As I approach the sixth month of living in the new house it’s finally starting to feel like home. I have slightly altered my opinion on the house having a vendetta against us and am beginning to think perhaps it doesn’t hate us quite so much.
So the reasons why our new address is starting to feel like home? Well the lack of tradesmen invoices this month made a welcome change but we’ve also made some good progress with the decorating and unpacking and there’s a few things making me feel more settled.
Unpacking
There’s a distinct lack of upstairs storage in this pad. We don’t own any wardrobes (thanks to my teeny-tiny walk-in at my old house) and waited until we’d decorated and carpeted the bedroom to buy any new furniture so we didn’t have to lug about heavy chests of drawers and the like. The resulting living-out-of-a-suitcase very quickly went from feeling like I was on holiday to feeling like I had a been robbed and left with about three outfits.
A few weeks ago we became the proud owners of two chests of drawers and I can say it’s been life-changing stuff putting away all my clothes. The sense of satisfaction I get from sliding out those soft-close drawers is immense.
Decorating The Walls
I had planned to unleash all my frames on newly painted walls and I decided to keep all my pictures and photos packed in boxes until decoration was complete. I felt it would be imposing to hang up my photos on someone else’s paint choices and thought it would spur me on to decorate quickly. In reality though this just left the house looking bare and void of any personality. A few weeks ago I added more pictures to the walls and it’s really helped to make me feel at home.
Sleeping In A Real Bed
For the last few months we’ve been sleeping in our downstairs bedroom in a three quarter bed. It’s not been too bad actually but by golly it was lovely to stretch out when we spent the first night in our new bed a couple of weeks ago. Choosing new bedding and layering up the bed with throws and cushions was a real treat after spending a couple of months in a glorified sleeping bag.
Perfecting The Route Home
Though we only moved ten minutes from our old place, the new commute to the office has taken me a while to get used to. Last week I finally perfected the ‘secret’ route to the supermarket negotiating one way streets and no entry signs to smugly beat the hoards of traffic. There’s nothing like a short-cut to make you feel like a real local. And yes I clearly need to get out more.
Adding Your Own Scent
Thankfully the previous owners left our new abode spotlessly clean but one thing that still makes me feel like a stranger in my new house is the unfamiliar smell. Though we’ve painted the walls about sixteen times due to the bad paint episode and replaced the carpets there’s a fragrance I’m not accustomed to when I walk through the door. The candles and reed diffusers leave a synthetic stench and so I’m thinking a deeper clean is on the cards. Now I actually considered writing this post with a simple plea; which steam mop should I buy?! However I thought you might fancy a few more words to read so decided against it. If you’re interested the potential contenders are this Hoover Steam Cleaner or the spendier Kärcher one. Please do feel free to make any suggestions for steam mops suitable for wooden floors and I really will love you forever.
Anything else you recommend for making a new place feel like home? How long did it take you to get settled in your house?
I’m glad your house is feeling more like a home. I think it’s so hard when you move into a new house to really make it feel like yours, despite the fact you really love it and redecorate, I think a lot of it is more psychological than physical, although little home accessories and a splash of paint here and there definitely helps!
Gemma x
Thanks Gemma x
Hi Lauren. Lovely to hear your tips to make the house feel more homely. I’m two weeks into our new house and totally identify with the lack of storage. We have no drawers or shelves of any kind in any of the bedrooms and every day involves searching through boxes to find a long lost item. Chests of drawers are definitely on our priority list and I wondered where you found yours as I am struggling to find any that I really like. Any advice would be most gratefully received.
Hi Sandie,
Congrats on the new house. We just went for Ikea Hemnes drawers in the end as the dimensions were perfect then James painted them all with two coats of eggshell. There are loads of Ikea hacks on pinterest to customise them x
Morning Lauren I can totally relate to the issue of scent and I think it’s just a question of waiting it out. We have been in our house for 3 and half years and even now I occasionally get a little scent reminder of the family that called it home before we did. It evokes such powerful memories from when we moved in. We had just come back from our honeymoon, it was our first house purchase and was so full of possibilities. I still get a little shiver if excitement when I catch the scent of how it was. Give it time xx
Oh Susie, how lovely. What a gorgeous reminder x
I was so happy to see this post, we are just over one month into our new house, having had a few ‘unexpected guests’ ourselves and having to wait for workmen to get their behinds into gear I have been losing motivation over the last week, there’s only so much you can do whilst waiting for walls and ceilings to be plastered! I felt better after I did a deep clean in the kitchen and moved a few of our plants into our garden (which had been residing at the parents) working on the garden wasn’t at the top of my priority list originally however just doing something even if not painting etc has kept me from going crazy and I know have a lovely garden to escape from the house to! Lots of alfresco dinners whilst we wait for dining chairs to arrive!! ?
