7 things that make our house feel like home

Nothing particularly fancy, one objectively ugly, all of them necessary (to me).

For better or worse, I spend a lot of time thinking about our house. We’ve renovated most corners of it in stages over the past seven years, but I can’t shut off the part of my brain that’s always noticing things that could be prettier or more functional or (ideally) both. But when I think about the things that actually make this house feel like home, they’re really not the major design decisions at all — they’re the pieces we use and love every day, things I’d miss immediately if they disappeared.

1. Our well-loved Ikea sectional

I’ve learned the hard way that expensive upholstery (and rugs for that matter) can be an expensive mistake in this chapter of our lives. When it was time to replace the lumpy, faded sectional Will and I had had for over a decade, I went with this style from Ikea. I chose the white so we don’t have to worry about fading, and I bought an extra set of slipcovers in case of serious spills, but we keep it protected with these Amazon stretch cushion covers that act like a fitted sheet for upholstery. Beautiful? Not really. But comfortable, kid-proof, and the best seat in the house for movie nights, sick days, and lots of boys jumping on it at all times? 100%.

2. Throw blankets in every room

I would be under a throw blanket 24/7 if I could, and our kids know that Mommy loves to get cozy. We have a basket of throw blankets in our family room right across from the sectional, but also in our playroom where we have another sofa/TV set-up. Pottery Barn tragically discontinued our family’s forever favorite so I’m on the hunt for a worthy replacement if anyone has a tried-and-true rec!

3. My beloved box fan

I care deeply about the aesthetics of our home, with one notable exception: you can pry the box fan in our bedroom from my cold dead hands. Truly nothing in our house works harder than this poor fan running all night and I swear it makes sleep at home superior to any five-star hotel. A little white noise, a little breeze, and almost certainly a sound our children will associate with their childhood home.

4. Children’s books everywhere

When our boys were babies and toddlers, I kept their books neatly organized on the bookshelves in their bedrooms and two small shelves in our playroom. Now that our 5- and 6-year-olds are reading on their own, there are children’s books in nearly every room of the house, and it’s one kind of “mess” I can totally get down with. I know there will come a day when our house isn’t brimming with picture books and bookmarked chapter books, so for now I’m happy to find them anywhere and everywhere.

5. A few pieces of furniture from my childhood home

Some of my favorite pieces in our house are ones I remember from my own childhood home: the chaise and wicker side table in our family room, the desk in my garden house, the bookshelf in Teddy and Peter’s room. There’s something very comforting about watching our children grow up alongside furniture that was part of the backdrop of my childhood too, like little physical threads connecting one version of home to the next.

6. Needlepoint projects

I have a couple of my framed needlepoint canvases hanging in our hall bathroom, a large lucite tray, and then the boys’ needlepoint stockings that come out for the holidays. Needlepoint is so inextricably linked to my Grandy teaching me the summer before our wedding, and I love having pieces I’ve stitched by hand scattered throughout our home. They’re imperfect and personal and make our house feel uniquely ours.

7. Candles in scents I’ve loved for years

I could probably narrow down my entire candle collection to these four scents and be perfectly happy for the rest of my life. (And I just restocked on the first three while they’re 20% off…!) Diptyque Baies, which I discovered with girlfriends in my early 20s living in New York and love just as much ~15 years later. Jo Malone Orange Blossom, which has long been my mom’s signature scent and will forever smell like home to me. Nest Bamboo which is just the perfect all-year scent and well-priced enough to buy in multiples. And Hotel Lobby Candle Holiday which I bring out like clockwork on November 1 and have given so many times as gifts because there is truly nothing more deliciously holiday than their perfect pine scent. Scent is so closely tied to memory for me that lighting any one of these instantly makes me feel a little more at home.