You just purchased a house, but everything still feels foreign to you. The good thing is that you can do a few things to make your house into a home, and the following are some tips to help you do that.
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Personalizing the House
The first thing you want to do is personalize your home a bit. You’re bound to have some things that feel personal to you or your family. Place those things are around your home. These emotional anchors make it easier to make this house feel like it’s yours. For example, you can personalize by hanging up photographs of your family. All you have to do is hang them around, but that’s not all. Maybe you’ve got a dresser that’s been in your family for a long time or something similar. Find those emotional anchors, and use them to make this place feel just right.
Making the Right Changes
One way to turn a house into a home is to make personal upgrades or modifications to your home. After making some of these changes, you’ll be able to look at your house and see a reflection of yourself. Maybe you can remodel your kitchen or bathroom, whatever you want to change. Whichever upgrades you prefer, chances are you’ll need some financial help. Compare cash out mortgage vs home equity loan options or consider using personal loans and credit. It’s crucial to crunch the numbers to ensure your financing choice doesn’t lead to financial troubles down the road.
Live a Little
One of the simplest and cheapest things you could do is just live. A house doesn’t feel like yours because you haven’t really lived in it. Most of the time, a home is made when you create memories there. Every time you visit your parent’s house, you feel at home because you shared a life with your parents and siblings. It’s time to do the same with this new place. As strange as it might feel, make sure your family stays in as much as possible. Invite the extended family to parties, get-togethers, or whatever you want. The goal is to do as many things possible in this new place until you start forming memories attached to this new house.
Some Recreation is Fine
It might be a good idea to recreate certain aspects of your old home. This is an easy thing to do, especially if you moved to your new home with all of your old furniture. It’s tempting to buy new things to go with your new house, but if you want this place to feel like yours, then bring everything or as much as you can. Arrange everything the same way it was arranged in your old house. The furniture, the way you put away your books, where the entertainment center was, and everything you can do to make it look like your old house. You don’t have to keep things like this forever, just until you start to feel comfortable.
Scents Can Make a Difference
Just as similarly arranging furniture could help, so can pleasant aromas in the bedroom and other parts of the home. It’s important to create scents that remind you of home, which means cooking at home and baking. Make those old favorites you used to make at home and make them often. Go back even further if you need to. Make dishes that your parents used to make or that your partner’s parents used to make. Your sense of smell is incredibly powerful, and it could trigger feelings of home. You want to trigger these kinds of memories if you want this place to feel more like home.
You’ve got several things you can do to make this place feel like it’s your home. It will take time, but if you do as many of these as you can, it’ll happen soon, which is what you want.
Featured Photo by Jeff Levingston from Burst
