I grew up in the same house my entire youth, then moved out at 21 and have lived in 7 different places since then. Upon moving it feels like "home" when I get every picture hung, every piece of furniture in the rooms..........all of this is usually done before going to bed on day 1, LOL. I'm one of those weirdos that has to MAKE it home immediately with my "stuff".

But in honesty, it's home when the family is here, there are wonderful scents coming out of the kitchen, and the most recent "project" is done and in place. It's "home" until the next project is done, then it's "home" all over again.

The family within it! (: As long as I had my wife and 3 sons anywhere could be called home

Personal touches. Every house is just a house until you decorate it with your own furniture or paint color. When you surround yourself with things that make you happy or comforted and when you have good memories in your house with family or friends...that's what makes a house a home!

A cat curled up on a kitchen chair and a dog sleeping on the porch. Oh, let's not forget the fridge art, tacky as it may be.

Family, friends, and the memories that are created!

"Bloom where you are planted, honey, bloom where you are planted."
I really needed to hear your grandmother's advice, thank you for sharing.

Me too. That is my favorite thing I've seen in a long time. :)

Thanks, everyone. My grandmother was a treasure chest of wisdom.

And Emily wanted pictures. This is outside my front entrance. My grandmother is never far from me when I open my front door and walk to the mailbox.

AWWWWWWWWW :((

When you no longer wish to move because you'd like a bigger and better house, it's home. Margo has it right too. Sweat equity and pride of ownership makes a huge difference. My grown daughter once said...don't sell! This is "home" and special to our grandaughter! Plus, she wants it when we die. :)

Light, warmth, and color!

A house can't be a home without a happy family.

Time and attitude.

I've spent some time in furnished apartments and let me just say, the Soviets are not known for their furniture design and quality, and, Yowza! Moscow used to be the land of funky wallpaper. I lived in a hut without water or electricity when I was a Peace Corps volunteer. Then there was that bilious green vinyl sofa in a Pittsburgh apartment with no A/C. It stuck to the backs of your legs when you wore shorts. The sofa was part of the reason I married my husband. If that place felt like home, the guy was a keeper. (Luckily, it was a furnished apartment and the sticky sofa didn't move with us).

So, time and attitude, but bloom where you are planted says it better.

I too love "bloom" comment. Simply true.. Bringing things ( including plenty of yummy food) you love together to bless people is the key to a happy home. That can happen anywhere the heart is open:)) lovingly thought out gathering spaces make it easier to lean back and listen.

Right now, I'm sitting in a house with no dry wall on the walls except around the the bathroom. The floor is plywood subflooring. The electrical system is exposed. The duct work is exposed. The plumbing is exposed. The kitchen is temporary plywood counter tops covered with self adhering vinyl tile on 2x4's. No cabinets, just wall hung shelves for now. The ceiling is cheap burlap stapled in place to keep the insulation batts from raining down on us..................and we've been living in this house for the past 4 years like this when our renovation was interrupted by health issues and medical bills..........it's always the unexpected that reaches out to get you.................but you know what. It's home..... simply because I know tonight my wife will walk in the door, change her clothes, she'll sit down and discuss her day over a glass of wine while I'm preparing dinner. Later we may watch a show or movie and then about 10:30 we'll call it a night, make sure all the pets are in safely, turn out the lights and crawl into to bed.......and while we drift off to sleep, we talk nonsense about when we'll get this or that done or something about the latest layout for the kitchen (2nd one)..................it's not done, there are hundreds of projects to complete both inside and out, there are detours ahead of us, there are roadblocks yet to be found.........but it's still home. Because the two of us are here........it could be a tent in the mountains. As long as she's with me it's home.

Of course, family, friends and my stuff. But I also have another requirement: I have loved old houses since I was a child and, other than my college apartments, all of my residences have been old and had their own "soul". Yes, of course character can be added to any house, but I love the quirkiness of an old house, and the more I need to do to it, the more it becomes mine. I could live in a new home, I think, if it were of my design. Otherwise, give me something with the patina of other lives lived.

The people and their decor.

Being able to put your own personality in the surroundings. I think one or two choices can make you happy, and when you need more, you change things around and get those feelings all over again. It's like any relationship ... always evolving!

It's the memories you build in the house. It's the emotional investment and the people that lived in it. It's all those fixes you do to make your loved ones feel comfortable and cozy.

