Top tips for making your new house feel like a home
An incredible downside of moving home is in that awkward period where your new house is an empty shell and packed with boxes. Everyone is going to feel completely uprooted and unsettled at this time. However, there are things that you can do to instantly make the house feel more…you. Even before you buy a sofa or adopt a cat, there are ways to make a home feel lived-in.
Have a cardboard box room
Limit the chaos to one low priority room. The aim of this is to create space throughout the rest of the house, so you don’t have to clamber over boxes every five minutes. It can get claustrophobic, trying to navigate through towers of cardboard, so isolate your problem, but make sure that you still keep unpacking – the sooner you’re unpacked, the better.
Buy yourself flowers
If no-one else does, buy yourself flowers. It’s the quickest way to make a home feel more lived-in. A house plant or two will last longer than cut blooms, so take a trip to your local garden centre. If you’re not much of a flower person, plants like trailing ivy will do the trick, and they are fairly hard to kill too – minimal upkeep. Here are some other low maintenance options.
Light candles and play your favourite music
Night time candles bring warmth to any home. Matched with your favourite music and a few delicious pastries, while you sort through all the junk you decided to keep, you will start to feel far more settled in and motivated to get fully unpacked. A few upbeat tracks from the Top 40 chart is just what you need. Don’t be afraid to break into song and dance at any point!
Hang up posters and paintings
Paintings are a must for brightening up your house and showing a little character. Whether you’re a fan of modern or traditional art, a painting is an investment that will just keep on giving back. If you’re massively out of pocket after moving home (let’s be honest now, who has money to burn at this time?), posters work just as well, as Posterlounge is a great option for affordable artwork.
Unpack your books
If you are a book nerd like me, it is well worth unpacking your boxes of books (about 50% of your boxes are packed with literature, right?). Get your bookcases filled. Instantly, you will feel better and your rooms will look more lived-in. Empty shelves are a sad sight, so get J.K. Rowling and Charles Dickens on the case.
Spend time with your family
Nothing makes a house feel more lived in than a family. People want to spend more time with family, as shown in this survey, but you need to make the time. Drag them out of their rooms and spend time together. It doesn’t matter what you do: watch a film, have a hot pot party… just liven up the rooms with laughter and chit-chat. Make it special by getting in a few treats – a glass of wine, some delicious puddings for the kids (and you, of course). At the end of the day, family is what makes a home – don’t forget that.
