When Justin and I moved in to our current home, we didn’t have much in the way of decoration. Honestly, we didn’t even have much in the way of furniture. The walls were beige, and so was the shag carpet. It was a house, and we were grateful for it, but it didn’t feel much like a home.
Taming the house has turned into a multi-year project as we find new things that need to be fixed or repaired. We’ve torn up the carpet, painted (most) of the walls, and installed some much needed updates, like a newer water heater. Finally, after three years, our house is starting to look and feel like a home! Luckily for you, turning a house into a home doesn’t have to take three years. There are plenty of easy, quick ways to personalize your home. Most of them are budget-friendly, too! Today, I’m reaching deep into my personal experience and sharing five easy ways to make a house feel like home.
5 Ways to Personalize Your Home
1. Paint!
One of the first things anyone does when buying a new house (or an old house) is repaint the walls. The right paint color can totally change the look of a room— dark colors make a room feel cozy, and brighter colors make it feel more spacious and airy. Red in the kitchen can make you feel more hungry, but yellow on your living room walls makes it feel energetic. Using neutrals and earth tones is in right now, and these colors make a great background for colorful statement furniture.
2. Change the lighting
There’s nothing worse than a room with terrible lighting. Okay, there are a few worse things. Still, the wrong lighting can make a room feel dull and lifeless. If you’re ready to splurge, pick out a light fixture you love and add it to the room, or splurge on a dimmer switch. If you’re on a budget, changing to LED lights from old fluorescent bulbs can brighten a room. You can also add strategic lamps around the room to get the effect of a dimmer switch without the cost.
3. Add artwork
Bare walls can make a house feel like a dormitory or your first apartment. After all, why spruce up the walls if you’re not going to be staying long? While there are plenty of places to find generic artwork, if you have a family, you probably want to show them off. I know I never miss a chance to show off my baby!
That’s where Fracture comes in. Fracture is a beautiful way to get unique pieces to hang on your walls. Simply upload your photos to the Fracture website, choose a size, and have your pictures printed directly onto glass. The glass is attached to a rigid backing, and it comes with the hardware to display your Fracture photo prints on you wall!
Making your Fracture couldn’t be easier. It took me about ten minutes to choose my photos, upload them, and choose the size Fracture prints I wanted. It took about two minutes to securely check out. One thing I really liked about Fracture was how the website detected when a picture I wanted printed wasn’t a high enough resolution for the size I wanted. It’s always frustrating when I try to have something printed, and it comes back to me as a grainy, blurry mess. With Fracture, I didn’t have to worry. After I checked out, the Fracture prints were shipped safely to my house within a few short business days. They arrived intact and ready to hang! I chose a variety of different sizes for my Fracture prints so I could have a collage wall in the living room. It replaced the picture of space we had hanging there previously, and it looks so put-together!
A tip for your Fracture: the rigid background is black, so try not to choose dark photos to have printed, as it will obscure the photos.
4. Statement pillows
Whether you have your dream couch or a couch you picked up at a thrift store when you were still in college, furniture is really important to the look of a room. Sometimes, though, it just looks a little bare. Instead of heading out to buy a bigger, better, plushier couch, you can work with what you already have. How? Statement pillows! Available at just about everywhere that sells home goods, there’s a pillow for everyone….and for every style.
5. Try a rug
If you don’t like your flooring, but you’re not quite ready to break up with it yet, it can seem like a tough situation. Luckily for you, humanity has come up with a solution: rugs. An area rug changes the look of a room, and a strategically placed one can hide any stains from ill-fated toddler lunches, wine spills, or whatever happens in your home. In the kitchen, an anti-fatigue mat can make cooking more pleasant and keep your feet feeling good. Don’t forget a bathroom mat beside the shower!
There are lots of easy ways to personalize your home. My favorite is definitely the artwork, thanks to Fracture. What’s your favorite way to make a house feel like home?
Win it!
We’re giving away 2 $100 Fracture gift certificates. There will be two winners who will each receive a $100 Fracture gift credit. You can enter below.
It’d definitely be a picture of my kids
I would make a macro photo of flowers for my Fracture.
I would choose a photo of my nephew.
I would like artwork of my kids.
I would choose the photo of my daughter’s first day of school.
Laurie Emerson
I would choose a photo of my daughter and our bulldogs.
