SubscribeIsn’t it wonderful to come home after a long trip, even if you had a great time? There is something comforting about coming home that nothing else can even approximate. For some people, that feeling happens when they go “home” to the house they grew up in, or another family members house. For me, its always been my own home, and that has been true in the 10 different houses I have lived in as an adult.
I happen to be a homebody and stay as close to home as I can but even if I’m gone for a long day, I still LOVE to come home. So, why is it so great to come home? Its clearly not just the space you happen to live in since the feeling tends to move with us as we change our actual physical location.
I wrote the other day about the power of scent, does you home have a smell? Sure it does, just like people have personal scents (and I don’t mean the after-a-workout smell!). Its also the lighting that we are familiar with, the temperature that our bodies are acclimated to, even if its too cold or hot, its what we are used to.
I live in a newer building and have forced air and heat but I grew up in a house with radiators. Whenever I am visiting somewhere with radiators and I hear the hiss and clank of the steam warming up the metal radiators, I want to snuggle up and go to sleep, I feel so comfortable and welcomed immediately.
We certainly can’t forget about who else is in the house that helps makes it a home. I have always had dogs and I really feel the absence when I don’t walk in to a cold wet nose welcoming me home. Of course, when you live with another person or people they are a huge part of what makes your house your home. When my dog died and my daughter and I started coming home to an empty house I hated it, I went out and bought fish just so we could say hello and goodbye to something. A little over the top? Perhaps, but everyone has their own “thing” that makes home “home”. It matters not if no one else gets it.
Of course, the things that are in your house matter too. But I mention them last because I think the intangibles are more important and are really what can create your Home anywhere you need or want it to be. If you don’t love coming home, its time to figure out why and do something about it. Whether that means a makeover of your existing space or finding somewhere new that better suits all those important intangibles. I’m happy to help, either way, creative use of space is one of my specialties. If you decide that a new space is the answer, now is a great time to make that move.
Either way, enjoy going home today!