by Bruce W. Coffman

Created on: July 30, 2008

A house is just a building. A home is what you make it with your own personal touches. Making a house into a home involves infusing the house with your own unique sense of style, making it personal, and creating a relaxing, comfortable atmosphere.

Infusing a house with your own unique sense of style includes everything from the colors you choose to the type of furniture and other decor items you use. Even the artwork on the walls should be carefully selected to say something about who you are as an individual. Remember, even if you're renting, you live there. It is your home and it should reflect your own style. If you own the home you can, of course, do whatever you want. If you are renting you might have to work withing some constraints, but most people will allow you some freedom, especially if after you've rented from them for a while.

Making it personal involves adding touches like family photos, treasured family heirlooms and things from your past that remind you of who you are and where you came from. It's like bringing a sense of your personal history into the house, helping to make it even more your home. It can even include things like plaques and trophies you've won. Whatever items you have that show something about your past should be displayed. This will give you more of a connection to the space and make you more comfortable.

There are a variety of ways to create a relaxing, comfortable atmosphere. Once you have infused the house with your unique sense of style and added personal touches, you've gone a long way toward achieving that goal. Another way to create a relaxing, comfortable atmosphere is to claim a room or at least a part of a room as your own personal space. Perhaps that is where you'll put your favorite old comfortable chair or your computer desk. Make it a place where you can get away from the world and relax in the comfort and security of your own home.

Though all these steps will help you make your house into a home, nothing happens over night. It's common to feel out of place or ill at ease in a new house. It takes a while to get settled, so be sure to allow yourself time for this settling in process. Soon you'll discover that little things like the way the bathroom faucet drips or the bulge in the drywall in the corner of the living room become familiar and even somehow comforting. That's when you'll know that you're on your way to being at home.

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