Your house is so homely

[Afreshstart1]

Said by one of my friends after I said I hadn't planned to move to a bigger place as I was happy with my lot and enjoyed not worrying about paying the mortgage

She has just moved into big place big mortgage

Is homely a compliment or an insult?

I think it often means not spotless/all matchy matchy/ not scared to sit down or make a mess...

So often a bit untidy, but really warm and welcoming. So a compliment but an odd one! Im happy with homely as Id rather that than pristine... I want people to feel welcomed.

Compliment. My friend has a really homely house. It is a fair bit smaller than mine but it's the way she has decorated that makes it homely not the size!

Me saying it would be a compliment and I'd take it as such if anyone said it to me! We're in the midst of building work/redecorating but when it's finished I hope people will find it homely!

Compliment 100%. Our house is small and so homely and cosy (If I do say so myself )

Compliment
Unless she's the type to live in a show-house or a fan of minimalism in which she means it isn't what she would choose and likely sees it as 'lived-in' or cluttered.

Definetly a compliment.

My house is apparently homely. People feel relaxed here I think, they want to visit us, they like my cooking (which I thinks adds to a homely home), they like to come to us rather than meet out.

I always take it as a compliment. We have friends with a beautiful house. It's stunning but I never feel relaxed there. They tend to come to us, I don't think they enjoy visitors particularly.

Compliment.
If she didn’t say it as a compliment she isn’t much of a friend & is probably envious you are happy in your home & don’t lie awake at night worrying about how to afford keeping up appearances.

I don’t think there is a greater compliment to your home than to be told it’s homely

It's an insult in the US I believe. I would take it as a compliment here.

I've heard it said in a cheery complimentary way as in "I love your house it's so cosy and homely"
also a sneering way

"very....homely"

One of my favourite compliments someone said about my house was that it was homely and beautiful at the same time, Which is the look and feel I wanted to achieve as I was always a bit concerned that people were scared to sit down in my house in case they squashed a cushion! so it made me feel I had got the balance right.

Homely means cosy and homelike in UK English, I think and fugly in US English. Possibly vice versa.

I'd take it as a compliment as it's a warm cosy home that's welcoming. I get told mine is a show home an you feel awkward to put anything out of place even though the kids trash it but I want it to be homely.... so yea take the compliment haha I'm jealous !!
Naughty OCD of mine🤷🏼‍♀️!!

Here in the south we call it "homey" and it is definitely a compliment. It means the kind of place that seems welcoming and relaxing. A place you would want to live in -- not a decorated "set piece".