This is so interesting to read. I find myself in a completely new situation. I've been a farmer's wife for 22 years, living on the family homestead (Been in the family for 50) for 18 of those. We tore down the old home (from 1966) and built my dream home in 2010. This year has been a year that I never saw coming. We have quit farming and need to sell and move away from the only place we have known. What makes a home? I know if my family is with me, we'll make a go of whatever/wherever. I know people sell and move all the time, but I pictured myself growing old in my dream home and its 30 acres. Farming life is something to be treasured. Thanks for listening :)

It is home when it doesn't look like a "designer" home, when no one else but me choose all the little and big things in it... paintcolor, kitchen, mirrored cabinets in the bathroom, even the toiletroll-holders... no designer could do that for me...
I put in a house the things and color I like, and I don't care whether anyone else out there might like it... it doesn't have to be perfect or magazine-like... it has to be perfect for me!
I went househunting for over 2 years and very few of the houses I saw were cosy or felt like a "home" - they were all pretty much the same... I actually could tell who built it and when it was built the moment I walked through the door... that was very sad...

my gut tells me its the right place,when I can imagine my stuff there,and see waking up every morning thats when its home.its worked every time.youlle feel the colors once your there.my dog and visits from my family.thats home!

My husband and I have owned four homes. The first was our home when raising two small children. We went through the Northridge earthquake here and thus learned some things about restoration. Our second home was a new house. The four of us excitedly watched as it was built. Good friends also moved into the neighborhood. Each of these houses were homes filled with lovely memories... Children growing, our dogs who were our other children, and dear friends.

Almost four years ago we moved because of a career change for me. We searched and searched for a house. I really liked two neighborhoods. One was too expensive because of a special tax district. The other neighborhood had no houses for sale. So, we bought a newer house in a gated community (with a guard entrance). This was a huge mistake. I hated that gate as I came to experience how difficult it was to have visitors. And our neighbors never came outside. The house itself seemed to be a house of endless hallways. We did have a very nice kitchen, but I don't think this house was ever home.

Then, last January I was visiting a church member in the neighborhood that previously had no houses for sale. My heart leapt when I saw the for sale sign on this awesome bungalow. I went home and looked up the listing. My reaction was "love the house but the carpet has to go!" Thankfully my husband agreed and miraculously we were able to buy this house and sell the other in only six weeks.

This is the smallest house we've ever lived in. We are doing some work to make it better. But I love it that this house is home. It's cozy, it's in an open neighborhood where neighbors are actually outside. I can walk to work or to dinner or to a movie. The beach is four miles away. I am definitely home.

Stuff is just stuff, and a house is just a house. It's love that makes it a home.

Seeing my things, the ones I like, the ones I inherited from my family, my favorite colors, my particular clutter, my art, my music…..

I put in a brand new kitchen in my flat when we were engaged. Immediately after I went to my parents for a week interstate. When I came back the lovely lead light display cupboard was full of the smell of cooked curry. Still trying to get him to close bathroom drawers before he shaves over them. Life breaks in a home.

When the vibe in it ressembles you

A house is just a building. A home reflects the life of the people and pets living there.
The people living there should feel protected, content and at ease, whatever style they choose, or better still, whatever style it has evolved into, to make it into a 'home'.

A house, for me has a certain 'feel' and we have that. We've been looking for awhile, to move on.. I live in an old farmhouse, that is/was my home. But the neighborhood is changing around us and my darlings are grown. It will break my heart to leave this place, but it's time to move on... I look at the exterior, for that certain look, then go inside for that 'feel'
Can remember my Mom saying that when they bought 'our house', she walked in the front door, into the front hall and took a deep breath and said to my Dad , this is it.
Praying for that moment again, been pretty close a couple times... wish us luck.

And don't have drawers under the mirrored shaving cabinet. Hope118 you will be ok, because you care ,you will make it ok.

What makes our house a home is being surrounded by things that bring back special memories for us. The one thing that really makes me happy is my Grandfather clock. My Mom who became ill and could no longer walk never got to see my Grandfather clock. I would purposely call my Mom early in the morning and in the evening so that she could hear the clock and the Westminster chimes. I remember how happy it would make her, she would make me stop talking so that she could listen. My Mom passed away and everytime I hear it ring I think of her.

