How To Make A House A Home

When buying my house, I had big dreams of how I envisioned my house looking 6 months down the line. But things don’t always go to plan. Thankfully, there’s a few tips and tricks you can do to help make your house look and feel like a home, even if it currently resembles a building-site.

In my mind, my front room would be the perfect blend of industrial and farmhouse style and the kitchen would carry that style through the rest of the downstairs with its dark grey chic look. In reality, the front room is half-finished and the kitchen is in its original state… minus a floor.

When your house resembles a building site and your bank balance is flatlining it can be difficult to see your house as ever being your ‘dream home’. So, how can you make a house a home…even when it’s a building site?

Freshen Up Walls with Artwork and Prints

Although my front room is between looks right now, one thing I did as soon as I could was start building up a gallery wall.

This tiny corner of the front room is the only finished corner of the house. It’s a breath of fresh air and right now, it’s that glimmer of hope that I will eventually make this house my dream home. Adding prints and artwork to your walls can help distract attention from the unfinished aspects of your room. They also make a great talking point with guests and can easily transform an empty, unfinished room into somewhere that’s cosy and homely.

A gallery wall is a simple way to add a touch of your personality to a house and truly make it your own. You can mix it up with quotes, illustrations and even some photos of your own. A gallery wall doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s something you can swap, change and build over time.

Make It Personal with Display Items and Accessories

Now I’m not talking about displaying your fine china on your walls here. Unless that’s your style of course. I’m talking about those small ornamental pieces that offer a little snapshot into your life.

For me, my display items include a rainbow paint covered skull, a T marque light and several candles. These decorative items add a touch of personality to my home.

These small pieces are what take a house from show home to real home if you ask me. Obviously my house is far from show home but even when my house is fully decorated, I’ll still swear by ornamental items.

Make Sure Everything Works

You might think this goes without saying, but it can be easily to let those “little jobs” build up until you end up with a much bigger problem on your hands. Your home should be your safe haven. It’s a space where you should be able to sit back and relax after a long day at work, or after a day out socialising.

You want to make sure there’s nothing that aggravates you in this space. But often, many of us have certain aspects of our home that don’t work but aren’t put right. Even as I’m sat here typing this, I can think of at least 3 things in my home that need fixing that are on my to-do list. This can cause daily inconveniences and grievances that are simply unnecessary. It’s time to face issues up front. If an appliance isn’t working, contact Repair Giant. If there’s a leak, call a plumber. If some electrics aren’t working, call an electrician. This will make all the difference to the time you spend in your property.

Fill Your Home with Fresh Flowers and Plants

A little touch of greenery truly makes a house a home for me. Whilst my flourishing mint plant may have been eaten by the dogs and my spinach plant wilted away, I still have a few plants going strong in the kitchen. I’ll admit it’s mainly Cactus and succulent so I have less chance of killing them. But regardless of the type, plants add a homely touch.

I adore having flowers in my home. Fresh flowers will easily brighten up any living space, making your house instantly feel more homely. You can choose flowers because they match your colour palette, to embrace the season or simply because they’re your favourite flowers. As long as the flowers make you smile everytime you walk into your home, that’s all that matters! Honestly, nothing says house proud like a fresh blooming bouquet.

I received two bunches of autumnal flowers by prestige flowers and was amazed by their quality. Having flowers delivered to my door is something I could get used to – it’s perfect for the house proud busy body who doesn’t have time to nip to the florist! If you know someone who’s moving into a new home, you can even choose to have a bouquet of flowers delivered to their door; making the perfect gift to say “welcome to your new home”.

The bouquets lasted around 4 weeks. The longevity impressed me to no end, especially considering they arrived whilst I was enjoying a short city break in Milan and therefore spent two days in a dark box until I got home. Yet, by some kind of miracle, they survived…. and looked beautiful as ever!

With those three simple tricks and the fourth and final trick of having a house that looks well-lived in. Ahem, I mean messy of course. You can be sure to make any house, no matter how much of a building site it may be, look like a home.