It doesn’t matter if your house is 800 square feet or 8000 square feet, a house doesn’t become a home until you make it your own. A house is a space surrounded by walls, doors, a roof, and windows where people live, relax, and sleep. A home is a space that offers what no other space does, comfort, support, and safety within those walls, windows, and doors.
It can be difficult to define what a home looks like, because they look like houses. But, it is certainly easy to feel when it is more than just a house. When you are ready to turn your house into a home, contact Tittle Brothers Construction.
1. Create a refuge for relaxation
Your home should be a place where you can relax and unwind. The places you sit, eat, and sleep should give you peace. There are several ways that this can be accomplished. Some people choose comfortable furniture, while others choose to surround themselves with walls in their favorite, relaxing colors.
The locations of doors and windows can also affect the way a room feels. If the room does not get much natural light, you might consider adding a window. Beautiful wooden doors, like French doors, can also bring a sense of calm, especially when compared to foam-core doors. While adding windows and doors requires work from a licensed contractor, adding them are an investment in your home and your well-being.
2. Give yourself reasons to stay there
When a house doesn’t feel like a home, people do not want to stay there. They cannot wait to get out of town. Instead, make your home a place you want to stay, even when it is time for a vacation.
When you go on vacation, pay close attention to what you love about the space at your hotel or resort. You might need to add luxurious bedding or chic bathroom fixtures to make your personal spaces feel more like a spa. If you love spending time on the patio or deck at your favorite resort, it might be time to add one to your home. Adding what you love or subtracting what you don’t can make your house the place you want to spend your time.
3. Invite other people over
When you invite people over, your house feels more home-like. Having smiling, happy people in your house will make your house feel warm and cozy. Even if you house has flaws and it doesn’t look exactly the way you want it to look, invite people over. Most likely, the people you invite over will not notice the things you notice (so don’t point them out).
If you are nervous about what guests will think of your home, use ambient lighting. Don’t use overhead lights, unless you can dim them. Use warm lighting, like lamps, candles, and natural light. You, your guests, and your home will look lovely in the gentle light.
When you invite people over, you create memories in your house, which is one of the easiest ways to make a house and home. People will talk about their experiences at your gatherings and those conversations make your home a place that people want to go. Those memories will make you appreciate your house for the home it is.
4. Make it useful and practical
Another way to make a house and home is to design spaces so they are practical and useful. If you love books and you do not have bookshelves, have some built into your walls. If you love to cook, but your kitchen is designed in a way that makes cooking joyful, have it updated. Some people love to watch TV, but they don’t have a fabulous place that makes their TV-watching experiences enjoyable in a practical way.
Your home should reflect the way you like to spend your time and fortunately, homes can be remodeled, updated, and changed to fit the needs of the people who live there. If you leave things as is and you are not happy, your house will just be a place where you live. It won’t be a place that you love.
When you begin to change your house into a home, it is also important to consider where you place your furniture, textiles, and decor. Furniture should be placed in locations that are comfortable and convenient. The placement should keep walkways open so there is space to move through the house.
As you plan where to put furniture, what you put in drawers, and what you leave out, don’t forget about technology and wires. Charging stations, TVs, routers, video-game systems and their accessories and wires all need places that are handy. Consider if you want items out of sight when they are charging or if the most convenient spot is out in the open in a popular space like a kitchen or family room. If you don’t put those things in convenient spots, they will end up there after your family members move them.
5. Add textiles
The textiles you use in your house will make it feel more like a home. The choices you make for your window treatments, upholstery, and floor coverings can affect the feel of you home. If you have tile and hardwood floors, adding rugs can make rooms feel cozy. Window treatments can diffuse light, thus making a room feel friendly and warm. Adding pillows to chairs makes them more inviting.
Other ways to turn your house into a home with textiles is by showing off your beautiful towels in the bathroom. Don’t hide them in a cupboard, figure out a way to fold them or roll them and stack them stylishly out in the open. Pick luxurious shower curtains and plush bath rugs, too.
6. Consider lighting
The lighting you choose should make your home feel warm and comfortable. If you cannot have new windows installed, then consider where you put furniture and how you position them to get the best of the light. You can use natural light and ambient light to affect the way that people feel when they are in your home. If you block the light with furniture, it can change the way that people feel in your home.
To make the most of the way light flows in your home, use your window treatments purposefully. Use it to keep the light out at night and to diffuse it when it is too bright that it is distracting. Also consider the way that light affects the textures and textiles in your home. Think of the angles that can create shadows and the textiles that will absorb or reflect light. Consider what the flooring does for the light in the room.
Before you start planning what the light will look like in your home, think of what kind of light you like. Some people prefer rooms that are lit with nothing more than candles or dim fixtures. Others like bright and bold lights. Some like to have options. How do you feel in bright spaces? How do you feel in darkened spaces? What colors make you happy? Do you like sharp angles or soft corners?
7. Do what you love
Houses, especially newly built ones, look similar inside – neutral and plain. They do not usually have the same character as older homes. No matter what type of house you have, you make it a home by designing the interior the way you want it. Just because your house looks like everyone else’s in your neighborhood on the outside doesn’t mean it has to look the same on the inside. Carpet, paint, window treatments, furniture – you can customize those things and make your space your very own.
Look through magazines and online design sites. Create a board that showcases your favorite items and eventually, you will find that some items continue to catch your attention. Paint chips, furniture, carpet, rugs, light fixtures, artwork, decor. Some people show their ideas to their friends and family to get feedback before taking time and committing money to the changes. There are so many ways to turn your house into a home and many options are not expensive.
8. Don’t do it all at once
Another consideration for making a house a home is that you do not have to do everything all at once. As your life changes, you can make changes to your home so it reflects what is happening. You can show off collections from places you have been and memories you have made. You do not have to fill the walls immediately.
When you take your time, you are able to customize your home and think about the moves before you make them. If you make changes too quickly, you might find that you do not like what you have done. Some people will make changes to one room at a time and as they progress through the spaces, they use paint samples and live them for a few days to see what the paint looks like in different lights.
