What makes a house a home?

michelle2008

Have you possibly kept the decoration too neutral - is there enough of your personality in the house? It took me years to feel like my house was my home - it's still quite minimalist but there are enough personal touches now that people can see my personality in the place.

Odd - but gardening also helped. Choosing, planting and nurturing plants over the years has really made me feel connected to the place. If I moved I would be concerned the new owners wouldn't take care of my garden properly!!

rustyboy21

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Fung Shui can be all wrong in which case a house will never feel right.

Or a previous occupant may have died there, bad karma

Fung Shui can be dangerous for you.


Radio 2 the other day had a woman on, who Fung Shui'd her house. She had a large crystal placed on her window ledge to balance the room.


She went out shopping and when she came back, her house was on fire. The crystal had concentrated the suns rays and set light to her carpet !


Dangerous stuff that Fung Shui, the work of the devil !

Alchemilla

Open fires and the smell of woodsmoke.

suisidevw

Yup, open fire in one room, woodburner in the other coming home from work to see the children and a meal prepared by my wife - magical.

going_nowhere_fast

ed110220 wrote: »

Being away from family could be it.

On the physical side of the home, it could just be that you don't really like it for some reason. Maybe deep down you find it charmless or there is some bad association (or lack of a good association?)

The moment I first viewed our house I knew it felt very homely. I think maybe it is because it reminds me a little in style (1940s) of the house I lived in when I was a child, and also my grandparents' houses.

Friends have some very nice Victorian houses, but I find them very cold (metaphorically) and unhomely, maybe because I've never had a good association with anything like that.

Ed

I agree with you about living in a house like the one you gre up in. We never moved as a child so all my memories are in that one house. Id like to move back to a house like that ine day, when money allows.

going_nowhere_fast

michelle2008 wrote: »

Have you possibly kept the decoration too neutral - is there enough of your personality in the house? It took me years to feel like my house was my home - it's still quite minimalist but there are enough personal touches now that people can see my personality in the place.

Odd - but gardening also helped. Choosing, planting and nurturing plants over the years has really made me feel connected to the place. If I moved I would be concerned the new owners wouldn't take care of my garden properly!!

The house definately shows my personality so i think its more in the mind to be honest.

When i move my garden is coming with me (its all in pots)! I watched some of my plants grow from little seedlings so im attached to them now.

onomatopoeia99

Books.

(Extra characters to take me over the minimum post length of ten.)

Mojisola

going_nowhere_fast wrote: »

Ive lived in my house for 9 years near enough. Its cosy and nicely decorated, its warm and i love who i live with but its never felt like home and i dont know why not.

As well as checking out all the sensible things in a potential new home, I've always gone for the house that "feels right" from the word go.

It's intangible what gives that feeling but I'm not sure you can create it if it's not there from the start.

cyclonebri1

going_nowhere_fast wrote: »

Ive lived in my house for 9 years near enough. Its cosy and nicely decorated, its warm and i love who i live with but its never felt like home and i dont know why not.

I think it could be because im no where near my family (would living close to them feel nicer?), or is it my paper thin walls. Some people find it funny listening to next doors goings on whereas i just feel like ive got strangers in my house.

What do you think makes a house a home?

Without reading the earlier replies, Effort, hardwork, also memories.

And did I mention getting on with the neighbours? because it's the single most reason for it not to feel comfortable