Being On-Trend: Is that what Makes a House Feel More Like a Home
You either have it, or you don’t. Design fever. You check boards to see what people are posting to see what you can cull from their imagination or see what the newest buzz is all about. What paint color is in this year, what are you supposed to put in your living room to make it feel more like the “right kind of space?” Over the past few years, the increased amount of immediate inspiration boards which allow for design input from outlets such as pinterest and houzz.com have been driving factors in the design craze that so many people have. The fact of the matter is, what makes your house feel more like a home is 100% up to you, not what someone else said.
I tell my clients over and over again, you will know within seconds that the house we walk into is the one for you. I can see it on their faces; their eyes usually sort of crinkle at the corners, as their mouths go into auto-smile. Often, they don’t even know they are doing it. Getting happy. Finding home. Design 
fever comes next, after the happy has been found. We haven’t even written the offer yet, and smilie-face is getting serious and calling for the big guns; yes, my tape measure, which is always in my Mary Poppins like handbag.
Negotiations will happen, the house will get settled on, and the moving in will happen, ultimately, the stylizing and personalization of the home will come into play. I will always tell my clients to start a bit of homework to get into the mindset of what they want their ideal home to look like, even before they have settled into their happy little nest. Pull ideas from their favorite inspiration, Houzz.com is an awesome place to do this, because their are over one-hundred thousand images to look at and decide what pulls at “you.” I also love going to model homes of the trendy new construction sites (which is where I took these photos- the cover photo was at an EYA Old Town Commons model unit) because they use super-creative and talented designers to put their spaces together. These images are from the Henry in Alexandria’s model unit, and it looks amazing!
Once you get into your home, it isn’t like you can just walk in and crank out a mirror image of a page- well, unless you go full-scale-crazy on a Pottery Barn catalog. And -hey- there is nothing wrong with that, but remember, your personality will shine through in your home when you truly allow it to. It is the little things, keepsakes and items you have acquired over time that make your design your very own, and above all, that your house makes you have that crinkle in your eye and you go into auto-smile because you are… sigh… home at last.
