Make Your House A Home

These ideas will help you add personality, comfort and a unique touch to every room in your home.

Maybe your house felt like home the moment you walked through the front door for the first time. As you toured the kitchen, you could already see yourself entertaining friends and family.

Or maybe you admired the living room bay window and saw yourself sitting beneath it, cup of coffee in hand.

But for some of us, it takes a little more effort to feel truly at home. Here are some ideas to build a stronger connection with your space – and turn your house into a home.

Hang up memories

Feeling at home is usually wrapped up in the people who live there – your family. So it follows that bringing them to life within the house is a great way to make a house feel more like you.

Why not cover a wall in your house with pictures of your family and friends? Choosing and displaying your favorite photos of loved ones is a great way to introduce your individual style. And don’t just focus on recent photos – shots of grandparents and great-grandparents can inspire nostalgia and add a vintage touch to your display.

Personalize your shelves

It’s possible that most of your library now resides on your tablet or e-reader, but books are a great way to stamp your personality on a property. Fill a shelf near a reading nook with your favorites going all the way back to your childhood. You may not regularly read each one, but even a glance over the spines will fill you with fond memories and give guests a sense of who you are.

Not much of a reader? CDs or DVDs work just as well. What movie did you watch on a great first date? What music did you play to help lull your child to sleep? Having visible mementos of things you’ve enjoyed at various points in your life can make you feel at home and transport your mind instantly to another time.

Tip: Keep dust and dirt at bay by running a Swiffer 360 Duster over shelves, books, CDs and DVDs on a regular basis.

Venture outdoors

Your home doesn’t stop at the walls! The front of your house is the last thing you see when you leave and the first thing you see when you get home. If the entrance looks welcoming, chances are it’ll feel that way, too. You don’t have to spend a small fortune repainting the whole house; even just painting the front door your favorite color will add a personalized touch.

If you’re an outdoor person, you may feel more at home in your yard than inside. Adding cozy, comfortable patio furniture to sit on and pass the time is essential. Plant and grow flowers that you love or that hold meaning: a particular breed of roses, cheerful beds of daffodils or clusters of forget-me-nots that remind you of your wedding bouquet.

Curate your décor

It goes without saying that redecorating can make your house feel like it belongs to you, but if you’d rather not knock down walls or paint an entire room, there are still small things you can do to reimagine your space. Throw pillows, rugs and ornaments can help you customize. If you have Scottish ancestry, tartan accents can connect your décor to your heritage. If you grew up in the 1980s, an abstract neon rug can stamp your personality on a room. Small mementos from your hometown sports team – like a pennant flag – could be just the thing to bring back memories and make a space more special.

Tip: Fill your home with your favorite scent, whether its lavender, mandarin orange or vanilla, by spraying Febreze AIR in each room at least once a week.

In the end, you are what makes your house a home. What do you love? What makes you feel at home and at ease? Whether it’s your family, your pets, your hometown or something else, find these things and build connections with them.