There are houses and then there are homes. The difference you ask? Some say the feeling, some say the design and arrangement of furniture. Well there are an array of techniques you can use to ensure this sense of ‘home’. In this blog, we will unpack the techniques you can implement to get your house feeling more like a home, and even further, like your home. These techniques can be applied to an existing home but more so to a new home or recently moved into a home.

YOUR HOME, YOUR STYLE

The first step to making your house feel like a home is establishing your personal home style, aesthetic or concept. You may think you want to just build the most cost-effective home possible, but choosing a style that you love will make the house feel personalised and comfortable. Take inspiration from online platforms such as Pinterest or use our gallery page, as well as inspiration from your current furniture and discover what you like in terms of colours, patterns, textures, styles, etc. This will act as the basis while making your selections, turning your house into a personalised home.

Let’s ‘move in’ to the general styling tips…

DISPLAY SENTIMENTAL ITEMS

The most common way people create a sense of home is by personalisation. This is often done by displaying sentimental items throughout the home. This can be family photos, family heirlooms, holiday souvenirs, or anything else you deem as precious and unique to you. Not only will this set your home aside from anyone else’s, but it will make your house feel like it’s truly yours being surrounded by happy memories. Working with a custom home builder like Lofty also ensures your home has dedicated spaces designed to display your items and personality.

Our tip – Group together items of similar shapes, colours and textures in order to tell a story.

SHOWCASE YOUR PASSIONS AND HOBBIES

Another easy way to make your house truly yours is by showing off items that relate to your hobbies or passions in life. Once again, this will create a point of difference, but will also showcase your sense of self in your home. Hanging the guitars up on the wall, incorporating art inspired by your hobbies and passions is another clever way to showcase these things without looking tacky. A painting, sculpture or ornament can symbolically represent something you love in a stylish way. Why is this important? Surrounding yourself with what you love is another key way in making your house feel like a home and will allow others that enter your home to learn a bit about you and connect with you from what they can see.

FENG SHUI

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese tradition that suggests our homes, the environment of them and the energy that flows through them has a deep effect on our wellbeing and consequently our everyday lives. It also suggests that our homes are a direct extension of ourselves and when we make physical changes in the arrangement of our homes, it will affect the movement of energy. This ultimately is reflected by changes in our wealth, health, happiness and inner feelings of peace. Feng Shui which essentially translates to ‘wind and water’ is the practice of allowing good energy to flow through your home and for bad energy to easily flow out. For thousands of years the ancient tradition of Feng Shui has been used in architecture and interior design to better people’s lives and now it is your time to utilise this tool. A house is not a home unless it feels like one, and this is something that thoughtful Feng Shui can help with.

The Feng Shui principles that will transform your house into a space of positivity, abundance and good energy include:

NO MORE CLUTTER

Achieve this by:

• Letting go of items that no longer serve you because they evoke bad memories or feelings.
• Store belongings in tubs, drawers or baskets so things are all in one place and easy to locate.
• Only have on display items you regularly use or those that hold the utmost sentimental value.

LIGHTING

Another important principle in Feng Shui is the presence of light. In fact, it is suggested that the presence of natural light in-particular can further enhance positive energy in the home. Natural light also has the added benefit of saving you money on electricity costs from having to run the lights, plus the added warmth during the colder months.

MIRRORS
Big mirrors help create the illusion of space and so are particularly ideal to enhance smaller areas in the home. Mirrors can also be used to scatter light by reflecting the natural light throughout a room (e.g. when positioned opposite a window). Mirrors are also a great default decor item to fill up a space with something that is functional, useful and aesthetically pleasing.

COLOURS
Colouring your home consciously is extremely important. This is because in Feng Shui colours hold significant meanings related to the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water each associated with different feelings. For example, the colour blue is a representation of the water element and the colour of calm and peace. Whereas the colour red is a representation of the fire element and associated with luck, romance and energy. When selecting colours to be used throughout your home, keep in mind how they can make you feel each day. Of course, this differs between each individual, but as long as you choose colours that make you feel peaceful, then positive energy will flow.

Whether a house feels like a home really does come down to the feeling it gives you. The house itself, the contents and design elements all play key roles in this. Simple interior design choices are a keyway to help you create a more stress-free and positive environment in your home. Make it yours, showcase what is important to you, what speaks to you and this will make your space feel like home. Armed with this knowledge, you are now able to transform your house into a happy home.