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.

Yes, a cat or cats ... and small grandkids playing and their toys all over the place. Bliss.

I prefer houses without pets, especially pets that jump up at you or want to sit on you.

I love the breeders house which I got my two cats from. It's a beautiful cottage style building and she has loads of cats, but more than that her husband is a wood furniture restorer so they have some beautiful wooden pieces. Surrounding all of that the whole place is quirky and there are loads of woven baskets which the cats sleep in placed all around. Really lovely, lots of vintage styling and cottage gardens.

What ElfonaShelf said on P2
Also what Asprey said.

A lovely home is a home that's welcoming, and you can relax in, IMO, not a 'show home' or minimalist look. I can't abide the idea that a home shouldn't have "stuff" in it - where are you supposed to be able to put your stuff, if not your home ?

Clean and tidy
Not smelly
Lots of Books
Toys available for children
A few pictures/art work
Nice rugs or blankets.
An open fire is always inviting.

Colour, colour, colour.
Beige/taupe/green/maroon houses are depressing.

Somewhere you are not sat on the edge of the seat for fear of messing up the cushions.

Somewhere you just feel comfortable and can relax. Nice smells but not horrible air freshener ones covering up the smell of wet dog or cat wee. Whilst we are on the subject, litter trays are revolting and make me want to leave the house.

Photos of family.

Help yourself philosophy. Clean but not showhome.

This is something that I think I am very good at! My houses have all felt really homely to me... I love candles and lamps, sparkly things, big rug in living room, comfy seats and cushions, correct temperature, clean enough, windows cleaned regularly, family calendar on the wall, books, games and dvds easily accessible, flowers in the window, cooking that smells nice, DS's art on the fridge...

Comfy sofa, offer of a drink, and a welcome. If the sofa's clear, great, otherwise you just need to know its owner well enough to clear their stuff off and sit down. My parents' house is always immaculate, friends' houses usually less so, but they all have their welcoming qualities.

Glass of wine, 2 cats stretched infront of an open coal fire, a huge vase of winter flowering jasmine and leaves, cream candles smelling of fresh linen, pale yellow sofa and cottage curtains,winter lights around the fire plane, and it's Friday night, bliss. and know the loo is clean too.

googlenut. The answer is the right people. You can have all the mod cons and fitted kitchens and colour co-ordinated soft furnishings but without good human beings to share, appreciate and enjoy what decorates your home, you may as well have nothing.

I live alone, so I know !

Not white, white is a very cold colour I HATE black & white decor, but also not über bold colours like red/blue/orange, I like calming neutrals that are easy on the eye
Not too much clutter that it hurts your head but untidy enough that you're not worried you'll move something you shouldn't
Not cold or too hot
Non smelly but not smelling of sir freshened, they all smell vile! All of them!
Oh and I hate hate hate leather or glass furniture - cold, unwelcoming, uncomfortable and just look a bit naff I think

Yep, people and cats

Sir freshened? Air freshener*

We have some bare brick walls in the living room, plus an open fire and soft lighting courtesy of a lamp and some non-tacky lighting behind the telly. Wooden flooring and a big leather arm chair in the corner. It's my favourite room in the house and really the only one I would describe as 'lovely'. The other rooms will get there...eventually.

At the end of the day it's down to taste. Others would find my living room hideous.

Minnie I have a black, white and grey living room with splashes or red, and an old chesterfield leather sofa so you would hate my house then! Yet I always get comments on how nice my house is and people feel relaxed it. My living room is probably not to my friends taste as hers is not to mine but we both feel relaxed in each others houses and wlecomed

Cosy colours, clutter that looks organised and homely, plenty of rugs, cushions etc but not all perfectly matched and coordinated, a good mix and match. I don't like minimalist, or lots of black, white, brown, beige, stainless steel or chrome.

I do love seeing DC's drawings on walls, photos, things that look as though they were given or made with love rather than bought for what they look like. Things like books and DVDs on show rather than all hidden away.

Eustacia - sounds like I would haha sorry! I bet you would hate my neutral coloured house too though, can't all have the same tastes can we
I think the general feeling and vibe you get from the hosts is by far the most important thing though tbh

Warm, not too clean, pets, decor which tells you something about the people living there (artwork, colours etc). Not having to take your shoes off (whole other thread, its been at least a week since the last one ).

Someone who makes you feel like they want you there, makes you a brew and feeling able to put your feet up on the sofa.

I'd like to think to think my home is welcoming - most of my friends come in, kick their shoes off & tuck their feet up on the sofa so I must be doing something right!

I think lighting is important, clean kitchen & bathroom, colour, books, nice smells - I love it when I've just polished & then light a sandalwood candle.

My favourite feature in my home is our fireplace - it's bare brick with fairy lights at the top, an old 70's wood framed mirror, mantlepiece full of mine & DD's pottery & a log burner.

At the moment it also features a collection of plastic daleks, weeping angels & cybermen out of DD's Dr Who advent calendar, but you can't have everything .

I agree, it's the friendliness of the hosts, rather than the decor that makes the biggest difference. A couple of my friends have minimalist neutral decor homes, I don't really like the style, but I am always made to feel very welcome and that's what matters most.

Oh and I also don't like this new fashion for sofas with very low backs, just can not figure out how people curl up and be comfortable on them?

We have the dr who calendar here too! Great isn't it?

DD's only got into Dr Who this year so she loves it but I think she'd love it even more if the figures were made out of chocolate!

Books
Happy family

My house can be cluttered but not like an episode from hoarders.

I have yarn lying around from projects, dog toys scattered around because they get them out every time I put them somewhere tidy. It's a lived in home and I think that is homely.

I always think I want a really obsessively tidy home but when I go round someone else's I am always more comfortable in the homes that look lived in.