Sharon, you know I’ve completely underestimated the impact of the garden and maybe that’s had a big part to play in how settled I am. Bring on the alfresco dinners! x
We’re nearly 3 months into living in our new house and it still doesn’t feel like home yet. We have decorated the bedroom and the living room is scheduled for next month so I hope that decorating these two main living spaces will help. Loving the steam mop suggestions too, we have wooden floor boards throughout the whole house which although looks beautiful it is a little bit of a nightmare for dust……dust everywhere! So looking for a tool which will help clean and dust at the same time, is there such thing? Maybe a steam mop is the way to go?! x
I think you still need to hoover first Tish but I’m hoping it’ll be a bit of revelation! Hope all the decorating goes well x
It took us a while to feel like being at home after moving, too – although we were unpacked within three days and pictures were up. I prefer putting it all out and then re-decorating/shuffling things about (much to the husband’s dismay). That way I can see what works and what doesn’t – but we also moved from a teeny 1-bed to a 4-bed with two reception rooms so had tons of space 🙂
As for the steam mop, we have a Thane H2O 5-in-1, it wasn’t cheap (got it on offer from Robert Dyas a few years back: http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/cleaning/steam-cleaners/h2o-steam-mop-x5) but I love it! I’ve used it on laminate in our old place and now on our wooden floorboards and the kitchen tiles without any problems. With three dogs, a cat and no hallway as such, the downstairs needs mopping at least once a week, it’s really easy and I love that fresh steamed smell. I also add Method’s wood floor cleaner to it 🙂
I too love Method’s wood cleaner. The smell is lovely and makes the whole house downstairs seem so fresh and clean.
Method stuff always smells so good!
Oh Maike, this looks very fancy. Loving the method suggestion too x
With my previous house moves I have found I can cope with the house not being to my taste for a while if I can get a fresh coat of paint done in the living room and bedroom. I always have a neutral pot of paint lying around and I love decorating. The rooms may not stay that colour permanently but it has helped me relax into the house and given me a feel of what can be done to make it feel like my home.
Lauren, I am with you on the unfamiliar smells. Even though a house isn’t smelly it makes makes me feel yucky as house smells can cling to you and it just isn’t the right smell! Is it unreasonable to demand the sellers invest in some Jo Malone before exchanging?!
Ha ha Claire, every contract needs a Jo Malone clause! x
We moved into our house in mid-February and due to getting married in April, no decorating has been done as wedding organisation took priority (both mentally and financially!). We unpacked EVERYTHING and had a massive sort/clear out the weekend we moved in, mainly because I knew if we didn’t do it there and then we would still be surrounded by boxes. Every room needs decorating, new bathroom, new carpets etc but it is all liveable. Though what is becoming increasingly un-liveable is the commercial strip light in our bedroom, under which I look about 305 years old. Who puts strip lighting in bedrooms???!!! They are also in the kitchen. WHY?? We have lots of lamps but staring at that strip light is doing my head in. I can’t wait to decorate (though no one room can be completely finished until we put new bathrooms in and fit the woodburner in the lounge as it affects either the walls or flooring/carpets that will run into other rooms) so I will have to wait a bit longer and in the meantime I’m trying to work out what would be worse, staring at the strip light or bare wires if I rip it off the ceiling? Anyway this is becoming a rant.
About the smell – have you ever used Zeflora? It is a disinfectant you add to your mop bucket, cleaning cloth etc (from any supermarkets) and it is brilliant for disguising smells and making things smell fresh and neutral. Particularly amazing if you have pets or a lingering smell. Maybe try that? xx
Milly, what a busy time you’ve had! Congrats on becoming a Mrs.
Now a strip light in the bedroom, that is interesting and not at all as kinky as it sounds….
