What you will learn in this episode:

• How to get away from that ‘showroom feeling’ in your house

• How to bring you into your home

• The layering-in trick that I use to decorate

Most of the episodes I record revolve around the management and the planning of home renovation projects because that’s really the most important piece to the puzzle in my estimation. But in reality, I also do a lot of decorating and am often asked questions along the lines of “how do I make my house a home?” 

Well, when you’re renovating your home or adding on a room, you might have some pieces of furniture already you can put in there, but chances are the new room or space will require new furniture and accessories. 

We are constantly challenged with how do we finish these spaces. I take a pretty unique approach to decorating. I was raised with a lot of beautiful old pieces. Not necessarily antiques but they were my grandmothers’ sofa or my great-uncle’s chest of drawers. The room wasn’t entirely old pieces, but I learned early on that that layering in is what creates a home feeling. That’s my advice to you and everyone I talk to is to not just purchase everything brand new. When that happens it tends to look like a furniture showroom instead of a lived-in space. 

The second point I always make to people is to get things on walls. And people ask me what they should hang. And my answer is hang what you love. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive. It can be a poster, as long as you love it. But always hang your art around eye level. 

Another thing people tend to avoid because of the cost is rugs. And I share with you some options I like to give my clients that will hold you over until you can afford or find the rug you truly want. A rug can truly make a house feel more homey and takes way that echoey sound that an empty room makes.

Another tip is to bring in personal belongings – pictures of your family, your pet, a trip you went on. These add your personal touch and also add interest to the room.

If you take all of these elements together, put art on your walls, bring in personal belongings, photographs, objects meaningful to you, and make sure your home has rugs, I can assure you your house will feel like you and be warm and inviting, and not like you walked into a furniture showroom and purchased everything you saw. That just doesn’t make the house feel like a home. 

I hope this is helpful with a few little tricks and a checklist of other areas you can invest in so your house feels like your home.

Like this Episode?

• Be sure to check out Episode #10 : How to Create The Home Office You Need

• Don’t miss an episode, listen on Spotify, and follow via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or RSS.

• Leave us a review in Apple Podcasts.