Making a house a home is one of the principal challenges that new homeowners face, no matter how luxurious their new home may be. This post, courtesy of the home furniture specialists at OWO Living, will share expert insight into how best to capture that most ethereal of feelings – homeliness.
Unpack the essentials first
For the first few days or weeks in a freshly bought property, you’ll be stepping over cardboard boxes as you wonder how you ever accumulated so many possessions in the first place. Badminton rackets, fishing equipment that’s still in its box… These are the sorts of items that might have seemed vital at some stage in your life, but are now just cluttering up your new home.
House move expert Diane Schmidt recommends unpacking the kitchen first, to put your culinary skills to the test straight away. Sure, eating takeout amongst cardboard boxes in a furniture-less home might seem like a novelty for the first night, but cooking your own food in a new kitchen can make it feel like home much sooner.
Personalize the space
Even the most opulently furnished new homes don’t feel like your own when you first move in. However, adding your own personal touches can go a long way to allaying this feeling and stopping any nascent feelings of ‘buyer regret’.
This could be as simple as placing family photos around the rooms or painting a wall in the living area to be a ‘focal point’ that adds a dash of your own style to the house, without being a full home design overhaul. The simple combination of bunting and a faux deer head in the image below is a prime example of a feature wall focal point that immediately personalizes the space and adds character.
Image: Unsplash
Tailor the kitchen to your needs
The kitchen needs to be a functional room above all else, so pay attention to how easy it is to go from the fridge to sink to stove. Making your new kitchen work for you is vitally important if you’re to get easily acquainted with your new home – and it all depends on what kind of cook you consider yourself to be.
Do you like to cook up hearty stews that spend hours bubbling away? If this sounds like you, make sure your herbs and spices are easily and attractively stored nearby. Alternatively, if you’re a quick eater that lives for convenience, you should ensure that you’ve got conveniently placed cupboards and breakfast bar seating for spontaneous or on-the-go meals.
Attuning the kitchen to your needs can help you save money, too. The average American spends a huge portion of their monthly budget on eating out – but this can easily be reduced if you have a luxury new kitchen that’s optimized for your needs!
Source some unique touches
Focusing on the entire house can seem a little daunting, but fear not. Putting your own stamp on your new home can be as easy as shopping around for quirky small-scale items. If you’ve discovered some outlandish, patterned tiles at an outlet or niche supplier, why not add a few to your shower area or kitchen? Doing so doesn’t have to mean a full-scale overhaul of the space, just a subtle splash of your own individuality!
Continuing in this vein, you can find some interesting and unusual ornaments at thrift stores, and making these a feature of your home can personalize it in a unique way. A guaranteed conversation starter, you’ll love explaining how much (or little) you paid for your items!
Image: Unsplash
So, with a smart unpacking strategy, some individualist touches and an eye on functionality, your new house will soon feel like home, and be a hub for family memories for decades to come. If you need help finding the perfect home to fit your growing needs, we’re here to assist. With our extensive network of nearly 2,000 local agents, we may already be working with a seller whose home matches your wish list! Reach out and we’ll connect you with an agent to help you find just the right fit.
