There's No Place at Home
Friday, September 19, 2008 at 10:12PM 
Number 7 on my list of things to post when I’m too busy to think: When all else fails, make a list.
Here are 5 things that I think help make a house a home.
1. A front porch. My front porch is very small, but I stilI love to sit out on in the summer to watch the world go by as I drink my morning cup of coffee. And in the summer, it doesn’t hurt if the front porch has a few hanging baskets full of blooming flower.
2. Pets. Nothing makes the place seem cozy like a couple of dogs and cats sleeping.
3. Babies and toddlers, although I have no wee ones living here and no grandbabies to visit, either. But if I did, they’d help make the place more homey.
4. A little untidiness. A homey house looks lived-in. True confession: In my obsessively tidy days, I’d put every single thing away, clean from top to bottom, and then lay an open book here, a jacket there, a cup and saucer on the kitchen table and a tea towel on the counter, all in an attempt to make a too-tidy house look like a home. Fortunately, that phase of my life ended a long time ago and I no longer need such props—ever.
5. Fresh flowers. I always have them, and no, I don’t feel guilty about the money I spend on them. And when I can’t have fresh flowers—like when it’s -40C in the middle of the winter—I have candles lit as a bouquet substitute.
What about you? What do you think helps make your house a home?
Reader Comments (11)
I've got all your "must-haves" for a home, except the babies! I'll add a pot of soup simmering on the stove and a loaf of bread in the oven. And books. Lots of books. Oh, and a fireplace, or at least lots of candles.
I love your list of what truly "makes" a home. And happily for me, I've got a little one toddling around here. It really does feel like "home" since he arrived.
Your home is very sweet!
XO
I'm afraid that's not my home, Jill. It's just a photo I took of one of the older homes downtown.
I have the books and fireplace, Rosemary. Unfortunately, I've developed an allergy to the wood, so I can only have a fire when someone else can tend it.
Well, my babies are growing up, but they have pets.Carefully placed clutter? Wow. I have to second Rosemary's suggestion of freshly baked bread. I love the way the house smells after I've baked bread. Or cookies. Yes, cookies.
My 16 year old says it's the people and I take that to mean that it's the mom that makes a home.
Your 16 year old is smart. :) And she knows who stocks the fridge.
Lots of plants inside. Flowers growing outside. Art on the walls. Books in the bookcase. Nic nac birds on shelves and walls. Pottery also. Poetry words on the refrigerator. I have moved many times. These are the things that make me feel like I can settle in.
Lots of books, a dog, our gardening hats on the dining room table (I have give up moving them elsewhere!)
Hello Rebecca,
I,too, thought the photo was of your house. I even transferred it to my picture folder and labeled it as your house. Changed the label to "An Old House in Whitehorse, YT, Canada, once I read your comment. Any any rate it is now my desktop picture.
Hello Rebecca,
I,too, thought the photo was of your house. I even transferred it to my picture folder and labeled it as your house. Changed the label to "An Old House in Whitehorse, YT, Canada, once I read your comment. Any any rate it is now my desktop picture.