A peek at living room decor suggests how decorations vary around the world

In a study that used artificial intelligence to analyze design elements, such as artwork and wall colors, in pictures of living rooms posted to Airbnb, a popular home rental website, the researchers found that people tended to follow cultural trends when they decorated their interiors. In the United States, where the researchers had economic data from the U.S. Census, they also found that people across socioeconomic lines put similar efforts into interior decoration. "We were interested in seeing how other cultures decorated," said Clio Andris, assistant professor of geography, Penn State and an Institute for CyberScience associate. "We see maps of the world and wonder, 'What's it like living there,' but we don't really know what it's like to be in people's living rooms and in their houses. This was like people around the world inviting us into their homes."