The two sides of the coin, when moving into a new home. are excitement and stress. Often you need time to adapt and create a real sense of comfort. Fortunately, you don't need years to feel comfortable in your new home, just some simple but quite effective tips. This guide offers an answer to one of the most important questions after moving: How to make your new place feel like home.
Furniture: A key factor in creating a cosy home environment
Furnishings define the overall look of a home, revealing much about the occupants and their character. Furnishing your home yourself, relying on your own taste and preferences, will certainly contribute to your comfort in your new home. Whether you are a minimalist, rely on functionality or prefer neat and beautiful boutique furniture, you have the chance to show it all off by making sure you gradually create the home of your dreams. Here are some of the furniture steps you can take to ensure a homey feel.
Stick to a familiar furniture layout
With a recent move, your time is limited, and it would be difficult to think through all the details of settling into your new home. Opt for a simple but effective solution and try to keep your current furniture arrangement (as far as you can). For example, if your bed was in the right-hand corner of your bedroom, put it back there. Do not disturb the number and type of furniture in each room. This way you will avoid sudden changes and therefore the feeling of unfamiliarity. Your mind, already accustomed to certain movements and distances between furniture, will be able to get used to the new surroundings more quickly.
Express yourself through furniture
Make your house feel like home by making sure you like your new furniture. The process of selecting and buying furnishings is among the stages that give a home authenticity and uniqueness. Beautiful and functional furniture, chosen by you or with the help of your family and tailored to your needs, will enhance the comfort of your home and the enjoyment of your time there.
Keep your old furniture
As well as saving money on buying new furniture, bringing your current furnishings into your new home will create a sense of familiarity. This way, you'll keep the comfort you've always had and the memories you have with the furniture. If you decide on this, our specialists will offer professional assistance.
Create your own furniture
Another challenging way to create a home-from-home feel from your new place is to try to make some of the furniture yourself. You don't have to start with anything complicated. Buy prefabricated furniture with ready-made components or, if you're handier, make the parts yourself. Ideas for furniture to make yourself are a coffee table, kitchen chairs or a bedside table. The pros of this idea are that you can involve your family in the making of the furniture—something that is sure to add sentimentality to the crafted furniture.
Make themed spaces
Add uniqueness and comfort to your home by making special spaces for relaxation. For example, you can turn your terrace into a unique garden, paint the walls of your children's room with your children's favourite cartoon characters or create a corner for your pet. If you are a book lover, then dedicate time to making a home library or create a room dedicated to your favourite hobby such as:
- A gaming room
- A reading corner
- A room with board games
- A room for working out at home
- Home theatre
- Art room (for painting, carving, pottery, knitting, etc.)
How to make your new house feel like home through appropriate decor
The expression "Beauty is in the details" is probably not one of the minimalists' favourites, but it offers an interesting perspective for the rest of us. Room decorations and small objects can give a unique look to any new home, bringing life into it and making it feel like home.
Change the colours of the home
Colours have an important psychological effect. Bright shades are associated with strong positive emotions, while more muted tones bring a sense of calm and harmony. Changing the colour of the walls in your new home is one of the steps you can take to make it cosy and welcoming.
Go for a familiar scent
Familiar and favourite scents can also help make your new home feel like home. Go for the scent of a favourite fruit or flower, or a smell you associate with a particular person or good memory.
Put paintings and photos
Paintings and photos will bring the home to life, recalling your happiest moments and favourite landscapes. You can also bet on interesting quotes from movies, books or celebrities. You get bonus cosiness points if you combine them with original frames to enhance the comfort and beauty of your new home.
Choose interesting lighting
Here we mean both buying more interesting lighting fixtures and choosing lights in non-standard colours. This way you can add romance and tranquillity to your home, spend an unforgettable movie night or indulge in a long gaming session. Combined with the right music and familiar scents, light is definitely a key ingredient in achieving a homely feel.
