Here’s How to Make Your New House Feel Homey and Cozy

Just moved into a new house? Here are some decorating tips to make it quickly feel homey, cozy, and inviting!

Photo: Platinum Series by Mark Molthan

When moving into a new house, it’s easy to get so caught up in big reno projects, like repainting discolored rooms and tearing out old carpeting, that you forget to make your new house a home. Even taking a few steps to settle in, like hanging a family photo or unpacking the coffee mugs, can go a long way to making you feel relaxed about this big new project ahead of you.

When my friend recently moved into a new home in Houston, she tried so hard to make it look and feel like a model home that she forgot about adding personal touches like family photos and sentimental trinkets. The house felt, cold, impersonal, and a little depressing. It’s important to draw the line between junk and something that makes you feel good, because too much of anything can quickly turn into clutter. Here are some quick tips on how to achieve the homey look the right way:

1. Spruce Up Your Yard

Although installing new tile in the bathroom and fixing the washer are pressing needs, they’re also not exciting projects. While you’re at the hardware store picking up tile, wander over to the flower section and find a few plants that are ideal for your climate, along with a few matching plantar boxes, pots, and some new garden furniture.

Photo: Owen Brothers Landscape Development

Paying some attention to your front yard and backyard can make a huge different to your home overnight. Spend a weekend outside landscaping as best as you can to prepare your home for summer. Add a few flowers, tear out dead shrubs, and add a circle of mulch around your trees to make your landscaping look neat and inviting.

2. Place Small Sentimental Items

There’s no point in hanging your family photos if you’re just going to take them down in a month to repaint. Instead, unpack a few personal items that make your house cozy but that can easily be moved to another room during a remodel. Unpack a throw blanket that you enjoy curling up with on the couch, or put flowers in a vase your grandmother passed onto you. A little goes a long way toward making you feel moved in.

Photo: Platinum Series by Mark Molthan

3. Shop Discount Home Supply Stores for Decor

If you’re remodeling on a budget, research gently used home improvement stores in your area. Habitat for Humanity ReStores across the country sell discount home-improvement items. All sales benefit future homes and families in need. These stores are great for finding bathroom fixtures and small items that every home needs. No one will care whether you spent five dollars per cabinet knob or ten cents so long as they look amazing.

Photo: Stephen Alexander

4. Start Connecting with the Local Neighborhood

Getting to know your neighbors tends to be one of the most awkward experiences for any new homeowner. Instead of going door-to-door introducing yourself, wait until the evening and go for a walk. If you’ve been looking for new homes in Houston, Texas, or other hot cities, most of your neighbors will wait until it’s dark (and thus cooler) to take their pets out. You can watch your neighborhood come alive and start to chat with the pet parents around you. Once you get to know the people who live nearby, you’ll start to have a better emotional connection with the area!

Renovating a new house can feel like an endless project, but if you take it one room at a time, you’ll start to see progress. In the meantime, follow our small steps toward feeling more at home!