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.

Ummm...dare I say it.....yes

A home where you can be trusted to keep your shoes on or take them off if neccasry.

A home where you can relax and not be paranoid you are upsetting your host who has a long list of misdemenours you could commit to offend them,

like walking in with shoes

walking on laminate in heels

sitting in their special chair...

No point being in a beautiful home if you just cant relax.

What Elf says - it's where you feel welcome and not on edge and in fear of committing a massive faux pas.

A home that has grown with its owner, and evolved not a home that is tightly stylized and carefully put together, a home thats mis matched, cosy and warm...

Haha Elf that made me laugh.

I'm one of those people who intentionally lets people have my special chair... I'm like a child trying to get approval on how lovely my choice of seat is

To be fair, I am a bit Sheldon Cooper about which is my seat on the sofa, but apart from that, shoes etc, not an issue. And wine spillages clean well off laminate. Good thing too.

Fresh flowers are always nice, I use splosh cleaning products and I have notice my house smells nicer. Fairly neutral decor with splashes of colour is nicer than lots of busy patterns, but there needs to be some colour not just shades if brown and beige because that contributes to the catalogue feel.

But mostly being welcoming, not apologising too much for the mess, a drinks and being made to feel relaxed.

I dont have a "cosy" home. I can't get it right. My friend on the other hand has a lovely, warm home.

So from what I see in her house -

candles
nice fire
rugs / cushions / comfy sofa
lamps
copious amounts of wine
and most importantly of all a warm, friendly welcome

Clean, fresh smelling, personal touches but not clutter, a fireplace, books, candles, photographs and lighting, lighting, lighting.

My house is err very lived in, lots of evidence that small people live here particularly on the walls! We go foe comfortable, friendly and clean when we can but welcoming most importantly.

My cousin is very obsessive about cleanliness to the point that she uses a hand held dyson to vacuum up after you have eaten while you are
still therr!

Happiness . Sounds trite but that's it for me . You can tell if its a happy home straight off . And a happy house invites you in, regardless of interior decor and well placed ephemera .

It depends. What is "pretty" on a brief visit is different to what you want to live with.
I find lots of different lights with different switches a pain to live with. I like to know if I'm entering or leaving a room I just have 1 switch to press with the exception of bedside lights and under unit lights in kitchens. Similarly candles are pretty but if I'm playing an instrument or knitting I need to be able to see the music/ pattern.
To me it's no musty/ animal smells, clean enough, tidyish but not spotless, comfortable seats and good company. I don't like cushions.

Lol at farting dog. We have one of those :0

Enough heating, comfy sofas that aren't so pristine that you wouldn't kick your shoes off and tuck your feet under you, a balance of lived-in but cared-for, a clean toilet...

But I think the homes I feel cosiest in are the ones where your comfort is considered: You are offered hot drinks and a nibble, there is soap and a clean hand towel in the loo, the tele isn't deafening and someone is pottering around you. If someone is embarrassed about their home/mess it makes me feel uncomfortable. It's a considerate host that makes a house feel homely I guess. Everyone wants to feel cared for.

I spose it's like the most attractive people not necessarily being the best looking, but those who are charming and make you feel good.
Of course the best houses are those of an old friend, where you'd walk in and make the brews and toast yourself.

A sense that furniture and bits and pieces have accumulated over time and that there's a story behind some of them. I don't find houses full of brand new, all matching stuff particularly warm or inviting. I like it when people have hung onto a couple of bits of furniture from the house they grew up in, have stuff that was given as presents over the years or bought in places they visited on display, or have done something creative with inexpensive things.
I also love lots of books in a room.
I think houses that are cold, very cluttered or untidy, or so tidy there's no personality on display are uninviting.

I like colour and a bit of clutter. I do not like minimalist, beige, ultra sterile homes. I put carpet over my wooden sanded, varnished floor boards which has made my home much more cosy. I do have a lovely fireplace which makes a difference and would put up a mantle piece if I didn't have the chimney breast to create that feeling. My house is very welcoming and cosy.

Yes brand new matching furniture is never cosy

Everyone always comments on my home. They say it is welcoming, relaxing and comfortable.

I don't have nice soft furnishing, and matching everything. I don't even really have nice photos up on display I will get around to hanging them one day though. But I have a help-yourself-house. Everyone knows, if they come here, they get up and help themselves to tea, a beer, a banana or whatever they fancy. If its there, then they are welcome to it. Unless I say something like, 'don't touch that bloody chicken in the fridge as its my dinner'. I am a terrible host, I admit. So they will come in and say something to me like, 'while I am making the tea, shall I make you one' ..

Then they will plonk themselves down and feel right at home. I don't mind at all, I prefer a 'home' setting, rather than living in just a 'house'...

I can be posh and be a good host, if its a posh visitor . Someone from dh work or similar would be classed as a posh visitor and then I will get off my arse...

The 'regular' visitors are good friends and family. Those who sit on the counter tops and chat with their glass of wine while I'm cooking, then turn around and wash the dishes or offer to peel the potatoes...

A fire place is a BIG PLUS, in winter, you can live in a hovel but if you have that warm cosy fire.....that glow, that heart of the home....it doesnt matter...

I have no fire am looking into getting electric stove now and will build fake fireplace surround around it

I think really clean is important too! Messy is fine, nice even, but feeling like things are sorted and sparkling is really comfortable.

I babysit for two families: in one apartment I could eat my dinner off the floor and the other I come away smelling faintly of cat wee and there are always sticky rings and crumbs everywhere. This family is really really lovely and I don't mind at all, they have very busy lives and the cat pee thing is just unfortunate (they try hard to get rid of the smell, it won't budge) but always having to wipe down the sofa before you sit down etc.....it's not inviting really. But that's just my preference. And the gorgeous friendly cat makes up for all of it!

For me otherwise it's lots of different colours, books and CDs in shelves and pictures on the walls.

My parents' house is really homey :) perfect balance of cluttered and organised and there's interesting stuff to look at everywhere. Candles everywhere, flowers from the garden in summer and roaring fire in winter. I've been in some places where the walls are bare and there's just two colours used and it's very "chic" but just very like a hotel.

My sister's house has lots of the things that you'd think would make a house welcoming and cosy - nice lighting, interesting bits of furniture, lots of cushions, throws, etc but it had the opposite effect on me because it looks so perfect I'm scared to touch anything. My mum's house is very clean, a bit sparse and always feels a bit cold but I always feel warm and relaxed when I go there. So I think it's definitely about how welcoming the people are and not the house.

1 you can use the toilet and know it and the sink are clean

2 feel confident a cup of tea is ok to drink

3 it's not stuffy air, too hot or too cold

4 a pet is not leaping on top of you or going to leave you stinking of said pet.

I could not care less about candles or how many lamps there are as long as I am not in the dark.

clean
warm
doesn't smell of animals
you get a drink and somewhere to sit.

Relaxed homes with personality
Clean but not sterile
A fire is a must
Comfy sofa and nice soft furnishings that look used :)
Books and cats
Some personal knick-knacks
Nice lighting a candles
Offer of a cuppa and a biscuit or a glass of wine

A happy family