Curtains, plants, blankets and tableware
Opt for interesting additions to your home décor such as curtains, plants, blankets and tableware. There are many different varieties available on the market, so you can choose the ones that reflect your interests and taste the most, and thus, enhance the cosiness of your home.
Box of memories
This tip applies especially to those of you who move frequently and don't have the opportunity to redecorate your home. In this case, you can collect the items with the most sentimental value to yourself in a box that is always within reach. This way, despite frequent changes of residence, you will be able to quickly feel calm and cosy, recalling the stories associated with each item in the box. You can put photos of your loved ones, charms, souvenirs from trips, wishes and gifts dear to you.
Creating memories is among the best ways to turn a dwelling into a home
The steps we have listed so far are those tricks to make sure that you are ready to do the most important thing in terms of comfort, which is to create wonderful memories in your new home. Whether we're talking about planned occasions or spontaneous moments of joy, it's the happiness experienced at home that connects us most strongly to a space and its material comforts. Here are our suggestions on how to create memories in your new abode.
Housewarming Party
Hosting a move-in party is a great way to bring positive emotions into the home. The best thing about this idea is that you can share the experience with those closest to you.
Barbecue with friends
A suggestion for those living in a home with a garden, which is particularly suitable for the warmer months or weekends. Combined with interesting conversations or board games, a barbecue can fill the home with positive emotions.
Movie nights with the whole family
An idea that you can implement both in your garden and in your dining room. Choose the whole family's favourite film or opt for an interesting comedy. And don't forget the popcorn. Fun is guaranteed.
Culinary competitions
If you and your family are fans of cooking, you can organise a culinary competition in your new home. To do this, choose a few identical ingredients for each participant to cook a dish of their choice in a set amount of time, or choose a favourite meal to be cooked by different family members, voting at the end on who did the best.
Take care of the comfort together
After moving into your new home, you can take up hobbies such as gardening or construction. Grow your own plants to include in your meals, or make interesting additions to your home such as:
- Birdhouse
- Children's swing
- Key holder
- Handmade photo frames
- Wooden toys for child
- Pet clothes
- Doghouse
Make friends
They say home is not a place, but a person. And if we think from a broader perspective, it's the people close to us who give a unique comfort and soul to any new place. Here are our tips on how to feel at home, not just when it comes to changing your home, but also making a life in a new community:
Find a roommate
Finding a roommate, in case you're planning to move out and live on your own, is a great solution for how to make your new place feel like home. You'll have someone to share the rent and household responsibilities with, create new experiences and eventually become really close friends.
Get a pet
Four-legged friends reduce stress and are a source of joy for young and old alike. Adopting an animal is a great way to diversify life at home, bringing family members together and teaching them care and responsibility.
Get to know your neighbours
Relationships with your neighbours are very important for how you will feel after moving into a new home. No one is a fan of inter-neighbour squabbles. To enhance the feeling of cosiness after moving in, we advise you to try to create a warm relationship with those living nearby. Surprise them with a kind gesture, invite them to visit or lend them tools or other supplies such as cooking products, batteries, books, etc. It is the neighbours who you would be more than happy to rely on in crisis situations, health or domestic, and why not even become close friends sharing your free time.
Get involved in the organisation of a local event
Organizing an interesting initiative for the benefit of the neighbourhood community will bring you closer to those living nearby, allowing you to do something positive for your life together and the improvement of your area. For example, you could organise a group clean-up of the green spaces in the neighbourhood, create a playground, plant trees or organise an outdoor movie night. Such activities are sure to strengthen the community spirit, increasing the cosiness and enjoyment of living in the area.
Now you're a few steps closer to turning your new place into a truly cosy and unique home. And where do you start when planning the actual relocation process? Trust the experienced team at Movega Removals, a company with over 1,200 satisfied customers offering a variety of relocation services throughout Europe. Find out more about us and submit your relocation questions via our contact form or chatbot feature.