I’d choose a photo of our dogs.
I would choose a photo of our family
I would choose either a picture of my grandbaby or a picture from my backpacking adventures in the mountains.
i would choose a picture of me and my husband.
It would be a picture of my daughter.
Artwork and lighting are my choices. Thank you!
I would choose a pic of my grand kids and give it to their mom!
Paint is definitely my go-to when it comes to changing the look of an area in my house! A new color or pattern can make it feel like a whole new space!
I would choose a photo that the whole family is in
I would choose a picture of my sweet grand kids. Thanks for the chance.
I would choose a zombie photo
I need statement pillows!
These tips are very useful! I would put up a picture of my family.
My daughters upcoming wedding photo
This is so cool, I never heard of it before. I would use a photo of a vacation spot with my husband and I!
I would choose a wedding photo.
These are such great ways to liven up your home. My favorite thing to do is definitely paint. That can make such a difference.
Love these tips! We just moved and are working through making our house a home! Love the idea oif fracture!
I love all your tips for helping one make their house feel more like an extension of their personality and really reflect their lifestyle! I would love to try fracture- it seems like a great way to personalize one’s living space!
I like your list of home improvements and personalizing your new home.
I really like to different colors into the home the best to do this.
i think i’d use a group photo of my cats….we’re empty nesters and my kitties have become my babies! crazy cat lady, much? lol
You are so right that designing the interior of a home is a multi year project. It’s been 9 years and I finally just got curtains for our living room lol. I’d love to try Fracture. It seems like an easy way to spruce up your living area with fun, personalized artwork.
I would love to put up a picture of my pets. I have pics of my family and kids on my wall. This would be perfect in my office.
I absolutely love statement pillows. I have quite a big collection of statement pillows and I am always adding more to my home! Love them!
I would pick a vacation photo of my family!
Paint is one of my favorite ways to personalize a home. We’ve been slowly painting new colors throughout our home.
I have a snapshot of me with my grandmother that I would like to have done.
Paint, lighting, and accessories can really make a house feel like a home. And throw pillows, You can never have too many throw pillows!
I would choose a picture of my family.
These are all great ways to make a house feel like a home. It is so true about the color of the walls can really change how your house feels. The lighting in a room can really make a difference too. Thanks for sharing the tips and the giveaway.
I love artworks too! Saving memories through pictures is really amazing!
I would use a photo from my trip to Italy.
I would choose one of my daughters wedding pictures.
I would use a photo of a special friend.
I’d never heard of Frature, but love the idea.
After our upcoming move, I’ll need to consider wall decorations. Years of ho hum stuff has me wanting something to cherish.
I would pick something from our wedding.
I have a very lovely photo of my Mother and I. She passed away, but this photo is very special to me.
Curtains! I don’t know why, but curtains always seem to tie a room together. I love artwork, but, right now, I live in an apartment with plaster walls. Hard to hang anything up :(.
Artwork definiately helps to make a house a home. I think that would be a nice addition to any wall.
I would chose a member of my family
I think it’s neat that it comes printed on glass.That would be so cool and a great conversation piece to have hanging on your wall.
I will have to check this out. I love showing off pictures of my beautiful family and my grandchildren. And then of course, there are my travel photos. It just amazes me that you can have pictures printed on glass! This is beautiful!
I would use one with my 4 beautiful grand babies
I would use a picture of my two grandsons.
Paint is a great way to start and makes a big statement. Artwork is also a great way to personalize a home.
You can definitely make a house into a home by incorporating your personal touch. Paint is always what we do to reshen up a room.
Throw rugs are awesome for changing the look of your home. They can make it cozy, and they can also hide the floor a bit if it’s ugly.
I love decorating with pictures. When you put them in the right spots and with the right frames, they add so much to the look of your home AND they serve as constant memories.
To change the look of a home, I love paint. To make it feel more cozy, I love pillows and rugs.
I love painting. We chose colors different for each room and then added family stickers to the walls for personality.
I am all for statement pillows! They are a super easy to at switch out often, too.
I think pictures and artwork can really give a good vibe for a home. Freshly painted homes also looks great.
Paint is one of the cheapest and prettiest ways to fix up a house. I always have a long to-do list when it comes to my house. There seems to be always something that needs to be upgraded.
I would choose a picture of my family that I could put up at my office!