If your house is going to truly feel like a home, then you might employ a few tried-and-tested
strategies. Through these, you’ll be able to project that all-important sense of homeliness – both to the people who live in your home, and the people who are just popping over.

Disclaimer: This post is a collaboration.

The exterior

While you might not spend as much time looking at the exterior of your property as you do looking at
the interior, it’s still worth making sure that you’re presenting the best possible version of the building
to passers-by. Do this right, and you’ll be able to extend a welcome before your visitors have taken
the first step through the front door.

So, how might you do this? It’ll depend on your personal taste, and the existing fabric of the building.
Climbing ivy and flowers can make a big difference, as can rendering the exterior brickwork. Think
about the features you want to accentuate, and the ones you want to conceal.

If you’re thinking about climbing plants, then make sure you’ve taken steps to protect the underlying
building. Bear in mind also that not all climbing plants are damaging – you only need to worry about
the ones that actually penetrate the underlying brickwork.

The hallway

While you might not spend very much time in your hallway, compared to say, your living room or your
kitchen, it should still serve an important function. Too often, we use our hallways as dumping
grounds for bags, coats and pushchairs.

Putting in a little bit of furniture to organise and store these things can be hugely beneficial. Then, you
can think about applying a fresh coat of paint, or artwork. Bespoke under-stair storage will tend to
make the best possible use of the available space. You’ll have a place to keep shoes and coats until
you’re heading out of the door.

Colours

Creating the most welcoming possible vibe is often a matter of choosing appropriate colours.
Generally speaking, warm colours tend to be more homely than colder ones. Oversaturated, bold
colours can work well when they’re used to accent, but too much of them and they’ll become
tiresome.

Colour theory is a pretty complicated topic, but you can simplify things with the help of online palette-
choosing tools. Feed it your preferences, and it’ll suggest complementary shades.

Think of the flow

You’ll want to be able to move around your home effortlessly. This is where thinking about flow is
essential. You don’t want to make life awkward if you can avoid it. In most cases, it’s better to tend
toward flexibility until you establish what works in practice. Feel free to rearrange furniture until you
arrive at a setup that really works for you.