This house never felt like home. Does yours? Normal?

[Anonymous]

I loathe our current home and we’ll be moving in the spring.

We’ve been here for 2.5 years and I swear it never felt like home. It’s been a battle for me, as I don’t like the neighborhood or house itself.

I don’t think I’ve felt that rush of comfort when I pull in the driveway, or a sense of relief when I walk in the door. Staying home isn’t relaxing to me.

Is it me? Am I too picky?

I just want a HOME.

[Anonymous]

14 years and an expensive renovation and I don’t love it, but objectively it’s a good house in a great neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14 years and an expensive renovation and I don’t love it, but objectively it’s a good house in a great neighborhood.

But when you walk in the door does it feel like home?

[Anonymous]

I’ve loved all of my homes/apartments (rented/owned) in some way that made them feel like home, yes. Objectively my current home is the nicest and also closest to friends and family so win/win. But even when I was unhappy with my job or life in some way I often felt happy to go home to any of my homes. It’s where my stuff and my people are.

[Anonymous]

I never felt a "rush of comfort" or a "sense of relief" anywhere.

I don't feel clean or safe where I live now though.

[Anonymous]

It is up to you to make a house a home. What is missing from your current home? Is it family photos, comfortable furniture, a clean scent, or something else?

[Anonymous]

I have definitely felt that way before - it just was a "vibe". Decor or lighting could help but only so much.

So grateful to be in my home now. Hope your next place is just right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:14 years and an expensive renovation and I don’t love it, but objectively it’s a good house in a great neighborhood.

But when you walk in the door does it feel like home?

Not in a warm and fuzzy way. It’s the house we live in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have definitely felt that way before - it just was a "vibe". Decor or lighting could help but only so much.

So grateful to be in my home now. Hope your next place is just right.

Thank you. It’s filled with our photos, and my stuff. But it’s just not home. :-/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is up to you to make a house a home. What is missing from your current home? Is it family photos, comfortable furniture, a clean scent, or something else?

DP. A foyer and hallways. Those transition spaces from one room to another.

[Anonymous]

I have had apartments that were definitely my home. We currently own and it is meh. We do need one more room and will probably sell in the next 5 years or so.

[Anonymous]

I am thankful that I LOVE my house, and the street, and I do have that feeling of being home when I return from somewhere.

Yet I'm sure it's not a house any of you would have chosen. It's tiny, nearly a 100 years old, needed a gut renovation of the ground floor (should also have done the upper floor), and did I say it was tiny? We're four people to one bathroom upstairs. No closets to speak of.

And yet when I saw it on sale, I knew it was for me: it was the right neighborhood, the exact school cluster I wanted, and I feel in love with the crooked roofline. I didn't want a new house. I wanted a quirky house. I decorated it exactly how I wanted, with expensive foreign wallpaper, and tiles and wood carvings I would not have been able to afford had I needed to cover more space.

The moral of this story is that you really have to know yourself and know what will make you happy, and what imperfections you can live with.

[Anonymous]

Everywhere I live feels like home but I like it better when I’ve had a chance to decorate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have had apartments that were definitely my home. We currently own and it is meh. We do need one more room and will probably sell in the next 5 years or so.

OP here and yes, I think back to apartment rentals and even then I felt a sense of relief upon arriving. It was home!

We own this place and it just…sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am thankful that I LOVE my house, and the street, and I do have that feeling of being home when I return from somewhere.

Yet I'm sure it's not a house any of you would have chosen. It's tiny, nearly a 100 years old, needed a gut renovation of the ground floor (should also have done the upper floor), and did I say it was tiny? We're four people to one bathroom upstairs. No closets to speak of.

And yet when I saw it on sale, I knew it was for me: it was the right neighborhood, the exact school cluster I wanted, and I feel in love with the crooked roofline. I didn't want a new house. I wanted a quirky house. I decorated it exactly how I wanted, with expensive foreign wallpaper, and tiles and wood carvings I would not have been able to afford had I needed to cover more space.

The moral of this story is that you really have to know yourself and know what will make you happy, and what imperfections you can live with.

So true. So so true. This place doesn’t make me happy at all. It’s very difficult to live here which is maybe why it’s not “home”.

I hope I can find it in the next one. You’re right. I need to know what will make me
Happy.