Making a House Feel Like Home

Making a House Feel Like Home

Creating a home YOU can feel comfortable in!

 

“A house is made with walls and beams. A home is made with love and dreams.”

In this world of Instagram, Pinterest, HGTV design shows, and Joanna Gaines, it can be difficult to look at our homes and see anything but faults.

I fell into this trap years ago when I first bought our current home. Like all those folks on those design shows, I saw potential in this old home. Unfortunately, unlike most of them, I didn’t have an enormous budget, and Chip and Joanna Gaines to fix the many, many flaws this old home had.

As time went on, and the more I watched those shows and scrolled through my social media feeds, the more frustrated I became. And the unhappier I became with this home and the fact that no matter how hard I tried it never seemed to live up to my expectations.

Now, as we prepare to put this home on the market, my feelings and thoughts about this home are completely different.

Why? Because I’ve been forced to look at this home, not as a ‘current’ resident anymore, but as a ‘potential’ resident. As in-Someone ‘seeing’ this home for the very first time.

A potential resident wants to feel something the moment they open the door.

what makes a house feel like a home to you?

The keyword in this question is ‘feel’. Sure, we all want a beautiful home to ‘look’ like the ones we see on those design shows and Instagram feeds. But will they make us feel as if we are home? For example, if you had that fabulous kitchen or expensive couch, would those ‘things’ make your home feel like home? If your answer is no, then maybe it isn’t those ‘things’ that make a home for you at all.

Maybe, instead, it’s having more space. Or less. Maybe you like the character of an older home or the low maintenance of a brand new one.

Whatever it is, think of yourself as a ‘potential owner’, not the ‘current’ one of your home.

A potential owner has specific wants and needs, and in most cases, they won’t settle for anything less!

Don’t you either.

When we decided to sell this home, I started to look at each room the way a potential buyer would. Was the room big enough? Did it have good lighting? Was there enough storage? Did it look outdated, or worn?

All these questions can help you to see your current home with brand new eyes, and hopefully inspire you to make realistic changes to it.

make a list of what you want & Need in a home

Do you like color or are you a neutral person?

Would you like mature gardens or do you want to start your own?

Do you want an open floor plan, or do like the separation of walls?

Then look at each space in your home inside and out. Does your home provide what you want or need? And if not, what can be done to change it.

For us, that quest began in the kitchen. We set out creating a list of what potential buyers would want in a kitchen. What would you want in a kitchen? Functionality? Storage? Aesthetically pleasing?

Granted, I couldn’t change the layout of our kitchen (not cost effective for us), but I could change how functional it was, as well as, create more storage space.

Looking at your kitchen. Is there anything you could change that would make it feel homier? Would the cost of making that change fit within your budget?

Again, once you know what you want in your kitchen, you can put a plan together and create a budget to get it.

create a realistic plan and budget

After you’ve gone through the spaces in your home and made your list of wants and needs, it’s time to see if any MUST HAVE changes fit within your budget. That will also depend on how big the projects are and whether you’ll do them yourself or hire someone to them for you.

Small changes like updating a light fixture or replacing curtains in a space are simple fixes and definitely won’t break the budget. But if a space requires walls to be torn down, or electric wiring to be done, you might want to leave that to the professionals.

Creating a plan of action for each room in your home is a good place to start. Which is what we did. Some spaces required nothing more than a coat of paint, while others…well, a bit more. But having that plan in hand helped keep us in line and within budget!

Remember this is all about how your home makes you feel. If the only way you can relax in your home is to step inside a bathroom that belongs in a hotel, well…then, by all means, create a spa bathroom! Just remember spa bathrooms don’t come cheap and they aren’t exactly for beginner DIY’ers!

take your time

The world is filled with instant gratification thanks to shows like Fixer Upper. But realistically, homes aren’t made in a few weeks. Heck, they aren’t even made sometimes in a few years! It takes time. And plenty of edits.

Give yourself time to adjust to each change and make sure it really is the right one. I like to compare this to picking out paint colors. If you put a sample of different colors up on a wall you can see how they would look. But over time they begin to look different when something as simple as the lighting changes.

fill your home with what you love

Don’t worry if you’re style isn’t in the pages of Better Home and Garden. You LIVE in this home.

