Even the novice home buyer fully appreciates the difference between a house and a home. A house is a place where you stay, and a home is a house that reflects the style and comfort of the inhabitants usually through personalization.
Even an apartment or temporary living space can be a home; it all depends on the extent to which you can make it your own by modifying elements such as the floor, bathroom and living room. Granted, the best place to make a home is somewhere you feel secure; such ownership isn’t an issue.
1. The Importance of Flooring
Never underestimate the importance of the floor beneath your feet in establishing a house as your home. Functionality is most important; style is right after it and not too far behind. You’ll want textiles that provide adequate sound insulation, as well as an attractive finish. Some things to consider are older knit rugs to give it that old time feel, or plush carpeting that muffles every footfall for the good night’s rest you’ll be needing through the years.
Once this is all set up, you can look forward to the additional furniture that you’ll be placing down on the rugs or carpeting; these will further muffle the sounds of activity through the home, as well as giving it a sense of being fulfilled.
2. Having Adequate Storage
In order to make a house a home, it isn’t enough to merely have adequate storage you want storage that is labeled or positioned to your particular tastes. Of course, there’s an aspect of this that is aesthetic, as well, for best results. Think about a bare room, and how little space it can at first seem is available for the many odds and ends that always pile up in every house turned into a home; with addendums as simple as a bookshelf, you can very quickly stave clutter off forever. There’s a lot of three-dimensional space available in any room; you just need to find tasteful ways to take advantage of it.
Additionally, if you are bringing a pet into the mix, anything that isn’t neatly put away becomes fair game for the chew-happy dog, for example. You can find tasteful shelves new from stores, or go with the budget-friendly eBay, OfferUp and LetItGo type of sites.
3. Adequate Lighting – Be Inventive
Quite sagely; lighting can make or break a room. For example, as brilliant as LEDs can be for such a small investment of energy, you don’t necessarily want the harshness of the cool white luminescence dominating a warm space like the living room or bedroom. The color temperature you want in those cases is warm white so pay attention to the Kelvin rating.
With that over with, the next order of business is to spruce up the lighting fixtures from the basic to the elegant or at least, chic. IKEA, Walmart, and even Target have some pretty dazzling options. Chandeliers go a long way in personalizing a home without adding much fiscal expense to your budget.
4. Art
This is, of course, one of the most obvious was to make a house into a home. Art needn’t be costly or pretentious; just go for stuff that has always caught your eye, and that you want to represent your taste to visitors. Art can be as simple and natural as seashells from an especially memorable walk on the beach with your significant other, or paintings you bought while on vacation in the Bahamas or Europe or the local art store. Although plenty of space on the walls tends to lend the room a soothing atmosphere; if you like walls filled with paintings and shelves with sculpture; go for it. It’s your home, and it should reflect your spirit.
Another winner when it comes to art and displays are books. There are even presentation books made precisely to be displayed; look for the ones with the kind of subject matter you like and consider investing in a few as showpieces. And heck, you can even read them, too!
5. Miscellaneous
Last but not least are the details the things with a bit of utility; but a whole lot more of exerting a personalized touch. These include customized hardware for things such as end tables and door knobs, different, more lively colors for the generic, standard wall, and more. You can add gold leaf to switches, and embroider your armoire things of this nature. Even fabric accents like blankets can lend a cozy touch, not to mention keep you cozy once it’s time to start dressing for the winter and staying indoors.
One of the best places to brainstorm is a thrift store; by perusing the aisles, you’d be surprised what you see and what you derive for later implementation in your home. Not only will your additions and amendments be eye-catching, but they’ll also be conversation pieces for the people that you let into your home.