What Makes a House a Home

by Ang

There are many things I have to blog about (Fantasy Football, our little day trip northwest, cooking, etc.) but today I’m going to talk about home. For some reason, whenever fall approaches, I really start wanting to hunker down and be home (more than usual). I don’t know if it’s the leaves changing, the football, the crock pot cooking a nice soup, or the chill in the air (which we  haven’t seen yet here). Fall is definitely my favorite season and it’s definitely my favorite time to be HOME.

My husband bought our home five years ago. It’s in a good, QUIET neighborhood, which is very important (to me, anyways). We are the ‘young couple’ (in our mid-30’s ha!) in the neighborhood. It’s a quiet community where everyone knows everyone else, and you can be sure that your home is being watched out for. Some people may not like this, but I have peace of mind knowing that if we leave our garage door open, someone will definitely shut it for us. I like that I can think of 6 neighbors on our street that know (and love) our dogs. It makes me feel good that probably 75% of the people in our neighborhood are home all day while we’re out working. I know we’re being watched out for.

But it’s not necessarily the neighborhood or the house itself that makes a house a home. It’s what’s on the inside (that sounds kinda cheesy, huh).
Our house is not perfect.  But no one has a perfect house. There are a couple of areas that need some work (nothing major), and there are times when I wish we had just a TEENY bit more room. But then I remind myself that we really don’t need it, and we’ve managed just fine with the space we have. And I love it. I love making our house a home. Here’s just a few little things that I think are important to have when making a house a home:
1) A pet.

While I was living in Nebraska, I moved a few times. But no matter where I moved, as long as I had Macy and Howie with me, my place felt like home. The very first night I spent in this house (alone) was the day I moved here. I had been driving for 2 days with 2 unhappy cats and a moving van full of stuff and we were all exhausted. I was trying not to stress out about the tons of boxes strewn about the house, my upcoming wedding, and finding a job. I holed up in the bedroom with my two cats and shut the door and we must have slept for 12 hours straight. It was wonderful and they calmed me down a little bit. I firmly believe that every house should have at least 1 pet if possible!

2) Light.

Pretty obvious, but I’m talking about natural light here. Open those curtains! Let the light shine in! Even though our house is a condo and is sandwiched between two other condos, we get amazing light. Skylights work wonders! To me, there is nothing more depressing than a house that is all closed up and has no natural light coming in.

3) Fresh flowers. Unfortunately, this is one that I don’t put into place that often, because I have a cat who shall remain nameless that loves to eat flowers. Ahem. However, we have roses in the back that are still blooming, and my husband snips some every day. I have little bud vases around the house that I can set in places that the cat can’t reach. It’s so nice to have a few fresh flowers in the house every now and then. Even if they are in odd places.
4) Candles. Pretty obvious….I love them for not only the look, but the smell! Again, I have to be careful with these due to the animals, but I love when our house has a few candles lit.

5) Blankets. We have a bucket of blankets in the living room.

Sometimes we have spur of the moment guests over to watch a movie or have a quick dinner, and these blankets get used (by me year round, by everyone else in the fall and winter). It’s so cozy to be on the couch wrapped up in a blanket watching a good movie.
6) Limited ‘stuff’. I think that when a house has too much stuff, it becomes almost suffocating. I don’t think there should be something in every corner, on every wall, stuffed in every nook and cranny. Give your house some room to breathe. This is something that I have to really work on, particularly in our 2nd bedroom which is used as an office. I try not to shop at all, but when I do bring something home, I have the ‘one in, one out’ rule. We always have a Goodwill pile going in the garage.
7) Have at least one thing you love and that’s special to you in every single room. It’s so easy to look at these beautiful rooms in design magazines and think ‘wow, I wish my house looked like that!’. But what makes that space beautiful? Where’s the personal touches? Where’s the family photos?

Where’s your great-great-grandmother’s apron?

Or your childhood stuffed animal?

I’m not saying that every single memento must be displayed, but a house without any personal touches is not a home. A few interesting things that can also be conversation starters are completely necessary.

8) If you have an outdoor space, use it! This is one that I need to work on. We have a small, but nice outdoor space. The other night we sat out there for maybe 30 minutes and it was beautiful! We talked about how we are going to make a real effort to try to be outside more. Even if it’s just for dinner or a glass of wine. It’s a nice place to unwind and relax.

That’s my list. I hope it was a little helpful. I think everyone should love their home!