Creating a Homey Home
When I was growing up, I lived in a small home deep in the country, about five miles out from the one-horse town I hated. For 18 years, I lived in that house and swore that no other place would ever feel like home again.
After I graduated college and moved into my own place, my aging parents decided that living far away from town and our relatives was too much for them. They moved closer into a smaller home and were content with the life they had created.
When I visited, the place felt alien to me. It wasnt my home anymore, it was theirs. I felt lost, because no other place I had lived in since ever felt like a home, either. I was simply migrating from one apartment to another. It wasnt until I settled down and established some roots that I decided it was time to turn my house into a home.
1. Surround yourself with the familiar. I couldnt have my old room back, but when mom and dad moved, I was able to take a few mementos of my life. Trophies from baseball and basketball, and a few odds and ends that would have meant nothing to anyone else, but were the world to me. They may not be on a mantle in the living room, but just knowing they are in the house makes it feel more like a home.
2. Comfort is king. A home is a place where you can unwind and let the stress of the world leave you. I never felt comfortable in those apartments, because my furniture was cheap and constantly falling apart. When I made my home, I bought a wonderfully comfortable rocker recliner. If my house was on fire and I could only take one thing, I would strap that chair to my back.
3. Make it your own. A first home can feel as alien as an apartment. Its walls are painted white by the contractors that built it and it has the look and feel of someone else. Make the home your own by changing the paint, adding new cabinets or putting up some wall paper. One thing I could never do in an apartment was make any real changes. In my home, I can do whatever I want.
4. Start creating memories. The things I remember about my childhood home arent what kind of paneling it had, or the color of the carpet. It was coming out and seeing the tree on Christmas Day. It was the time my parents surprised me with a water bed for my birthday. I realized that was what I really missed about my old house. It wasnt just the place where I slept, it was the place where I lived my life. I have already begun making memories in this home, like the two days my wife and I painted the nursery for our first son, or the first time we had the extended family over for a barbecue.
A home just isnt a place where you sleep, eat and watch television. The old saying goes Home is where the heart is and that cant be more true.
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