Congratulations! After all your hard work searching for and buying a new home, you’ve finally done it. It’s now time to move in and make this new house your home. Here are 11 ways to personalize your new home to get you feeling like it’s truly yours.
1. A Welcoming Entrance
There are several things you can do with your front entrance to add your own personal touch to welcome family and friends. Looking at the exterior of the home, you could paint your front door, add a welcome mat, replace the outdoor lighting, mailbox, and address plate. This is the entrance you will be walking into every day for the foreseeable future - make sure it welcomes you home.
2. Let There Be Light
You can use light to set the tone of every room of your house, while also making your light sources a significant attribute of the room. This is especially true for your living and dining rooms.
Some living rooms don’t have overhead lighting, either because of a vaulted ceiling, or because it allows the homeowner the ability to light the room how they would like it. This allows you to use different lamps, as well as natural light, to set the tone. You may decide to go traditional, creating a look and feel with your lighting that fills the room with soft tones, or alternatively, with sleek looking contemporary light sources that provide a very modern look.
3. Make it Special for Kids
It’s not only important for you to be able to infuse your home with your own character, but those of your kids as well. To help them feel at home, choose a space they can make their own - it could be their room, a common room in the house, or even something as small as a reading nook.
It will be a little easier if you have young children because you can create the space you want them to have. If your kids are older, anticipate some negotiating as you work with them to create their personal space. Either way, be sure not to create a space that will be difficult to change as your kids’ interests adjust as they grow. Princesses and Hot Wheels won’t always be cool!
4. The Writing is on the Wall
While it isn’t appropriate throughout your entire home, wall decals can add some character to a room in a classy and fun way. Whether it’s an insightful quote that inspires you or a playful saying you want to share with others, wall decals have come a long way. Once considered tacky wall art, these additions look more like paint on your walls than stickers.
5. Stimulate All the Senses
When we think to personalize our home, it’s always the visuals that come to mind. But consider some of the other senses, such as having scented candles or flowers on hand to add a fresh smell to a room, or even the music you like to make your space what you want it to be.
6. Pictures Tell a Story
It goes without saying... you’ll want to place pictures on the walls of your home, but remember to have fun with it! After all, the pictures you place on your wall tell everyone who sees them a snapshot of your life’s story.
Consider how you’d like to display your photos, such as how you’ll lay out the photos on a wall and the frames you will place them in. Get creative not only with this, but also with the photos themselves. Display a history of your family with old photos of generations past or present a chronological history of your life through pictures.
7. It’s a Piece of Art
There is nothing quite as personal as one’s taste in art. Regardless of whether you are a fan of Vincent Van Gogh or Andy Warhol, consider whether a piece of art would be best suited for a room in your house.
And if you’d like to get even more personal, consider creating a piece of art that literally takes a piece of your DNA and turns it into art!
8. Accents and Colours
Nothing can change a room as much as the colour of the walls. Set the mood of each room in your house by choosing paint colours that mesh with your personal tastes. The textures of the window drapes, area rugs, and couches are also an opportunity to present your unique personal flare to make you and your family feel relaxed.
9. Themes
Using a theme in a room can be a great way to personalize your space as long as it’s subtle (don’t rush out to the store for Hello Kitty bathroom accessories just yet!) While bathrooms are where you typically see a theme most often used, don’t let that scare you away from doing what you want. Whether it’s a New England theme in your living room, an Irish pub theme in your basement, or something entirely different, just remember that less is more.
10. Showcase Your Hobbies & Talents
Half the fun of a hobby or activity you are passionate about is sharing that with the people in your life. Don’t be afraid to show these off to friends and neighbours! You could display the latest piece of art you created, photographs you’ve taken, or medals from athletics competitions you’ve taken part in.
Not only will this add a truly personal touch to a room, but each of these things will become an instant topic of conversation with your guests (and make you look pretty awesome too!).
11. Don’t Forget the Backyard
While your backyard isn’t a room in your house, it is still a very important space you want to feel comfortable in. Consider what you will be using this area for and fill your space to best achieve that goal. When considering outdoor furniture, think about whether your existing pieces will be useful in your new space, and whether they clash with the deck and exterior of your home.
In addition to the traditional items in your backyard, consider something fun that will help you enjoy your space. It could be as extravagant as a hot tub or as simple as a croquet set.
Now that you’ve bought your new home, the hard part is over and the fun is just beginning. In considering these ideas for personalizing your home, the house you bought will soon become a place you will love calling home.
