What makes a house a home?

“A house is made of walls and beams;

a home is built with love and dreams.”

-anonymous

(This is the home where Ken’s family lived in Connecticut.)

I love to look at different styles of houses. 

I always wonder what the inside of the house looks like;

is it warm and cozy, formal, stylish, humble, clean, or messy?

Sometimes you can tell just by looking at the front porch and the yard that it must be charming and inviting inside.

But….

Recently, I saw some houses on HGTV’s House Hunters International that were located off the coast of Mexico that literally looked like shacks on the outside, but were spacious, modern, and lovely on the inside.  Who would have guessed!

So….

What makes a house a home?

Is it the size?

This little house is where I lived for the first ten-ish years of my life.  The picture doesn’t show the whole house, but almost.  I think it had two bedrooms, one bathroom, one living room, and one kitchen. 

I have great memories of this house!

(I’m the young girl in the middle row, looking sort of confused.)

Later it was expanded to this size.

Is it the furnishings?

I’ve been in some beautiful , multi-million dollar Parade of Homes houses that I could just move right in to, but I’ve also been in some that left me feeling cold and uninvited.

So…   What is the secret?

I’m no expert, but here is what I think:

♥ Fill a house with love, laughter, and people who are kind to each other.

♥ Try to make it clean and organized.

♥ Do what you can to make it warm and cozy.

♥ Be creative.

♥ Allow it to be “livable”.

♥ Make sure that good memories are made there.

Do you agree?

JoAnn