Madly off to google Zeflora x
Thank you!! And no, it isn’t at all kinky. Unless you like every blemish over your body highlighted x187236872163.
I spelt it wrong, it is Zoflora http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=262483441
x
Good to read that you’re settling in.
Regarding the smell, I had a similar problem but on a smaller scale when I moved into a new office. What helped were loose coffee beans and/or tea leaves (preferable fruity ones if you like them).
Ooh like the natural solution Kat and coffee beans always smell amazing x
We moved into our house just before Christmas 6 years ago and I remember very well it not feeling like home. We had gone from a one bedroom flat to a three bedroom house and had very little furniture. But the previous owner had left a LOT of her own belongings including a huge sideboard, table and chairs and two enormous wardrobes complete with clothes inside(!) and various bits snd pieces in every room. None of the furniture was to our taste at all and it took a long time to finally get rid of it all, so that certainly didn’t help in making our new home feel like OUR new home.
We also didn’t have any proper heating in the living room for the first few weeks. I remember sitting in this cold stark room thinking I should feel excited but really it just felt very strange and not homely at all. Slowly but surely the more of us we injected into the house the more homely it started to feel. I now love that feeling of going away on holiday, but then at the end of it really looking forward to coming home. Because it’s yours, and it’s full of all your lovely things, and there really is no place like it ☺ x
Wow what a lot of stuff to leave behind Anna. Lovely to hear you’re in love with your home now x
Hi Lauren, you’ve really made your new house lovely. I’ve found your transformation posts inspiring! I have a steam cleaner and like putting a couple of drops of essential oil in the water and it really makes the house smell fresh. I particularly like lemon for cleaning! I also love my diffuser and you can choose what scent you fancy depending on what oils you are in the mood for. It always feels the air has been purified when I’ve had it on so may be worth a try! Neals Yard have a great selection x
I second this! Beautiful fragrance and completely natural. Scented candles sometimes give me a headache so I use my diffuser lots instead.
Another vote for essential oils! Make sure they’re natural aromatherapy ones to avoid the synthetic smell (obviously!), and use them in one of the things where you add a few drops to some water over a candle – the heat gets the scent spread around really effectively. Boots and Neal’s Yard both have the oils, but my favourite two are a jasmine one we picked up after a trip to Morocco a few years ago (still takes me back there) and the Winter one from White Company (much cheaper than the candles of the same scent!)
We’ve been in our house almost a year now, but after a recent trip away it felt a bit empty on our return and strangely I do think it was the smell – glad to hear I’m not the only one who feels like that after so long!
In general, bringing plants inside has made a huge difference to the place, it suddenly feels much more ‘lived in’ – they clean the air as well, so I think it helps with the smell too!
We’ve been in our farmhouse for 6 months and I still don’t completely feel at home. My husbands parents lived in it before us, and they left stuff in all of the cupboards and two bedrooms are rammed with their furniture. I finally cleared all the cupboards a month ago and packed it all up for them and put it in one of the bedrooms, but I’m still plucking up the courage to ask them to start sorting through it please…. Because there is still so much of their stuff here, the house still smells like theirs. ? I do have lots of nice scented candles and that helps a bit. The roof and stone gutters are leaking big style so we can’t do any decorating in the bedrooms that we do have access to until That’s all fixed (which is taking ages to organise as the house is listed and it’s a specialist job). I hope that we’ll get the gutters sorted in the next few months and then I can finally take off all the horrible old wallpaper (think woodchip with 90s sponge effects and swirly 80s florals!).
I’m keen to get a steam mop, for the kitchen floor tiles and also for cleaning the bathroom grout etc as I’ve read that they’re excellent at cleaning without the need for a toothbrush and bleach! So if you fancy doing some reviews I’d love to read them!
Your house looks beautiful already, I love your calming colour schemes and personal touches (Ikea hacks are amazing!). X
We’ve been in our new house about a month now and have settled in great (something about getting my little family out of my mums house where we’ve been for the last year!)
Washing the Windows was the big thing for me, it puts a better light on everything and chances are they haven’t been done in ages!
Our biggest challenge has been charging full steam ahead in ripping the bathroom out and planning it out properly ?
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A new house really not easy to make a home specially when you lived in your last home when you were a child. But the time have the power to forget everything.