To ask what makes a home lovely?

[googlenut]

Because I just don't seem to have that knack of creating a really warm, stylish and cosy home. I have to visit a lot of houses for my job and I think the following seem important:

1. Really clean - seems whatever the size if house if it is shiner clean it just seems really inviting
2. No clutter but not sparse. If there are things in a room they are colour coordinated.

3 good lighting - so lots of lamps etc What else do you think? I've been in tiny house which were lovely because of all of the above so don't think it is necessarily anything to do with money.

soft lighting, candles, neutral carpets/sofas/curtains with a splash of colour from cushions and a rug

nice fireplace

I don't think really really clean is inviting. Just "clean enough".

Cats

A farting dog

The feel of the house

Real fire in the cold weather. Soft lighting. Flowers. Nice smells.

Lamps. A comfortable sofa. A few personal items in every room, but not an ungovernable tide.

My auntie told me my home was lovely and cosy the other day.

I have all of the above including the cats and trumping dogs

Cats.

A cat makes a house a home

Light airy spaces. Nice lighting. Personal touches I.e family photos. Clean and tidy. Fresh flowers. Scented candles. Hint of colour but not too much. I've just decorated my home and feels almost perfect.

Nice smell, clean looking ie floors look hoovered, toilet is clean, rugs, homely ornaments like photographs, non cluttered, good decoration.

The people in it.

Being warm enough.

I love to see mess and clutter. Not dirt, but just stuff around the place. It makes me feel like you can tell that home is lived in and loved and fun times happen there. I like when people have music or the telly on while I visit, makes me feel part of the family. That's what makes a home lovely I think.

I'm another one who likes a bit of mess and I think clutter is homely.

Also hate 'matchy matchy' side furnishings.

Soft furnishings

What makes a home welcoming is simply how welcoming you are. It isn't down to external stuff, imo, otherwise a show home on an estate would be welcoming.

If you don't have bright lighting you don't need it to be super clean

I like cosy but not chintzy. Comfy furniture, comfy cushions, practical solid furniture.

My house is for the most part a complete mess, but my living room is always lovely and cosy

cake in a tin and the kettle boiling

I also dislike matchy matchy furnishings because it looks a bit try-hard and I like to see meaningful interesting things rather than random tat that serves only to complete a colour scheme.
Glad I got that off my chest!!
I agree that good lighting really helps but am not massively fussed if crumbs are on the floor etc and in fact super clean homes make me a bit nervous that I'll spill something. Talking points are good I.e wow Id love to know where that quirky photo was taken or oh, who's the piano player. I like homes with personality not just furnishes straight from ikea (especially down to the mass produced art).

YY to soft/nice lighting and "no clutter but not sparse"

A general look of being cared for e.g. broken things have been fixed, items are mostly where they should be rather than scattered, beds made, curtains opened etc. Not a student pad basically

Some soft textures, ie not all hard wood/tiles but some fabrics too - cushions, rugs, curtains

Comfy sofa/armchairs

This is a personal thing, but I like furniture to look sturdy rather than spindly

Comfy sofas, fresh flowers, plants, books, nice rugs, clean windows. Bit of dust, the odd cobweb doesn't matter a jot. It's a feeling more than a tick box list though...what would put me off is domestic stuff on show, ie vacuum cleaner parked where you can see it...cat litter tray..cats, yes, shit, no. Dead plants, a no no, mysterious stains on walls, gross. Smelly loo..horrible. My home is not posh at all, lots of second hand stuff, but everyone who comes round comments that it's a lovely, lived in, home. And that's just the way I like it.

Comfy sofa, soft lighting, matching colour schemes but not toooooooo match, not too clean but not super cluttered - just "lived in" I guess! Rugs, cushions and having the rooms at a warm temperature helps a lot.

Books, lots of them, cats, not matchy stuff (I accept for others this is different, but I grew up with non matchy stuff so it harks back to childhood and is comforting), oddities in terms of stuff like ornaments, no art-from-next/ikea, but stuff that means something to the owner, and mostly the people in it.

I strive for cleanliness but the hairy beasts fight me all the way.