Used to be we simply lived in our houses. Then the ’80s came, and we “cocooned.” Now, we are “hiving.”
The term surfaced in pop culture over the past year or so, although trend-watchers coined it a few years back. Googling the combination “hiving” and “home” serves up more than 8,000 hits, and not that many have to do with actual bees.
(Sensible Google prompts, “Did you mean ‘living home?’).
No, we meant hiving. In case you’ve been doing it and haven’t realized it, or want to know how to start: Hiving entails making connections to others from within our homes; the home is “command central” for a variety of activities involving other people, including work and socializing.
“Borrowing from the metaphor of a beehive, abuzz with activity, hiving represents engagement, interaction and connection with the outside environment,” according to Yankelovich, a marketing consulting firm that tracks consumer attitudes.
This differs from what lifestyle guru Faith Popcorn coined “cocooning,” or retreating to one’s home as refuge from the outside world.
“We don’t see the return to home motivated by a desire to isolate oneself, but to reconnect, re-engage with other people, to renew relationships with other people. Family, neighborhoods are much more important,” says J. Walker Smith, president of Yankelovich, based in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Yankelovich has spotted these signs of hiving:
* The huge popularity of home decorating shows, aiming to make the home a more accessible living space.
* Increasing numbers of people working from home.
* Cellphone companies highlighting their products’ ability to keep people connected with others rather than touting the technological features; “family” cellphone plans are offered.
* Rising interest in neighborhood “watches” and neighborhood traffic control.
* Board games – old ones such as Monopoly and Scrabble, and newer ones like Settlers of Catan – enjoying double-digit growth for the past few years.
* Increasing interest in “home” crafts, such as scrapbooking and knitting.
* More “home-party selling” (beyond Tupperware, you can buy anything from gourmet foods to sex toys in home parties).
* New trends in housing construction, such as “walkable neighborhoods” combining retail and living spaces.
And watch out – you might need a “hive” makeover. With the trend comes design implications.
“Nesting calls for soothing, quieter colors, plushier fabrics and lots of pillows,” according to realtytimes.com. “Hiving means livelier color, less clutter, multifunctional workspaces and more opportunity for interactivity.
“Hiving also means having more luxury at home through scaling down. Homebuyers will own fewer things, but nicer versions of those things.”
It’s a lot simpler for the bees.
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