What Makes Your House Feel Like Home?
It happens gradually, in myriad subtle ways, until you realise your new house is now ‘home’. Try these tricks to help you settle in
After the stress of moving day, finding yourself ensconced in a new house can spark a flurry of emotions, from worry to excitement. You will almost certainly feel daunted at the prospect of turning the empty shell of a building, possibly a battered and dated one, into an appealing home.
Those signs of someone else’s ownership aren’t erased overnight, but you will merge with your surroundings, bonding with each corner as you begin living in the space. Then comes that moment of clarity, recognition unfurling like a flower: you’re relaxed, you’re content, you’re home.
Those signs of someone else’s ownership aren’t erased overnight, but you will merge with your surroundings, bonding with each corner as you begin living in the space. Then comes that moment of clarity, recognition unfurling like a flower: you’re relaxed, you’re content, you’re home.
Cook and eat together
The kitchen may be the heart of the home, but it takes energy to keep that heart beating. It might not always be what you feel like doing after a long day, so be sure to congratulate yourself for cooking a hearty meal.
Food is also a great basis for starting new traditions, such as making pancakes on a Sunday morning, which will help your new home to feel familiar.
The kitchen may be the heart of the home, but it takes energy to keep that heart beating. It might not always be what you feel like doing after a long day, so be sure to congratulate yourself for cooking a hearty meal.
Food is also a great basis for starting new traditions, such as making pancakes on a Sunday morning, which will help your new home to feel familiar.
Put down roots – literally
A garden that’s beginning to fill up with the fruits of time spent kneeling in the soil planting bulbs is an uplifting sight. It might be that your interior is finished, meaning you have time to spend cultivating the outside space, or you may have made your garden a priority from the get-go. Either way, all your efforts will be rewarded tenfold when it bursts into life this spring and summer.
For a quick fix straight after a move, invest in some bedding plants – even just for a few planters on the patio – for a splash of instant colour.
A garden that’s beginning to fill up with the fruits of time spent kneeling in the soil planting bulbs is an uplifting sight. It might be that your interior is finished, meaning you have time to spend cultivating the outside space, or you may have made your garden a priority from the get-go. Either way, all your efforts will be rewarded tenfold when it bursts into life this spring and summer.
For a quick fix straight after a move, invest in some bedding plants – even just for a few planters on the patio – for a splash of instant colour.
Fill the walls with photos
So many of us never get around to printing out any of the hundreds of digital images amassing on our computers, but it’s such a quick and easy way to make a house feel like a home. Look for a mixture of picture content – solo figures, group shots and close-ups of interesting details – and arrange together for impact.
So many of us never get around to printing out any of the hundreds of digital images amassing on our computers, but it’s such a quick and easy way to make a house feel like a home. Look for a mixture of picture content – solo figures, group shots and close-ups of interesting details – and arrange together for impact.
Liven up kids’ rooms
Adding a few colourful elements and some fun and familiar décor goes a long way towards making children feel at home in their new surroundings. It’s worth focusing on their rooms as a priority, so that you can relax, safe in the knowledge they’re content. And once their toys and books are unpacked, they’ll be occupied, too!
Adding a few colourful elements and some fun and familiar décor goes a long way towards making children feel at home in their new surroundings. It’s worth focusing on their rooms as a priority, so that you can relax, safe in the knowledge they’re content. And once their toys and books are unpacked, they’ll be occupied, too!
Create a cosy atmosphere
Little touches, such as setting out candles and positioning comfy throws on the arms of the sofa, can feel pointless in the midst of moving chaos. However, by making your space feel warm and inviting, you’ll start to relax sooner and begin creating special memories from your first days in the house. After all, what’s better than a floor picnic in front of the fire?
Little touches, such as setting out candles and positioning comfy throws on the arms of the sofa, can feel pointless in the midst of moving chaos. However, by making your space feel warm and inviting, you’ll start to relax sooner and begin creating special memories from your first days in the house. After all, what’s better than a floor picnic in front of the fire?
Make pets comfortable
Having pets pottering about is a simple shortcut to feeling safe and settled in a new place. Ensure the same can be said for them by doing whatever you can to make moving house less stressful for furry friends.
Also, consider the practicalities of furniture and accessories choices as you put rooms together – that looped wool rug may have just the country vibe you’re after, but it might not work so well once your dog has tried to ‘dig’ it!
Check out ways to make moving home easier for your pets
Having pets pottering about is a simple shortcut to feeling safe and settled in a new place. Ensure the same can be said for them by doing whatever you can to make moving house less stressful for furry friends.
Also, consider the practicalities of furniture and accessories choices as you put rooms together – that looped wool rug may have just the country vibe you’re after, but it might not work so well once your dog has tried to ‘dig’ it!
Check out ways to make moving home easier for your pets
Carve out a peaceful corner
We all have those spots in our homes that fill us with joy – it might be the way the sun lands on a favourite chair or the calm of the living room once you put the children to bed. Maximise this sense of happiness by honing your savoured space and keeping it neat, ready for any spare moment you have to enjoy it.
We all have those spots in our homes that fill us with joy – it might be the way the sun lands on a favourite chair or the calm of the living room once you put the children to bed. Maximise this sense of happiness by honing your savoured space and keeping it neat, ready for any spare moment you have to enjoy it.
Have a go at DIY
Whether it’s getting to grips with decorating or attempting larger renovations, ‘doing it yourself’ generates a sense of achievement and fosters the bond between you and your home. Despite the hard work, mess and risk of a few disasters along the way, the shared experience is often precious and the results always worthwhile.
About to embark on renovations? Read expert advice on managing an interior design project
Whether it’s getting to grips with decorating or attempting larger renovations, ‘doing it yourself’ generates a sense of achievement and fosters the bond between you and your home. Despite the hard work, mess and risk of a few disasters along the way, the shared experience is often precious and the results always worthwhile.
About to embark on renovations? Read expert advice on managing an interior design project
Host friends and family
If you’re guilty of holding off on the invites because your house isn’t quite how you want it yet, don’t delay any longer! Even if you have to offer wine out of mugs or serve bread on napkins because you haven’t unpacked the crockery yet, nobody will mind a bit. Filling your home with familiar faces and having fun beats creating an immaculate impression of domesticity any day.
TELL US…
Have you had experience of settling into a new home? What made it feel like yours? Share your advice in the Comments below.
If you’re guilty of holding off on the invites because your house isn’t quite how you want it yet, don’t delay any longer! Even if you have to offer wine out of mugs or serve bread on napkins because you haven’t unpacked the crockery yet, nobody will mind a bit. Filling your home with familiar faces and having fun beats creating an immaculate impression of domesticity any day.
TELL US…
Have you had experience of settling into a new home? What made it feel like yours? Share your advice in the Comments below.
Nothing feels more homely than walking into a room that’s been carefully crafted to suit you and your family. By choosing paint colours, putting together furniture and picking accessories, you are imbuing the space with a strong impression of yourself.
Once old treasures, carried from house to house during each move, are back in pride of place, you’ll begin to feel a sense of ownership.