The first night sleeping in your new house is one of the strangest feelings. You are home, but you don’t feel like it. You feel like you are staying in somebody else’s house for the night. The shadows are weird, the sounds are strange and even the smell just is not right.
The key to feeling right at home as soon as you move into your new house is to make it just like your old house. Even if you hated your old house, it was at least familiar and you know what to expect there.
In your new home, everything is going to be different if you don’t take certain steps. And these steps will allow you to feel at home much faster so you can get comfortable and start making new memories in your new home.
In this article, I will go over some ideas on how you can set up your new house to feel cozy and yours from the very first night.
Put things in their place
That painting that was in the kitchen and was the first thing that you would see as soon as you walk in should be one of the first things to make its way on the wall. Put it in the same general area so it has the same effect when you walk into your new kitchen.
If your rooms are the same basic shape as in your old house, then the furniture layout should also be the same. You’d be surprised how walking around can be done with your eyes closed since you have memorized every inch of the house. If your furniture is laid out in the same way, then this is going to help a lot when it comes to feeling at home right away.
Keep things familiar
Your new home should replicate much of the daily experience of your old home. For instance, if you have a clock that ticks off the seconds in your living room, then that sound will ease you into a sense of familiarity in the new one so make sure to put it up as soon as possible.
Smells are also very important so you should make sure to place the same wax melts, scented candles or potpourri around the house as soon as you move in. This will immediately resonate with your sense of belonging since we are very tied to smells in a strong way. A certain smell can trigger a memory like few other stimuli can so keeping the same smells in your new home will go a long way towards making it feel like you’ve always been there.
Maintain the same routine
Whatever your schedule was before you moved should be maintained as closely as possible. Now, if you moved further from work and your commute time is extended, then clearly you’ll have to adjust your timetable. Aside from this, try to eat at the same time and do the same things as you usually did before.
This can include things you do when you arrive home even if the timing is different. For instance, if you change your shoes into slippers as soon as you walk in, then make sure you have that area set up so you can continue to do so.
Do you usually take a shower before bed? Or first thing in the morning? Then you should continue with that even if it means getting up a bit earlier or going to bed slightly later.
Routines are important for a sense of normalcy and one of the biggest reasons that moving to a new place is so traumatic is the loss of routine. Once you feel that normalcy is missing then it takes a while to connect to your new home. Playing the same music will also go a long way to feeling like you are settling into the same routine.
Bring in the new
Your new place may be much different than your old one and this is a good thing. All of those things that you fantasized about can now be done in your new place. Hopefully you have a fireplace in your new house as the smell of the smoke from the fire is also very cozy and helps to settle in. Even if your old place didn’t have a fireplace you’ll still feel that hominess from the fire while being a new experience.
If you fantasized about what it would be like to have a fireplace, or maybe even a big bathtub that you can soak in for hours then this can make you feel more at home in your new house than your old one if it lacked the things you wanted to have to feel at home.
Having more space is also a good way to create exactly the type of home you had imagined that may not have been possible in your old place. If you can set up an area to do your crafts or have a bigger kitchen in which to cook, then these things will help you feel more at home.
Make it cozy
No matter where you are, that bed with the warm, fuzzy comforter is going to go a long way to making you feel at home. Settling into the couch with a good book is also going to feel right with some cozy lighting to read by.
Just getting things comfortable is also going to go a long way to making you feel at home. Don’t wait to get comfortable. You should make sure to have everything ahead of time so the very first day spent in the new house is going to be comfortable and cozy.
Conclusion
The sooner you settle into your new home, the sooner you can begin enjoying it. Moving is a stressful time so following these tips will help take some of the stress out of the experience. In fact, you’ll put the old house out of your mind very quickly when you do your best to make your new house your home.
