As I open the door to my new apartment, chills run down my spine. There are no pictures to see, no furniture to sit on, no colours, nothing but the walls staring back at me. I felt uneasy, but excited, to transform this space into my home.
In the beginning, it can be hard to feel at home in a new environment. Focus on decorating with things that are close to your heart- it’s the small details and personal touches that make a home.
Photos
Image: Debby Hudson, Unsplash
The photos you choose for your home should not be the well-edited, Instagram-perfect ones, but the fun and memorable ones. These slightly blurry images will take you back to the past. The photos of you and your sister laughing with your mouths open, the ones with your best friend and your messy makeup or that photo where your boyfriend is pulling your ears whilst making a funny face. These imperfect photos have a story behind them, one that you will remember when passing by your corridor or at your vanity table.
Mette Sandbye, a photographer from Denmark, said, “It is important to have photos of my family in my home – I have a specific wall in my kitchen with photos of my family, particularly with my 3 now-adult children. It reminds me of all our good memories as a family, especially our vacations abroad together. It makes my home more specifically ‘mine’. I also have eight to ten albums on shelves documenting the life of my family. When my children come to visit, we go through the albums with joy – it kind of glues us together.”
Scents
Image: Hanna Balan, Unsplash
Our brains are experts at remembering scents. Your favourite ‘Strawberry Candy’ candle signals your brain to relax because it feels like home as soon as you light it. Smell goes directly to the brain, unlike other senses, and can trigger vivid emotional responses and bring back detailed memories. Every time I smell aboniki balm, it reminds me of my grandma’s house; it brings back memories of when I used to live with her.
Bedrooms
Decorating your room should be fun; an opportunity to personalise your space in a way you desire and make you want to enter your room. From wall colours to light bulbs and your artwork, the goal is to make your bedroom comfortable and cosy. Homes without living rooms are increasingly common in the UK due to the cost of living, reports the BBC, and people socialise in the kitchen. In that case, decorating your bedroom the way you imagine it can support your mental and emotional well-being.
I approached people with the question- What makes you feel at home? “I like these puppets, from my best friend in China, because I can change the position, and it is something that makes me feel closer to my best friend because she is physically not with me,” said Kioguo.
Dan notes, “My Albanian flag makes me feel comfortable because I used to live in Serbia and my friend from Albania gave me this scarf, which makes me feel like home.”
When you next enter your new apartment, use your imagination to elevate and transform your home. Your home is your personal space, your escape from the real world, so treat it with care and have fun with your decorating!
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