making our new house a home

**ma_ebbets0718** · 10-18-2005, 06:59 PM

Hi,

I hope the wonderfully creative and thrifty women of this board can lend me some ideas! After about a decade of living in a very crowded city, my family has finally moved to our dream home in the country! Well, relatively. It is so amazing to not have to listen to car horns honking or explain to your kids why you shouldn’t really give money to the people on the street who ask you for it. We’ve got so much work to do on the house, still. Besides unpacking and organizing the house, there are little things too, such as the phone service behaving erratically in this part of the state as I’ve heard from some of the neighbors. Also, there are problems with wild animals that I’ve honestly never encountered before. I was hoping for any home remedies for any of the issues involved with trying to make a new home more homelike.

Thank you,
Marlena

**ironmaiden** · 10-18-2005, 08:16 PM

What types of ideas are you looking for???

**canadian gardener** · 10-19-2005, 01:06 AM

well first off, welcome Marlena, and congratulations on your new home.

If it's bears, then a barking dog will help, but skunks and racoons are another story. If it's bats in the attic or squirrels, that might involve a local person experienced in removal followed by some metal mesh to keep them out of the tiniest cracks. Not sure what you are facing in the wild animal dept.

As for general homeyness, if you like country style decor, hanging a quilt or two adds a lot of colour and warmth.

I'm not big on ultra modern but I like clean lines and bare open counters and I add a touch of warmth by putting up some country style vinyl wallpaper in my kitchen to have the warmth of a bit of "visual clutter" without the cleaning requirements. Dirt just flakes off, grease wipes off in one swipe, but it looks homey.

**emmycita** · 10-19-2005, 05:03 PM

I am also a city-turned country mouse, but I’ve been that way for going on two years. I prefer my horses and stars and quiet over anything right now.

As far as the phone service goes, it might be cheaper and more reliable for you to use another plan. As far as economical prices go, Onesuite.com is great but I’m certain there are millions of options.

For the wild animals, the most sensible thing is emptying your trash into a sealed shed. If you’re concerned about your children playing outside with the threat of wild animals, I hope they’ve learned to respect their neighbors’ property and take it to heart when creatures like bears and wildcats are the neighbors. If you have some kind of partition to separate where your yard ends and the “unsafe” area begin, eventually your kids will know where it is safe to play.

**PrairieRose** · 10-20-2005, 11:14 AM

Glad to see you posting! The cheapest and most dramatic change you can make to your home is done with paint. You might check out some decorating sites and decide what your style is if you don't already know. Also I love garage sales and auctions and junk stores for my accent pieces. I just can't walk into a furniture store and pay $300 for a side table when I can get a nice, antique one at a garage sale for $10.

**canadian gardener** · 10-20-2005, 04:43 PM

sung to the sound of musics "some of my favourite things" LOL

little joke, but here are some sites I like for inspiration:

http://ww2.potterybarn.com/index.cfm if you go to their rooms, they have very inspiring photos, which I look at and pick apart for fresh ideas.

http://www.benjaminmoore.ca/home.aspx?userLanguage=en is the Canadian site, and the paints do differ, but you can use the decor rooms on both sites and "repaint" till you find something you like, which is tons of fun and because the USA and Canada are different I include both. http://www.benjaminmoore.com

this is a favourite canadian TV show, with all kinds of stuff, but on Thursdays they do house and home stuff, and it's gorgeous. The site has video clips, and instructions and projects to do a lot of cheap easy very nice looking things (interspersed with wildly spendy and expensive stuff for inspiration). I love the show and the site. http://www.cityline.ca/

for example here is a faux tile backsplash http://www.cityline.ca/homeandgarden...D=73&topicID=6

and here is one on neutralizing strong colours of carpets http://www.cityline.ca/homeandgarden...ID=1&topicID=6

and fixtures that might be in 70's avocado or worse. http://www.cityline.ca/homeandgarden...ID=5&topicID=6

**canadian gardener** · 10-20-2005, 04:51 PM

tile fun

http://www.cityline.ca/homeandgarden...ID=5&topicID=6

http://www.cityline.ca/homeandgarden...D=73&topicID=6

http://www.cityline.ca/homeandgarden...D=73&topicID=6

cabinets in the kitchen

http://www.cityline.ca/homeandgarden...ID=1&topicID=6

**Jellybeanz** · 10-20-2005, 05:32 PM

Congrats on moving to your dream home Marlena.

The ladies already mentioned some of my favorite things to make a house feel homey - curtains definately give that feeling, as well as family pictures . I like plants too. Even if you dont' have a green thumb, there are always a few kind that are easy to grow. I don't know what it is, but some nice green plants always help fill a room in.Oh candles too! lol

Oh ya, I tell you what I've always thought looked really cool - that is herbs growing inside a window sill :-) I wish I had a window sill to grow some in my kitchen ! lol I have old windows that don't have the big wide window sills like I see now. Just a thought if you don't already do that.

Accents are always good too. Throw pillows, maybe an afghan thrown over a sofa or chair......... just pick things that reflect who you are and what you like. I'm sure it will all come together in time just the way you want it.