Decorating to Make Your House a Home

Whether you are moving into your first apartment or getting your first house, it's hard to get it to feel like a home. Most apartments are white and many landlords don't allow you to paint. If it's your first home, it may feel quite larger than your previous residence. It's easy to make it feel sparse and cold when you don't have a lot of furniture.

First of all, you should decide how much you would like to spend on furniture, accessories, and other things you need. If you are just starting out you might need everything or if you have had your own place before you may just need some new curtains or a few pictures.

After deciding how much you have to spend, check out thrift shops, discount stores, and yard sales for great budget saving items. You may decide you want to hold on to some cash and splurge on something bigger, such as a great sofa or a fabulous bedspread. If you are on a very small budget, just go with one room at a time, making a real home takes time and everything you add will just make it cozier.

Adding pictures that you like or framed photos will make your home more personalized. You can decorate each room with a different theme or make it all flow throughout. It is your home and should reflect the people who live there. Don't be too concerned about what other people will think, you should choose pieces that show the styles you like. Adding curtains and pillows will also make it feel cozier. You can also add an area rug or some throws to add some warmth. If you have wooden floors, it is nice to have an area rug or two to make the floor less cold.

If you are shopping second hand, you can find some awesome pieces of furniture. If you are really creative, you could even redo some of the things to become unique pieces. Make sure you have comfortable furniture and whenever possible try to add storage or pieces that function as more than one thing. If you have an especially small place, clutter can really start to take over. It's nice to have a sofa bed for guests or an ottoman that doubles as storage.

If you really like color but your apartment is stark white, try to spruce it up with your accessories. You can add great colors with pillows, curtains, candles, rugs, vases, or other pieces of art you have collected. Don't forget about the lighting also, some older houses and apartments don't have lights on the ceilings. You may need to add some lighting with lamps, keep in mind the space you are lighting. You don't want the light to be over bearing. Don't be afraid to check out the dollar stores, they have some great candles, picture frames, and even dishes.

It's always nice to have a great scent too, burn some candles or heat some potpourri. I really enjoy the apple and cinnamon around the holidays. It reminds me of Christmas when I was a little girl. Just find little things that comfort you and bring back good memories and try to add them to your life whenever possible.

You can add some life to any room for any budget; it just takes time to find the right stuff. I personally am not a fan of the picture perfect houses that look like they belong in a magazine. I prefer the lived in feel with real people, its ok to have toys out and stuff not always in its place. Some of my most treasured things are things that I got really cheap or at a secondhand store. Just make sure you find things that are precious to you and put them on display. Life is too short to waste all your time making sure your house is perfect and sterile.