Design Tips: What makes a house a home?

Design Corner: This is where Fashionista meets Remodelista meets Practicalista. In a perfect world, (wearing vintage Balenciaga and fabulously dreamy Marc Jacobs) would be writing this from the Tuscan shore amid my quaint but tres chic villa a la insert fabulous designer.

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Welcome Home.

What makes a house a home?

A home is not something that you can buy…to me a home is not even something tangible.  Rather an idea.  Home is a comforting place, like a favorite chair by the window and crisp clean sheets nestled beneath a voluminous feather down comforter.  A house however grand or magnificent is still just a house until…it becomes home.

When and how does this magical transition take place.  (If there was a home fairy, I feel sure that my Tuscan Villa would be more than just a happy place in my head.)  House…to home, how do we get there and why??

Is it home when you find just the right shade of white, perfect for trim (No easy feat in itself. Which needless to say found only after, of course, countless hours poring over color books, paint swatches in every shade known to man…and then some, many tried and true back issues of Pottery Barn, and well just maybe being on first name basis with everyone that works at Benjamin Moore, Lowe’s…Home Depot…Sherwin Williams).

Is it the sweeping double plantation style porches.  The kind of porches that were just made for bare feet, lemonade, joggling boards, and rocking chairs (and leisurely afternoons with a glass of wine and secrets shared between friends).

Maybe it is the custom kitchen with a butcher block island, granite counter tops, and top of the line stainless steel (fingerprint accents free of charge)…ahh yes the kitchen of peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti suppers, birthday cakes, and french toast Sundays.

Perhaps it is the cozy warmth from a wood burning fireplace.

Maybe it is home when the afternoon sunlight dances across love worn hardwoods, highlighting memories not flaws.  Each scratch, every nick brings back the laughter of standing in Mommy’s high heels, draped in her pearls, playful puppies resistant to anything but trouble, and oh the throes I mean joys of moving day. Collapsing only when the last piece of furniture crosses the threshold, carefree in a mixture of exhaustion, relief, wonder, and pride.

Home.  Oddly enough this four letter word proves daily to be one of the most comforting and soothing words in the English language.  A close second only to maybe mommy, merlot, and super snuggly Michael Stars T-shirts.

Is it a home because of the way we decorate or showcase our personal style?  Is it a home because that is where we lay our head and it has windows in all the right places…

Despite it all, I think it is home when the stubborn fingerprint smudge, futile attempts with Clorox no more, rather brings a smile to our lips.  Home is when each creak and suttle imperfection becomes part of the character, the essence.  Defining more than fabulous renovations or perfect floor plans…home should be the fabric of our lives not just our sofas and window treatments.  Let it be a reflection of you in your purest form.  Home is where luxury meets leisure meets functionality.

When did your house become home?  Did it “sing” to you the moment you pulled in the driveway. Was it a clever kitchen and bath update (tips please!) or was it your first dinner party when you almost burned the piece de resistance?  Maybe the day your children decided the playroom just wasn’t right without a full scale mural that would make Crayola proud (thank you Magic Eraser).

Daydreams of a pristine Pottery Barn and Charleston Home mag aside, I wouldn’t trade a single sheet rock patch, scuffed baseboard, or stubborn stain (fellow bulldog lovers you know what I mean) for all the Villas in Tuscany.  Simply because it is my home.

Enough said-at the end of the day, home is and will always be where my heart is.

• How does your home reflect you?

• What cherished memories do you see in the ”flaws”?

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