I like this house I live in. It has become the place that is home to me. I share it with my husband and our three girls. It’s where I want to be most of the time. It’s where I want to go to when I’m somewhere else. It’s comfortable. It’s mine. It’s familiar. It’s just home.
I didn’t always feel this way. I didn’t like living in town – I’d never lived anywhere but in the country. I was positive I could never get used to the sound of traffic or having neighbors so close by. It didn’t feel like home, and I called going to my parents ‘going home’. But their house didn’t really feel like home anymore either. I wanted to be with my husband so I didn’t want to go back to Mom and Dad’s but neither did our house feel like ‘home’.
When I was pregnant with our first daughter smells drove me crazy. And I thought my house stunk. Old plaster walls will do that 😀 So my Mom helped me clean it really good. I remember thinking that cleaning every nook and cranny helped me feel like I ‘knew’ my house better.
My husband (fiance at the time) bought our house 16 years ago this May. He moved in right away and immediately began working on the many improvements the place needed. I spent many an evening and a lot of Saturdays here helping him. We were married in September and I moved all my stuff in and started making it into a home.
We have remodeled, removed tons of old lath and plaster, drywalled, painted, run new electric, new plumbing, added a furnace, wood floors, and lots of other little updates and improvements.
We have several projects that need finished and we are hopeful that this year may see some of them crossed off the list.
In the meantime, we have been raising our family too. Projects start taking longer and longer the more babies that come on the scene and the older they grow. We decided to homeschool. I slowly began a business. And time moved on.
I can’t tell you exactly when this house became my home. It was gradual and it took several years. It takes time to mold a dwelling into a place that truly reflects who you are and what you want it to portray. Over the past few years I’ve had younger women exclaim over my house and how much they like it. And I tell them that it is a process. And it is still a work in progress.
I’m not convinced any room in my home will ever be truly finished! I like to change things up too much 🙂 But we are getting there. Wood work in the living room is partially installed. The laundry room is our biggest project before us – the room needs more drywall, flooring, sink, and a counter and shelving. The sink is patiently waiting in the back porch.
I am ready to start on the outside projects. We need new siding, a concrete patio, some porches reworked, and we would love to add a metal roof eventually. A standing seam, farmhouse, roof. If money grew on trees…
And as for the living in town part – I love it now! Need more milk (and we often do) – just a quick trip up the street. Need eggs or flour to finish the cake or cookies? Dollar General is just around the corner and up the street. Need a Pepsi? (I often do!) Just up to the corner station. And the neighbors? We have great ones. Need a hand? Just text. Need the parking area cleared of snow when getting home from vacation? Just text. Need furniture hauled in the house and need an extra pair of hands? Just holler! Need a playmate for the girls? Yep, we’ve got that too! So thankful for the neighbors God has blessed us with!
If you are in a new house and it doesn’t feel like home – give it time. Make some memories there. Paint some walls. Hang some window treatments. Play with your decor. Let your kids play and make a few messes. Go meet your neighbors. The feeling of ‘home’ will come!
Almost weekly I wish for more space. A bigger house, more light, just ONE more room. A few closets, a pantry, a storage room. And yet, if we were to buy something bigger, or even build exactly what I wanted, I would have to go through that ‘finding home’ process all over again!
So for now I will count my blessings and be ever so thankful for my home. I love being home. And I know that home really isn’t about the place, it is the people we share it with, but I’m the type of person who is very affected emotionally by my surroundings. I like feeling at home.
Do you love the home you live in? Have you made it your own, staked your claim on the space?
I am open to any and all storage solutions you may have for a house that was built with no closets or storage! I am constantly trying to store things more efficiently 🙂 
“She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.” Proverbs 31:27
I’m off to do some shopping to-day – a friend and I are setting up shop at the Springfield Flea in a couple of weeks! Woo-Hoo! Time to stock up 🙂
Sew a Fine Seam
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First of all- beautiful home! Love homes that really reflect personality. So I’ve been thinking about this topic of making house feel like home too and I’ve realized that ours didn’t start feeling that way for me until I really started making stuff for it (slipcovers, art, curtains) and adding furniture and decor that have sentimental value (secretary from my grandfather, art from my grandmother, momentos from our wedding and honeymoon, etc). One of the motivations to really start doing all this was talk of selling… crazy. That was what I needed to quit second guessing myself and “just do it”. 🙂 Glad I’ve learned this lesson though cause I won’t wait so long with the next house!
🙂 I would encourage anyone to make the house they are living in their own in whatever way possible. Even if it is a rental, do what you can to make it your own little haven called home!
Your home is a reflection of you, simply beautiful with intriguing touches and a comforting style. I love this post and the pics of your sweet home sweet home.
Liz
Thanks Liz! Your comments always make my day!
Love all the pictures! Home is a huge blessing. I know a couple of people who have had trials in their life and home was not a place of refuge for them. I can’t imagine. I’ve always loved my “Home” even if the “house” wasn’t always the best. Moving also showed me that home is about my family and my “stuff”.
Have a grand day filled with lots of good deals!
I hear you – I cannot imagine home being a place you disliked being or had bad memories of. But I know that is very common in this nation and beyond 🙁 Prayers for all those who need a safe place they can call home.
