

Maria, Pauline, Sarah, and Walter captured images of places where they personalised by being able to create their own space and have an area where it is predominantly for their possessions. This type of personalisation was expressed by Walter who had also stated he had built his shed himself:

Pauline: “I helped my husband decorate the hall 3 years ago and as

we both loved the tree wallpaper and decided it would be nice to photograph the tree in the park down the road throughout the year

so we could have photos of spring, summer, autumn & winter.

I felt that it made the hall decorating complete, and is a good

record of the tree in the park.”

Kevin: “Metal advertising signs high up on a wall in the kitchen When we decorated/rebuilt the kitchen, I left the wall blank brick and put some old signs up that I had

got from my grandfather. I like the retro/industrial style and thought they would look good and a

bit different to the usual boring suburban house.”

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Figure 34: Walter, Shed, Personalisation Comfort