ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Comput. Sci.
Sec. Human-Media Interaction
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcomp.2025.1610053
"Your House Looks Like That Show....": Exploring Consumers' Perceptions Towards Media-Inspired Home Décor
Provisionally accepted
- 1Symbiosis International University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- 2Symbiosis International University, Pune, Maharashtra, India
- 3The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- 4Fatima College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Introduction: The growing popularity of media-inspired home décor, where consumers draw aesthetic influence from movies and television shows, reflects a broader cultural shift in how individuals personalize their living spaces. While this trend has gained traction globally, limited research has explored the motivations and experiences of consumers, particularly among expatriates living in multicultural contexts such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Method: This study adopts a qualitative research design, utilizing semi-structured interviews with fifteen expatriates from diverse professional and cultural backgrounds residing in the UAE. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis to uncover underlying motivations, perceptions, and challenges associated with media-inspired home décor.Results: The analysis revealed six prominent themes: media-inspired self-expression, where participants used décor to communicate personal identity; aesthetic and emotional motivations that drive design choices; financial accessibility and creative adaptations that enable consumers to achieve desired looks within budget constraints; social validation and peer influence that shape décor decisions; risks of themed décor including potential drawbacks and limitations; and artistic engagement and cultural appreciation that demonstrates deeper connections with media content. Participants expressed strong connections between media-inspired décor and identity construction, emotional fulfillment, and cultural expression.Discussion: The findings indicate that media-inspired home décor is a meaningful avenue for consumers to construct and communicate their identities while navigating practical limitations and evolving design trends. This study highlights the significance of symbolic and emotional drivers in consumer behavior and provides practical insights for interior designers, marketers, and home décor brands aiming to engage with culturally diverse and media-savvy audiences.
Keywords: media-inspired home décor, Symbolic consumption, movies, TV shows, Consumer perceptions, nostalgia, Interior Design
Received: 18 Apr 2025; Accepted: 07 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mulla, Kaluvilla, Zahidi, Alsabbah and Tantry. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tausif Mulla, Symbiosis International University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.