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?