Making a house into a home?

thriftwizard

Can I just suggest lined curtains, to keep your hard-won warmth in? I'm always a bit amazed to visit people & find their central heating blasting away whilst a glamorous sheer drape flutters artistically at the windows, letting all their heat straight out again! If you find curtains that you really love, and they're unlined, you can either sew an old sheet in as a lining, or easier still, pin a cheap fleece, cut to shape, in at the back; something like The Works do for just a couple of pounds. It's surprising how much warmer it makes everything.

moneyistooshorttomention

Personally, I freely admit I haven't the foggiest idea. I'm very good at "functional", but downright useless at "homey".

What I have picked up about how to do "homey" boils down to lighting/lighting/lighting, ie soft lighting and that helps soften the edge of "posh functional hotel room" that I DO know how to do. The other thing I would say is wide wide wide curtains at windows (as in plenty of material there to draw together cosily). The guidelines for how wide curtains are is 1.5 - 2 times the width of the windows. Make that twice the width of the windows.

I absolutely hate mean curtains with a passion and don't understand why some people have curtains so narrow that it's all you can do to get them to close properly shut to keep in privacy and keep out light. More than once, I've got out whatever I could find in the way of safety pins and the like and whatever material came to hand (eg bedspreads/spare towels/whatever) to close up gaps in the curtains in temporary bedrooms.

Minimalist

maman wrote: »

...subdued lighting. So plenty of table lamps and/or candles rather than the overhead light.

I agree - lighting makes such a difference to how a room feels. As well as using lamps to create a softer effect, you might want to consider changing the bulbs to a warmer "temperature". Avoid the bright white ones for rooms you want to feel cosy and relaxing - more yellow tones create a sense of warmth in the room. The packaging will show a "colour temperature" - the lower the number, the warmer the colour - 3000K is quite yellow, whereas 5000K is a blue-white.

I'm not suggesting throwing any white-light bulbs away, you could just swap them into lamps in an area where relaxation isn't the priority, eg home office.

Sorry if this sounds a bit geeky - it really does make a difference in my experience. I've stayed in beautifully decorated hotel rooms (I used to travel a lot for work) where I've just not been able to relax because the lighting "temperature" is wrong.

jemb

I got some nice wooley type trows from B and M. Would also get lamps. I dont put 'the big light' on very oftern, have lamps everywhere! Candle, can get pretty cheap and also nice cushions in b and m. Have fun and good luck in your new home x

meritaten

bandm and Home Bargains are brilliant for those 'finishing touches'. Poundstretcher isn't bad either.

Linda32

bexster1975 wrote: »

A place is not homely just because it's perfectly clean and tidy, IMHO in fact if it's too clean and tidy the opposite can be true. It's easy to brighten a room up with cushions etc. and charity shops and car boot sales are a great idea for vases, display bowls etc.

I couldn't agree more. My OH's Mums house is spotless, not a thing out of place, ever! Yet he says it isn't welcoming even though he grew up there, so it really shouldn't feel that way to him.

Our house, well if I look around by my feet there are three magazines, the envelope from the Lakeland magazine. On a table next to me is a letter with reward vouchers attached which has been there since mid week at least. Across the room is the cable for the laptop. The TV is on which I am half watching. OH is upstairs lazing on an unmade bed because its Friday and he always does that on a Friday.
Just be yourself and 'be at home' do as you like.

kerri_gt

I must admit my home is pretty tidy (not as much as I'd like though) and prob doesn't feel overly homely to everyone. Special things of yours will make it feel less alien, these build up over time. I love my shelves with cookery books, and my mixer in the kitchen. Oddly for me, my own mug makes home feel like home. Usually cos it's next to me on the sofa with a cuppa.

Btw, when my friend moved in with her OH, she gradually replaced everything of his except for the bed mattress (even the bed frame went in favour of a base with storage) Luckily he wasn't really attached to any of it, he hadn't really chosen it when he moved in, it was more a purchase of necessity. I am not suggesting you replace all of his furniture though, it is his home too :-)

old-fashioned-girl

Oh fab ideas!!

I have added a couple of things ... like candles and some throws I already had as well as a couple of cushions. Just supermarket ones but they are cute!

Still need to have a clear out here to find places for all my stuff. I think it must be easier to clean a house that isn't cluttered! I have a few bits like a wicker box which will be useful to put day to day living room mess in so it looks clearer on the floor.

meritaten

If you like the 'uncluttered' look then storage is essential! those box pouffes are great and quite inexpensive. B&M, Home Bargains, Poundstretchers all have them. Wicker baskets, even wooden orange crates (Greengrocers may be glad to give them to you if you ask nicely. sand and varnish them and they transform into smart boxes, and they STACK!)

mylastpound

I have the same feeling about not having that "homey feel". But I do agree with sbove , nice cosy lamps with a yellow tone always feel cosy to me .