When my art is on the wall, it's home.

my art and the furry homeless people, (my 2 dogs and cat!) they enjoy the house more than i do! :)

Being a military wife, HOME is wherever he and I are together. But what makes it special is looking around and seeing how we've done little things here and there around the house (inside and out) to make it our own. HIring a landscaper to "tame" our backyard, planting our suburban garden and even seeing the paint "oops" on the ceiling (and knowing we need to hire a painter next time). To me, that's what makes a home special - creating your space together.

Most importantly home is a place of peace, comfort and security. A place to restore your spirit and energy. The neighborhood is also an extension of your home...familiar surroundings. I grew up in an urban neighborhood and moved to southern suburban lifestyle in a "planned community" which was not for me so I returned to urban living. I love the diversity and the "home grown" surroundings that urban life offers. I can walk to the local neighborhood shop to pickup groceries and the owner greets me by name...not some huge big box store where it takes an hour to find a bag of rice. :O)

A year or so before my beloved grandmother passed away, she had moved (with my grandfather) to my aunt's home, so she (my aunt) would be able to take better care of them both. They loved it there, it's a beautiful house, with a big garden and etc. A couple of months later my grandma had a serious nervous episode which left her unable to walk or speak anymore. At the night of that crisis she kept asking my grandfather to "take her home, because she wanted to die at home". She died a couple of months later in my arms, but unfortunately we were in a hospital room. I only wish I could have taken "home"...
I don't think I can describe what exactly makes a house your "home"... But for my grandma it was the place where she would be happy to die.

@despinach - I totally empathize with you. My mother grew up on farm but lived in the city for (40) years and had lived in a studio apartment for the last (6) years before retirement. Upon retirement, she decided to return to the family homestead and build a home. It is lovely home surrounded by 100 acres. Unfortunately, she was very unhappy and became very withdrawn. It doesn't matter how grand your home or surroundings are, home is where the heart is and all that is familiar.

I would say what makes a house a home is IF you are happy in the place in which you live and with whom you live, the freedom to choose what you like, a little or a lot, having what you want or need or just because you like it, to decorate with what makes you feel comfortable, relaxed, good, happy, calm, excited and reflects your particular personality.

No matter what the most recent trend in décor is, choosing what means home to you, whatever your décor may consist of, if it has warmth and welcome there and sharing it with the people you love.

'Home is where the heart is' as the saying goes.

As a true empty-nester, these comments about family making a place "home" ring both true and false. Last year I moved to a tiny house - just me and my little kitty. This is truly my home now, but it took a little while for me to feel this way. Silly things make me feel at home here: being able to find the bathroom in the middle of the night without turning on a light, unloading the dishwasher without having to *think* about where each piece goes, recognizing the sounds the house makes, knowing which window each of my plants likes best.

In another sense "home is where the heart is". Which makes the whole world my home, I have loved ones far and wide :)

(I was typing my comment when penelope posted the one above. So TWO votes for "Home is Where the Heart Is" :D

A house is a home when the stove is used to cook home made meals everyday, the furniture and decorations are not just museum items, and of course the family members interact.

Our first apartment was in married student housing at his university and it never felt like home...but then I was 20, working full- time and didn't know how to cook. With each of the subsequent five homes we have lived in, I have to agree with iamjudy...it's our handed-down family stuff, books, memories and being with each other that have made them homes right away. We have been fortunate.

A house is a structure
A home is the personality of the people who live there.

We're in our first home that is not an apartment. I feel like I'm still learning how to turn our house into our home. But what I've always wanted is a house that is inviting and welcoming to anyone who enters....I think that's part of what makes a house a home.

I've lived in many different homes, sizes, styles, location and of course always took the things I loved with me. I need all those comforts, but for me it's the energy in the home, most definitely happy energy. Lots of smiles and kind words can go a long way to making a happy home. I stress how important it is to have nice neighbors.

Each other!

The people who live there.

For me...it was just putting my stamp on the place with my things. It really became special when I ran a deed search & learned the history of those that lived here over the last 100 years. Then it became "our" home...

Home is a state of mind. I lived out of suitcases for years as a business person. I think you find out how little you really need after that life style.. I feel at home where ever my friends and family are.

elpelicano...I love that pic of your baby kitty!! Here's a similar one of my little Sweetie Pie. R.I.P. 6/22/2012
She certainly made my house a home...had the cutest little squeaky meow~~~