Six ways to make your home feel more homely

Whether you are moving into a new property or you have lived in your home for a while, making it feel more homely will make spending your time in it more enjoyable. Life gets busy, and sometimes this means you don’t get to spend enough time making it feel like a home, instead of a place you sleep in. 

Setting some time aside to make your home feel more homely will never be something you regret. In fact, when you get into it, you may find yourself spending too much time making changes to all the rooms in your property - this is mainly down to the fact that there is a lot you can do. From small, affordable changes, such as adding artwork to the wall and playing with lighting, to more time-consuming things, such as changing the layout, there is plenty to be done. 

To help get you started and inspire you to make some changes, below we have put together a guide on six ways to make your home feel more homely. 

Play around with lighting 

Lighting is a great place to start, as there is so much you can do with your lighting, and it can instantly change the feel of a room. The right lighting can make a space feel warm, cosy, and inviting, while harsh or overly bright lighting can have the opposite effect. What we like to suggest is purchasing some lamps and placing them around your home. You could put a standing lamp in the living room and then two bedside lamps in the bedroom - Shop Corston online store for some examples. 

Add artwork to your walls

There are a lot of benefits from artwork on your walls. Artwork allows you to express yourself and add some of your personality to your home. It also adds a new dynamic as well as colour and fills up empty spaces. Artwork is affordable and easy to put up. What we suggest is visiting your local DIY store and seeing what pieces of artwork they have. Often they come in all shapes and sizes, helping you decorate even the smallest of rooms. For other places for inspiration, TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest are great places to look. 

Rugs for your flooring 

Do you have any rugs in your home at the moment? If you haven’t, this could be a good place to start. We love rugs, they are brilliant at changing the feel of a room, adding colour and a touch of your personality - a bit like adding artwork to your walls. They are again an affordable change that you can make, and they are useful if you need to protect your flooring from any little children you have. Some suggestions include adding a rug in your living room and putting a coffee table on it, placing your dining table on a rug or having one in your bedroom with your bed placed halfway over it. 

Changing the layout of your room 

Sometimes the layout is wrong, and this is what is making your home not feel homely. It doesn’t cost a thing, and it’s easy to do; simply spend a couple of hours rearranging a few of your items and see how the room looks. It could be as simple as moving the dining room table to a new position or completely changing the room around by moving everything. This is a trial-and-error task. You will never know how it looks until you move things around and try it. 

Add personal touches 

Your home should reflect you. Displaying family photos, artwork, travel souvenirs, or meaningful objects can instantly make a space feel more personal. These little touches bring character into your home and help remind you of the people, places, and experiences that matter most. It’s not about cluttering your space, but rather curating it with items that hold value and bring joy. A good example of this is if you enjoy cruising, you could buy a few cruise ship models of the ships you have been on and place them on top of any furniture pieces you have, such as your console table in your hall. 

Replace your furniture 

It may be that some of your furniture is due for an upgrade. Maybe you have had it for too long, or it doesn’t work with the style of your home. You don’t necessarily have to replace everything at once - start with key pieces that no longer serve you or make the room feel cramped or mismatched. For example, if you bought your sofa a long time ago, start with this and make a change. Alternatively, have you kept the same TV unit since you first moved out or the same dining room table? Maybe these could do with a change. What’s best is to go in-store and look around some furniture shops to see if anything appeals to you. Places like Ikea or Dunelm sell furniture at a very affordable rate, meaning you don’t have to break the bank in order to replace what you currently have. You could even look at a marketplace to see if there are any great deals at the moment - Facebook marketplace is great for this, as you can search locally. 

As you can see, there is plenty you can do to make your home feel more homely. What’s best is to start with the quick changes and then work towards the changes that will take more time. For example, hanging artwork on the wall will be a lot easier than completely rearranging your living room. Also, don’t be afraid to try things that at first you dismiss. Sometimes these are the things that will make the biggest difference. 

What changes are you planning on making to your home to make it feel more homely? Will you be making any changes from the list above, such as playing around with your lighting? Is there something missing in our guide that you think we should be adding? Let us know in the comment box below. We look forward to hearing from you.