Beautiful pictures! I love houses with personality! Having lost several homes to foreclosure, I know how your home is such an emotional thing. I used to be so emotionally attached to our houses. Home now is where ever my family is. Having to make do and move frequently makes things difficult, but we have learned to be happy under any and all circumstances. I think home made things also help to make any house feel more like a home. Blessings!
Thanks Jessica!
I love this post, Jill. Very well said.
(and we have the exact same mixer!)
-b.
Hi Miss Breida! Thanks so much, I enjoyed writing this post! And I LOVE ‘our’ mixer!
I really, really loved this post, you opened up your heart in such an honest way. I identified with so much that you wrote. My husband bought our home before we were married and I did the same as you, moved in and started making it a home. It was a true “fixer upper”, and as a young couple, it took years just to get a new roof, plumbing, updated electrical, etc. Most of the decorating had to wait. I envied people who lived in brand new McMansions. As you wrote, it takes time to make a house a home and having children helped that along as well as putting our heart and soul into making it “ours”. We’ve been here 27 years now and although I’m always changing things up and looking for that extra storage space (lol), I could never leave our charming little home! My daughter recently bought a house of her own and she told me that our home will always be her home!
XO,
Jane
Love this Jane! And I have to admit I have envied the young couples who build brand new big houses. But I’m sure if I saw their mortgage I would be less enamored!! One of the hardest things for me was when people would ask – ‘so are you done with your house now?’ It really bugged me! I felt like they were wondering what in the world we were taking so long for! I started replying that ‘no, we are busy raising a family, so the house projects go slowly’!!
Gorgeous home! We’ve sanded, varnished, painted…every inch of our old house too. It smells like home and I guarantee that we won’t be moving either C:
Thanks Jane! Isn’t it kind of cool how every house smells different? And your own just smells like ‘home’!
The home I live in now we’ve had for 17 yrs. I remember when we moved here having the same feeling you described. It was a brand new house. What made it feel like home though wasn’t the pretty stuff we added to it but the memories we made in it. The house we left behind wasn’t suiting our needs anymore which is why we moved here. But it felt more like home because of the memories we shared and the neighbors we knew etc. Now, I can safely say this feels more like home than the last one we left. I often worry about when it’s time to move again having those same feelings come stirring back. This will always be the home I have fondest memories with because it’s where we raised our kids. Great post! It certainly makes one have perspective on their surroundings. I think your home is charming and has built in character because of its age. So many of us with new homes try to build that in. You’re lucky to have authentic character in yours.
Thanks for sharing Kelly! I know if we move someday I can make a new house a home. I really hope it won’t take as long though! And I doubt it would – with the girls and the years we have been married and all the belongings that we have that have memories attached to them now I think I would settle in much more quickly! I admit though I think I would shed some tear to leave here!
I am like you, very affected by my surroundings. I love to look at things around me and feel pleased. Feel like “I’m home.” It is raining outside. Cold and windy. Possible snow. Hard to believe. So glad I am snuggled in with the pupsters in my warm cozy house. Just as I know you are. (Maybe you have warm sunshine though.)
Brenda
Thanks Brenda! Glad you were able to cozy up at home while having winter in the springtime! We did have sunshine and temps in the 70’s yesterday – it was lovely! A few more clouds this morning but the sun is peeping through and the air is not cold!
What a beautiful post about a truly beautiful home.
Thank you Amy!
Oh how I love your home. Love Love Love!
Thank you Pam!
What a wonderful post, Jill! I loved seeing your home and hearing your home’s story. I’m very much a homebody so I can wholeheartedly relate to wanting and needing that comfortable “home” space. I know it’s an old fashioned term but like you, I love being a homemaker. It’s a blessing.
Thanks Sonya. I love being a homemaker too! Call it decorator, designer, whatever you want to make it sound more professional – I still like the term homemaker!
You have a beautiful home, no wonder you like being there. But you’re right it’s long process to transform a house into a home.
Thanks! It can be a very enjoyable process can’t it?!!
Hi Jill,
I loved your post today. It took me back to that place in my own life- three little boys running around and trying to find time to decorate and bake. Honestly, these are the best days of your life. I loved hearing about how you made your home feel like your own- it’s warm and cheerful and really looks like a very happy home. We started out in a small home and 30 yrs. later have a huge home and there is still never enough space! LOL I long for a small cozy home again. Soon!
Thank you Tina! I know we are in the best years – but sometimes it gets hectic enough it sure is easy to lose sight of that fact!! LOL!
Beautiful post, Jill. Your home is gorgeous! When I dream of white houses, your exterior comes to mind. Charming. While my mid-century ranch isn’t my dream farmhouse or little white cottage, I too enjoy the process of making it a home. I love being here. It’s my favorite place to be and like you, I can’t wait to get back to it when I’m away. I would have to say that THAT is how you know you’ve made a “home.” xo
Thanks Jami! I am so thankful that I love my home and want to be here – it’s such a blessing!
It is a blessing! I fall in love with your home and decor every time you show a little more. More outside pics please…so I can swoon a little more!
Jill! I love your home. Every detail, inside and outside. With your permission, I would like to pin your sewing / craft room images.
(My mixer is red too!)
~withLove.
It’s a wonderful home! So warm and cozy and each room is just lovely! 🙂
Thank you Debra!