Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - July 3, 2005
Ilse Fredericks

SOUTH African home owners are splashing out on their homes - then raising the drawbridge and staying put.

From humble shacks to mansions, people are ploughing time, energy and cash into their homes as "cocooning" and "burrowing" trends take hold.

A recently updated nationwide study called My Home: Shack, Shelter or Showroom, conducted by the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing, identified trends such as:

*Cocooning - People are choosing to socialise and relax at home;

*Burrowing - At home, people make time to improve their "emotional mindset";

*Fortressing - As people become more isolated, improving security is a priority. The number of security systems installed in homes has doubled in the past nine years;

*Smaller spaces - Living spaces are shrinking, but we are making better use of that space;

*Afripolitan - Traditional African interior design is merging with international decor;

* Blurban living - The boundaries between urban and rural living, formal and informal living and low- and high-income areas are becoming blurred;

*Property boom - Demand for property is soaring, thanks to favourable interest rates and an increase in black home ownership;

*Working from home - The virtual office allows people to work from home. Women, especially, are taking advantage of this trend, and those in poorer communities are using their homes to set up hairdressers and spaza shops.

About 76% of people surveyed feel that their home reflects their position in society. And they are spending - even slipping into debt - to renovate. When they have extra cash, 72% spend it on buying things for the home.

Rudi Botha, managing director of the mortgage-origination company PA BetterBond, said the total market of people applying for new home loans was estimated at R9-billion a month. People switching home loans between banks and taking further advances for home improvements add an extra R4-billion a month to that figure, he said.

Bridget Dore, research manager for the institute, says people are cocooning: "This could be staying indoors to watch a DVD with friends rather than going out."

She says that concerns about crime, global terrorism and the threat of drugs and HIV/Aids all contribute to the phenomenon.

Many township residents, fearing chaos and crime over the festive season, opted to spend Christmas at home, the institute found.

But, although they spend more time at home, South Africans are not becoming couch potatoes. They are using time at home to focus on their emotional health.

"There is a growing need to have a bit more time for reflection from the manic vortex. People need time to unwind," says Dore. She says crafting and the old-fashioned art of putting together scrapbooks have become popular pastimes.

Business is cashing in on the home lifestyle trends. Mr Delivery, started by Laurence Levine, has grown from one operation in 1992 to 65 today. Levine says Mr Delivery has "ratcheted cocooning up another level".

"We empower consumers to confine the clutter of the shopping mall to a distant memory. Crowds, crime and parking prices are no longer a factor," he says.

Pretoria decor specialist Ferdi Louw, who has renovated an old Bryanston farmhouse for former Miss South Africa Amy Kleynhans, and revamped the Cresta Shopping Centre, agreed that South Africans were spending more money on sprucing up their homes.

"Home theatre systems and great big TV screens are huge. Splash pools and larger verandas are also in. Also, home decorating stuff is so easily available in a host of homeware stores," says Louw.

Home entertainment systems are also increasing in popularity as people prefer the comfort and privacy of their own homes to a night out.

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Additional reporting Bi nne Huisman and Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

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