Do You Live In A House or Home??

How do you make your house feel like a home? Heres a few ideas to get you started!

1. Start with decluttering and cleaning - Get rid of the junk.
2. Display your photographs - Nothing says warmth like family photographs!
   
3. Use hand me down recipes - Teach your children about your roots!
4. Hang your history - Display your grandmother’s china
5. Use your words! Put some stencils or quotes on your walls!
6. Love your home

1. Get rid of the junk: One of the first steps of making a house a home is a clean space. Get rid of the junk. If you don’t LOVE it, than it’s just taking up space and collecting dust. If its chipped, broken, missing a piece, or just plain ugly throw it out! Now you have less clutter and you feel free and light and ready to put your name on it. Don't feel guilty about getting rid of the vase Aunt Sally gave you, really, just get rid of it!
   
2. Display your photographs - Be creative!
   Nothing shows the love you have for your family more than displaying photographs. At kodakgallery.com you will find a wide array of creative ways to display pictures. You can even take your favorites and blow them up into poster size!! Frame it and there you have it, instant art that is personal and will last a lifetime. A great conversational piece for people when they visit. They will be amazed at your photographic skills!
   
3. Use hand me down recipes - Teach your children about your roots!
   Do you have recipes that have been handed down from y our Mother or Grandmother?? These recipes, especially if they are handwritten look wonderful framed and hung in the kitchen. Don’t worry about the grease marks or smudges; this is what adds that certain charm. My whole back splash is framed recipes from my Grandmother, mother, and even some aunts. With coordinating frames, you will create something that has meaning and sentimental value to your home!

   

4. Hang your history - Display your grandmother’s china
   Do you have a few pieces of Grandmas good china?? What better way to display it than to hang them on the wall in your dining room?? A little piece of family history to admire throughout the years to come. You don't need a whole set, just one or two, or even four hung in an interesting way on your wall will add so much to the room. You'll get texture, color, and interest from something that has been in your family for so long.
   
5. Use your words! Put some stencils or quotes on your walls!
   One of my new favorite sites is Wall Words This site has stencils, letters, and one time use quotes, words that you put onto your wall!! I’m so in love with this site and can’t stop shopping there!! What a fabulous way to personalize the kid’s rooms, or welcome guests into your home.
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6. Love your home
   Last but not least, love your home. Bond with it. Be proud of it. Keep it clean and fresh and an oasis that your family wants to come home to. Make it comfortable and cozy. No one says that your house has to be decorated all at once and overnight. I’ve been in my home for over two years and I’m not even close to getting it to where I want it. It takes time to make it perfect! I only buy things I absolutely love! I don’t settle for second best. If it’s not the right color or I’m not in love with it, than I don’t buy it. I would rather have a bare wall than something ugly hanging up that I have to look at everyday. Keeping it bare inspires me to continue to hunt for that perfect piece!