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9 Ways to Appreciate Your House Just as It Is

Look on the bright side — or that soothingly dark corner — to feel genuine gratitude for all the comforts of your home

Laura GaskillNovember 24, 2014

Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers

Whether you've been letting your home improvement to-do list get the best of you, or are finding yourself comparing your real-world home to professionally styled and photographed ones, it's natural to get a little down on your home from time to time. Luckily, feeling content at home is something available to everyone, no matter the size or condition of your space. By working your way through these nine suggestions, you can gain a deeper appreciation of your house, just as it is today.

House of Earnest

1. Consider what first drew you to your home. No matter where you live, there was likely something that attracted you to your house when you first saw it. Was it the sunny yard, charming porch, original wood floors? Once you are living in a place, it's natural to focus more on home improvements, but taking a moment to recall your favorite things about your home can put things in perspective.

Lauren Hufnagl

2. Use your senses. If you're getting down on your house, it can be hard to find anything to appreciate — but using your senses, you can zero in on the pleasures of home. Take a quick sensory tour of your home and note anything positive: the cozy comfort of your couch, the smell of coffee brewing, the feel of a fluffy rug between your toes.

Shannon Malone

3. Contrast it with not-home. Imagine you've just been on a long trip, and you are arriving home for the first time in weeks. You close the door behind you and take a deep breath. What are you most looking forward to about being home in that moment? Think about the ways your home comforts and supports you.

Beccy Smart Photography

4. Think beyond the visible. Is your rent or mortgage affordable, allowing you to live within your means? Is your home near your best friend's house, a lovely park or your favorite café? Is it quiet? Are your neighbors nice? There are many factors that you may not see when you look around but that are just as (or more) important than the space itself.

bba ARCHITECTS

5. Consider what visitors like about your home. When friends come over, do they comment on how welcoming and relaxing your house is? Is it great for parties, intimate chats, or barbecues on the lawn? Pay attention to what others have to say about your space.

Shannon Malone

6. Look at the living things. Be sure to count the people and furry friends you share your home with among your blessings. Does the light in your home make it easy to grow that windowsill herb garden? Does owning your own home or having an accommodating landlord make it possible to share your space with furry friends? Do your kids love jumping on that squashy old couch?

Beccy Smart Photography

7. Look out your windows. Do you have a view of your private garden, a bustling city street, a beautiful tree? Do you have a favorite spot where you like to sit and daydream, simply gazing at the clouds outside?

Madison Modern Home

8. Look on the bright side. Sometimes all it takes is a fresh perspective to turn what could be a negative into something good. A small space may feel cramped, but it also uses fewer resources, so it's naturally greening your lifestyle.

Sharing a home with extended family may be trying at times, but it's undoubtedly providing memories you will cherish for many years. If something has been irking you, try to think of an upside.

Ken Gutmaker Architectural Photography

9. Consider what your home allows you to do. Whether you love to cook, entertain, read, watch movies or play with your kids, focusing on the activities you enjoy at home can help take the focus away from that never-ending list of improvements. In fact, using your home more is one wonderfully simple way to appreciate what it has to offer.

Yvonne Eijkenduijn

Keep it up: If the suggestions in this ideabook have inspired you to look at your home in a new way, consider collecting your thoughts in a gratitude journal. I also encourage you to pay attention to precisely what makes you feel grateful at home — and do more of it! It's only natural as you are digging in the garden, kneading bread dough or reading a story to a child that you will begin to feel more content with things as they are.

More:
13 Ways to Be Happier in Your Home This Year

How to Savor Your Beautifully Imperfect Home

Comments (182)

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D C

last year

Good topic. Not sure it's that easy for me. Although my house is newly constructed with the kitchen, bathrooms and floors I chose, and not in a neighborhood, which is what I wanted, it is an absolute blank slate including the landscaping. And that's my "first world" dilemma. The slight slope of the yard has made it way more difficult and costly to get the garden I want so inside finishes just aren't able to get done. At my age I don't have time to work on it for 20 years and I just can't be happy with 2 arborvitaes and a birdbath out side or blank walls inside. I'll either have to accept that its not all going to get done and live with it as it is or move into something with a more manageable yard so my $$ goes farther. Who knew 2018 would bring torrential downpours enough to bring me to this point? Thanks climate change! What was supposed to be a dream house and garden won't be now!!

Rosemary Hart

last year

Years ago, I discovered the truth of "happiness is valuing what you have, not hankering for what you haven't got. " Yet I could Not love my old house! The house itself was nice enough, but the area gave me environmental depression - Big Time!

When I finally escaped, I wanted a house with views of the hills. In my first house, I hadn't thought about the view from the window, and realised how I felt boxed in. I've progressed from simply wanting a view, to wanting to see the hills - and I love the changing light on them as much today as | did the day I moved in. What I got, and hadn't expected, was a house that faces the rising sun. The sun goes round the house all day, and at this time of year it sets behind the trees at the bottom of the back garden. In winter it sets in line with the front door, which is on the side of the house. There are other houses in the road, but few times of the year when I can't see both sunrise and sunset over a natural horizon. Many times I've watched the moon shining through the trees my late partner planted - I call them "Edward's Wood".

Downstairs I have a wonderful golden yellow "morning" room, and an "afternoon" room, which is one of the most beautiful kitchens I've ever seen. Both looks were inherited from the previous owners. Too good to change!

It gets even better! For years I read about being in sunlight above the clouds, but I only ever experienced it in the Himalayas. I thought British hills weren't high enough, but I was wrong! When I came here, I realised it's something you mostly see in autumn, otherwise very early in the morning. Other times too, but not when I'd been expecting it. Then - I saw the mist below and the sun just over the horizon from the windows of my own house! The word "breathtaking" is overworked. That was the only time in my life that a view made me gasp.. not even the Himalayas did that!

I'm an outdoor person and the result is the only house I've ever lived in where good weather doesn't make me feel trapped. The house sends out vibes that makes me feel as though it loves me... You won't be surprised to know that I've vowed to stay here for the rest of my life!

Teresa

7 months ago

Sal d -- i understand exactly, I want everything, I get sick of things in 20 minutes--I often hear designers say - buy good pieces, they will last forever. I don't want them to last forever! I sound like I'm so ungrateful, I'm really not. I just love my home, and would rather buy something for my house, than spend on myself. I hope someday, I can just STOP!