How to make a 'homely' home

[ohgoonthen]

Hope you can all help!

First baby on the way and I would love to have a 'homely' home! We are in a rented house and we are pretty sure were gonna stay here but it just looks so sparce!!

Haven't bought much furniture but sick of living somewhere that looks so temporary.

Our living room and dining room is openplan, quite big but a funny shape...it's hard to imagine how stuff will fit. The only thing I have that we would keep is a black leather settee. Walls all painted white, beige floor tiles. We can do basically whatever we want but don't have a huge budget. Any tips on colours, nice cheap touches that has made your place look nice and cosy?
God...I wish I was creative!

colour on walls, lamps, pictures in frames, pictures on walls that you like, rugs, books, not too matchy matchy though

Definitely a nice warm looking rug and lots of lamps rather than overhead light.

If you've been there a while and likely to stay then you could ask landlord if they mind you repainting - most won't mind if it's a neutral ish colour and you get it done properly.

this is from The Times click on the houseboat article slide show
yes I know its on the water but I think what she has done with white walls looks great

for wall decorations I did this when younger & living in a big house - pick out a really funky fabric & use it to cover a large piece of hardboard. Hang it on the wall.

Fabric is pretty cheap - you won't need much & it can look dramatic. I'd go for something with a big bold print. Make sure you get enough to cover board and to generously attach at the back.

hardboard doesn't cost much either.

be careful with the glue though - keep it to the back on the hardboard so fabric on the front doesn't wrinkle. You could possibly attach it with duct tape?

You could get abit arty too - so if you had a floral fabric you could also cut out other flowers (from same/similar or totally different flower) and flue on top. Or glue other piccys on top - or just keep it simple.

Rugs and paintings and lamps definitely.

Gorgeous cushions and a throw for the sofa, big wicker baskets to store the baby's toys in. Fresh flowers or orchids in pots or coloured glass vases near a lamp look nice. Framed photos of the family on the walls always make me think a house is homely too.

I always want my house to smell better. It used to be something people commented on before I had kids - now it smells a bit stuffy all the time, whereas other people's houses always smell gorgeous - of clean washing and baking. Sorry - threadjacking, but I'm always intrigued by how they manage it. I end up cheating with a vanilla candle that smells like new baked cakes!

Don't worry, once the baby arrives your home will quickly fill with crap be homely!

hahahhhaa, yes you wont have to worry about getting more things!!!!

Cheap lamps (not ones that look cheap!) from BHS, which has great affordable lighting, or Homebase/similar, or IKEA if you're near one. Two or three small table lamps giving ambient light are so much more comfortable than a central ceiling light making you feel like you're being interrogated!

IKEA is very good for cheap'n'cheerful throws and cushions. And maybe you could do with a small table or storage unit at one end of the sofa to put lamp, framed photo, etc on? Or try local charity shops for vases, ornaments, pictures, throws etc that you like the look of.

Can a homely look be achieved with a black leather sofa? Just saying because I love the homely look and had to get rid of a big black leather recliner which I couldn't reconcile with a homely look at all. However leather is very practical with kids - I have to wash my fabric sofa covers all the damn time, it'd be nice to be able to just wipe!

Our place isn't right yet but we're nearing the look I want with warm light wood, floral pictures, wicker toy baskets, candles, throws and even a few ornaments.

Fighting a similar battle against this house though as our landlords who used to live here loved the black/glass/slate/chrome bachelor pad minimalist look, so we have grey tiled floors, plain cream walls, hideous brown wallpaper which is now gone, chrome spotlights even in the bedroom, stark white bathroom... bleh!

Agree with James. Black leather doesn't = homely in my book. The only thing you could try would be a warm-toned throw folded over, and some soft-textured cushions. Although I've found that they tend to slide off leather. Particularly when you sit down.

Rugs, beanbags (?) lamps and candles (although take care if it's a rental property. You'll be liable for any smoke/singe marks).

Hi everyone,

Thanks for you comments! I have 3 big dogs so hence the black leather sofa..without that and an endless supply of babywipes I'd go insane! I used to have a beautiful Plum coloured suede sofa...gorgeous but not at all practical I'm afraid .
I'm not too fond of flowery, frilly looks but don't like overly modern stuff either...just something inbetween I would like.
Thankfully the landlord is fine with us doing whatever we want, I just lack the inspiration!
The thing is, I live in a hot country so everyone just paints everything white but most people manage to have a nice looking house despite that! I think I keep making the mistake of just cramming more 'stuff' in, but I don't want clutter everywhere!
At the moment I'm thinking of warming the place up a bit with an off white colour and maybe a few bold coloured feature walls with nice pictures (I like the canvas ones). I'm getting rid of my boring glass TV table and ancient dining table and getting some nice dark wood furniture to go with the rest of the wood in the house.
I think curtains would help too (atm got plain beige roller blinds) but not sure how to do both together, need to keep the blinds to keep the heat out in summer.
Hopefully that will give me a start and some inspiration!!

I'd ditch those smelly, huge dogs. Ugggh. They're bound to make any house into a foul-smelling kennel.

charming !

Hi OGT,

We have dark leather sofa, but with really bright chenille throws and fluffy cushions - it looks fine - homelier than our tatty cotton sofa which we chucked at new year. The leather is very practical with kids.

One thing that helps against all that macho black and chrome is really brightly coloured pictures or prints, as big as you can afford. Or giant wall mounted photos of the kids. (Not that we have them but I love to look at them in other people's houses.)

Hi again,

Thanks for all your suggestions, very much appreciated!
Well...I've been thinking hard about what I want as I don't want to decorate and then hate it (been there, done that). Just beginning to gather up bits for the nursery so have decided to do a huge clearout first to see what space I really have (my DH is a hoarder
Repainting the whole place, thankfully the landlord is not really bothered but decided to go for a neautral but not white kind of thing as my original idea of bold coloured feature walls might give him a heart attack! Have been gathering up bits that I like but not trying to match up too much as I am very bad at it, just picking stuff that 'goes'.
I know the black leather isn't very homely but unfortunately it has to stay. Just bought it and paid a fortune, althought it is seriously comfy and very practical. Was thinking along the same lines as you racingheart, it will look much better in disguise!
We've just got an Ikea here so I will be doing a huge shopping run for lamps, prints, colourful stuff etc! I'm actually really looking forward to having a lovely home now instead of dreading the decorating!
Shitemum - can't wait for all the baby mess lying around, however, I do have to say that I am shocked by the huge amount of pink, sparkly, frilly flourescent tat they sell here! Enough to give you a headache!
realitychick I know what you mean! Most people here live with all their windows and doors permanently open and even after years their houses still smell new! And I absolutely looove the smell of baking going on, but unfortunately, I'm crap at it! Vanilla candles are the best way to go I reckon, not as strong as filling your house with plug-ins, just nice and subtle! We also use citronella candles here too, they keep the mozzies away and good for getting rid of cigarette smells too. They are an 'aquired' smell, but I think they are very lemony and clean.
expatinscotland - my dogs smell gorgeous!

Add some pattern somewhere as it will give a relaxed feel to your home.