So LIVE!

If cozy blankets and throw pillows are your jam, then fill your home with them! If you like knick-knacks and walls and walls of family pictures, get hanging!

The bottom line is LIVE in your home. Be comfortable. Enjoy!

I’d LOVE to have our living space look like those in a magazine but in reality, we have Mr. Bentley, and he LOVES taking naps on the couch. And before he does he has to do his circle dance and scrunch up all the pillows and knock most of them off the couch.

But that’s okay. Because he LIVES in this home too.

So if your home is filled with toys, a stack of dirty laundry, and a dog that hates pillows on the couch, kudos to you! Guess what? You’re LIVING in your home!

inexpensive ways to make a house a home

SHOP YOUR HOME

Believe it or not, if you’re unhappy with your home, it might be something as simple as…you’re bored with it! So before you go out and buy all new furniture and decor, why not try changing things up!

Move furniture, pillows, and decor around from space to space. But do it with items you already have!

LIVE BY YOUR NOSE

Do certain scents make you happy? Sad? Relaxed? Yes, yes, they do! So why not fill your home with scents that, well…feel like home.

Candles are definitely a wonderful way to do this, and the scent possibilities are endless.  And sometimes I like to add natural scents to our home by filling a pot on the stove with water and then adding in a variety of fruits and spices, depending on the season. This time of year we enjoy all things fall, so I add in cranberries, apples, oranges, and spices like cloves and cinnamon.

If you don’t want to watch a pot on the stove, slice up some oranges and apples, place a few whole cloves in the centers, and put them in your oven. Set it to dehydrate or the lowest setting and let them go. Once dry you can create your own potpourri, wreath, or garland.

BUY IN BULK

I often find myself a bit down during those months when I can’t go out to my garden and get fresh flowers. There is just something about a vase filled with pretty stems that makes me feel happy! But buying fresh flowers can be spendy, especially if you don’t live near a Trader Joes.(we don’t).

My solution? I buy faux. But not just faux flowers. I also choose leaves, herbs, plants, and dried varieties too. I always try to buy quality faux because obviously they look more realistic, but I’ve found inexpensive pieces at Walmart and even the Dollar Store from time to time. My best purchases though are when I can find big bundles of stems!

Last year I bought a big bundle of these dried orange leaves at Walmart! They were only $10! This year I was able to fill FOUR vases using them and mixing in other stems as well! So instead of spending $20-$50 on real flowers that will die in a few days, I spent $10 and have pretty stems for years to come!

Other home decor items to buy in bulk:

• Candles
• Throw Pillows
• Faux Succulents
• Picture Frames
• Towels
• Cloth Napkins

CLEAN AND DECLUTTER

We’ve discussed this earlier but it bears repeating! Most people are generally happier when their home is clean and organized. Start in the room you and your family spend the most time in and work your way throughout the home.

Obviously, if you have children and pets your home isn’t going to stay clean for long, but you’d be surprised what you uncover just by cleaning out a cabinet, closet, garage, or basement! And I can’t tell you how amazing a feeling it is to donate or throw out unused clutter! Doing so can totally change a space without costing you a dime! In fact, it might make you money if you sell those items at a yard sale this spring!

remembering that needs (and wants)in a home can change

Looking through our home from a different point of view helped us to see… that faults and all, this old house has been a wonderful home for our family. We have created so many amazing memories here and yes, we have LIVED!

But the truth is, the things we want and need in a home at this stage in our lives, cannot realistically be met in THIS home. So yes, for us it is time to make another house feel like home.

Hopefully, that’s not the case for you. But if, after you’ve done the above steps and you still don’t feel like your house is a home. Maybe it is time to move on.

I hope you enjoyed today’s tips on Making a House Feel Like Home. Along with some touches of fall in our home. I know it’s a bit late for that in blogging land, but I’m holding onto fall for a wee bit longer. At least until next week for sure! LOL!

Whatever you do and wherever you live, I hope you’ve found the perfect home! And if not, I hope these tips inspire you to make the changes needed to create one.

 

Looking for more fall inspiration?

Thank you so much for stopping by!