By Thomas Møller Christensen, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photo: Jens Hasse, Chili Foto

Whether she watches home programs, follows Danes' interior design on Instagram or sees how celebrities showcase their homes in magazines, she is always on the hunt for new clues about how society understands the home.

"Popular culture is a kind of collective diary. If you want to understand how we dream of living, look at what we see, read and like."

Mette is a senior researcher at BUILD - the Department of the Built Environment - where she does research on how we live and what drives our housing choices. 

For her, the housing culture lives and breathes in the images we share, the stories we tell, and the homes we dream of as we switch between I hus til halsen, Boligfix for nul og nix and Hammerslag.

"The housing culture is a mirror of ourselves and our society. Keeping up with what people dream of and how they create their homes gives me insight into how we're all trying to find our place in a world that's constantly changing."

For Mette, research is not just about understanding, but about communicating. She is passionate about pulling housing culture out of the academic framework and into the conversation about our everyday lives.

"Research only makes sense when it is shared. We all have a relationship with the home, so of course that knowledge has to be used."

Mette is so absorbed in housing culture that she can't help but make it a part of everyday life. Without thinking about it, she often ends up doing small sociological field studies of friends and family – what they choose, how they decorate and how their homes change over time.

"We tend to think that home is just a practical choice. But when we talk about housing, it’s about something much deeper. It's about how we see ourselves and how we adapt to the framework we live in."

And if she weren't a researcher, Mette could easily see herself as a TV producer, psychologist or Bed and Breakfast owner. 

But one thing is certain: She would still be interested in people and the places we call home.