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5 Easy Ways to Make Your New House Feel Like Home

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I received products from Lush Decor in order to write this post.

While John was in the military, we PCSed twice. I know, I know: It’s not as many times as some have moved, and it’s more than others have. And now, we’ve ended up in our for-now home; perhaps not our forever home, but it’s the one that we’re making into our own.

It’s been a slow process. If you’ve seen a few of my posts on Instagram, you know that we’re rehabbing a Civil War-era home. We’ve uncovered beautiful hardwood floors after ripping layers of carpet and linoleum off, we’ve replaced fixtures, and we’ve redone a bathroom (more on that in a future post!).

PCSing sucks sometimes.

Even though we’re not totally moved in yet, we’re working on making our house a home–and quickly! And we’ve put what we’ve learned in the military to good use.

1. Pick things that you love

Life is too short to surround yourself with ugly, boring things. What you love doesn’t have to be expensive–I have a framed pineapple print that I absolutely love… and it was just a few bucks on sale. In fact, they don’t have to be things that you’ve bought, either. One of the things that makes our living room “ours” is a quilt my mom made and gave John for Christmas one year. It’s cuddly and it just belongs.

2. Deep clean everything

Grab a vacuum, hot soapy water, a sponge, and some dusting cloths and get to work. Making your place yours means clearing out the crud and dirt from the last folks who lived there. Once your bathrooms and kitchen are sparkling, you’ll feel just a little bit more home.

PCSing sucks sometimes.

3. Remember your other homes

Leaving Fredericksburg, VA for the last time was so tough. John and I loved it there and it was sentimental, too– we had spent the first three-ish years of our married life in that little town. When we left, we bought a painting of the town to take with us. And you can bet that once we unpack it, it will be the first thing we find a place on the wall for. It’ll always be a little window into one of the places that stole our heart and where so many of our memories were made.

4. Change a few little things

Making a few changes–even a fresh coat of white paint– can make your house feel more like yours. Remember, you need to abide by the rules of your community and you need to think about the financial ramifications. But small changes that might look like new light switch covers, a statement wall, or a patterned chair you want to add to your living room.

5. Switch up the window treatments

In base housing– or in off-base housing–blinds can feel really institutional. (And sometimes they’re super cheap and look, well, a little cruddy.) Curtains can help to soften rooms to instantly make them look homey and comfy, no matter if you’ve been living there for one year or one day.

And let’s be honest, curtains can be expensive too. If you have too few curtains and too many windows, check out Lush Decor. It’s an online shop for affordable window treatments, shower curtains, and bedding. (And yes, they do coordinate if you’re looking to make a set out of it!) They’ve got some funky designs as well as classic standards that will fit whatever you want to make your room look like.

I added some stately curtain rods and sheers to these room-darkening, energy efficient curtains for our bedroom.

For our office/guest room, I chose a funky design that I normally wouldn’t pick for a bedroom or living room. I love the light and color it draws into a small room that just doesn’t have much space for decor. Plus–I’ll be working there and spending a lot of time, so I love surrounding myself with things that make me smile. And those curtains do that.

Lush Decor has free shipping on all orders over $50 and often has special offers and sales to help you save more money. (Check out their clearance section, too, for deeper cuts in prices.)

Use JOMYGOSH to get 25% off any order of $40 or more. And that’s not all…

Do you have a room that needs a refresh… or maybe you have a few windows that need some extra love? Lush Decor wants to help you make your house feel more like home. They’re giving away a $100 gift card to their site to one lucky Jo, My Gosh! reader. Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 


11 Responses

  1. I would definitely splurge on some curtains! My husband and I had been in our house for 9 months and hadn’t yet bought any curtains when we got PCS orders. Thankfully, our house had blinds… otherwise I would have probably just nailed blankets over the windows, haha!

  2. We pcs’d overseas a few months ago and my kids are driving me crazy with the blinds in base housing!!! Definitely appreciate the suggestion for Lush Decor!

  3. We just redid our kitchen, so I would use the money on some new curtains for the windows, and sliding door.

  4. I would love to splurge on the Evelyn Medallion Room Darkening Window Curtain (pair) in Green.

  5. Pingback: Thank Blog

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