Our homes change throughout our lives, from where we grew up to each of the addresses along the way, and eventually, we may find a nucleus where we stay longer.
A Home Away From Home
Each life stage brings a different concept of what home means, but at its core, it’s about the feelings and memories created within those walls.
The first time I went to camp, I was homesick but found comfort in my dad’s army footlocker, filled with jeans for horseback riding, t-shirts for tie-dying, stationery to write home, and Teddles, my teddy bear.
Later, I created a home away from home at boarding school with bedding I picked out from Younkers and in college dorms and apartments with my preppy sweaters housed in colorful cubes from Crate and Barrel.
Grown-up Homes
Our first apartment in the Minneapolis Warehouse District combined wedding gifts with a set of white-metal folding chairs, a mattress on the floor, a butcher block from my in-laws, and splurges like a bookshelf from Room and Board and sofa from Dayton’s. It was everything we needed.
Our next home was a split-level in the suburbs, where we lived for 17 years until our family of five was ready for a change. Even then, I knew a bigger house wouldn’t make us happier; it would just better suit our differing needs and interests – as it has for 18 more years. More recently, it’s also been my Zoom classroom, remote office, and yoga studio!
Homes Serve Many Purposes
For me, home creates comfort and joy, a gathering place, a retreat, a nurturing and welcoming space. It’s not about size but the feelings and functions it fosters.
What makes a home feel like home?
It’s the day-to-day activities, the conversations and routines.
It’s the holidays.
It’s the colors and textures reflecting our personalities, interests, and lives.
It’s the lived-in charm—the mud in the mudroom, Duke’s fur, and Z’s fingerprints on the sliding glass door.
It’s a pantry stocked for cooking adventures, heirloom dishes from my mom and mother-in-law, seashells from vacations, rocks from hiking trails, fresh flowers on the kitchen counter, and postcards from around the world.
These items aren’t just things; they’re memories and souvenirs shaping us.
What Makes Your Home a Home?
Take two minutes to contemplate what makes your home a home. What’s your life stage, and are you sharing your space? Is it a cozy retreat for rest and relaxation or a lively gathering space for entertaining? Are you single or married? Are you raising a family? Or maybe you’re empty nesting? Is it many things all at once? Likely so.
Whatever your home is, don’t aspire to perfection – home is the opposite of that, but it can manifest exactly what you need it to be.
Links Du Jour
7 Ways to Make Your House a Home — HGTV
Love The Home You Have – Melissa Michaels, founder of The Inspired Room, New York Times best-selling author and two-time readers favorite decorating blogger from Better Homes & Gardens magazine.
Two Minutes Du Jour 