You might ask yourself and wonder, what causes a house to be home? You look at houses on the market naturally wondering, can I ever establish that as my home? I will inform you that “yes you can” because on the outside it will inevitably be just a house, but what matters is on the inside. Homes on the outside can be run down, falling apart, or even nicely cleaned up. Local people can walk past your home saying “who would ever live in that?” or “I could only ever dream of living there,” but to them, it is just a house, not a home. A home is something you make your own, it is unique to you. When people come to visit your home, they do not say “wow, this is a delightful home,” instead they say “wow, this is a nice house.” The people and pets living inside, the sacred memories, the distinct type of furniture, intricate decorations like paint colors, types of curtains, and all the other minor details make a regular house your home. A home is just like a person; the outside does not matter, it is the inside that matters.
The people who live inside the house with you make it a home. I can scarcely imagine living in a home without the craziness of my parents and three siblings. They all make my home unique to me. Family members make a house a home. The beloved pets you live with, as they whine at the door and you get annoyed at them, you know you cherish them and it would merely be a house without them. The pleasant memories you have produced, whether in pictures that are hanging on the walls all over the home, or the dent in the wall that you know precisely how it got there and why you choose not to cover it up. Furniture makes it a home. You can possess chairs that were passed down from countless generations, couches that you bought to start anew, or tables that you bought when your baby was first born, no matter what everything in your home tells a story. The decoration makes it your home. Whether the decoration is curtains covering the windows, the signs hanging that signify something to you like “life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.” The decorations of candles, family photos, or specifically placed welcome mat in front of your door make the home unique to you. All of these things combined make a house a home.
What causes a house to be a home is you, the details you add, the people you choose to live with, the aroma from the candle burning in the evening, the furniture, decoration, and all the things inside. No matter how small of a detail, they all add up to make a house a home in yours, and your eyes only because everyone’s home looks different.
