Dreaming of a bowling alley in your fantasy house? Well, you are not alone. Twenty-five percent of the consumers interviewed in a recent survey for Spiegel Inc. said they include an at-home bowling alley in their home fantasies, while only 9 percent dream of a back-yard tennis court.
These tidbits and more are among the facts gleaned from a telephone survey of 1,000 men and women 18 years and older who were interviewed for the nation`s largest direct marketer in a survey dubbed ”Building Castles in the Air.”
”The home-furnishings business relies on a combination of `pie in the sky` ideals and practical issues,” explains Bette Rosenberg, Spiegel`s home fashion director. ”Asking consumers about their home fantasies helps us determine which catagories and product features we need to pay attention to.”
Though Spiegel has yet to address the dream of home bowling alleys, the catalog company has added merchandise to appeal to the 38 percent of consumers who would like a ”spa/whirlpool” in their home.
” `How can I build a mini-spa in my bathroom?` is one question,”
Rosenberg says. ”Most of us don`t have a bathroom big enough for a whirlpool. It`s a fantasy we have to address in some smaller ways like a wonderful bubble bath. The dream is a getaway, a relaxing place. The reality is our plain bathrooms. How can we integrate the two? We can do such things as offer state- of-the-art exercise equipment or show a TV in the bathroom.
Giving an example from personal experience, the executive, who describes herself as an empty-nester, recently invested ”in one of these little cute TVs in my bath so I have the news in the morning while I put on my makeup. It has removed the doldrums in the morning for me. It is my touch of spa, my getaway.”
Responding to other consumer dreams may be harder, yet the composite of responses provides sometimes surprising, sometimes confusing but always interesting clues to what Americans want for their lives.
Space is certainly one dream. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, two fireplaces, seven closets, three televisions and four telephones are in the blueprint of the composite dream house. Nearly half, 47 percent, of the respondents dream of a gourmet kitchen. Still, despite the space, 71 percent of those surveyed would not equip their home with servants.
When they fantasize, 71 percent dream of a master bedroom suite. Forty-three percent want a media/entertainment center, while two very opposite kinds of rooms-an exercise facility and a library-are included in dreams of 40 percent of the respondents.
Homes that guarantee privacy and rooms associated with privacy are a priority. The top two choices for dream-home locations are an ”ocean-front home” for 35 percent of the respondents, and a ”cabin in the woods” is the dream of 29 percent. One in four people wants a ”South Fork-style ranch,”
and 229 opted for an ”English Tudor country estate.” Only 7 percent say they fantasize of a ”luxury penthouse in the city.”
Likewise, less than 30 percent of those surveyed would equip their dream house with public areas to impress friends and neighbors, such as a lavish dining room, an imposing driveway, formal gardens with fountains and the tennis court.
Thirty-seven percent of those polled are inspired by browsing through magazines and catalogs, and 21 percent credit the interiors featured in movies and on television for many of their ideas.
In a statistic suggesting house dreaming is more competitive with another common human fantasy than most would expect, 1 in 10 respondents fantasizes about the ”house of their dreams” every day.
