The art of feeling at home; A how-to when you’re somewhere new

HOME; there are few words that emote quite like it. The word conjures such personal, palpable imagery. Home means different things to us all. Thinking of home can be joyful and sorrowful.  

For some, home is a country, a village a house; for some it's their mothers cooking, the sound of native birdsong or a scent in the night air. Home is both tangible and intangible. For me, home is wherever my beloved is (and wherever my pyjamas are); and I am sure that's the same the world over – Home is ultimately love. 

We humans and our ancestors have always adorned our spaces and left our mark on the landscape. We have painted caves, carved sculptures, and nomadic people such as the Bedouin, developed portable villages embellished with rugs. We have the need to see ourselves reflected in the spaces we inhabit, whether they be short term abodes, or forever homes.

Bedouin wool rugs: nomadgallery.net,  Venus of Willendorf: Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna,  Handprints at Cueva De Las Manos.: H_ctor Aviles / EyeEm / Getty Images   

If you are new to a place, whether it be a new apartment, city or country it can be challenging to find permanence in the unfamiliar. Creating a sense of home wherever you are allows you to build capacity and can help fuel your growth. Feeling at home creates the safety needed to build a new life. 

Here are my top interior tips on carving out a home & finding comfort in the unfamiliar 

If you’re in a Short term rental 

There can be a sterility to short term rentals. When we immigrated, we lived in 5 airbnbs  in nearly as many months; Here are some of the ways we made it feel more homelike:

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  Move the furniture around to better suit how you actually live. Take a photo of the original layout first so you can put it back when you leave.

• Display photos of family and friends, framed or unframed. It makes such a difference. If your photos are in storage like ours were, you can get some printed and delivered through Smart Photo, or pick up a mini printer like the Canon Zoemini 2.

• Buy flowers every week. Blooms in the home lift you immediately, and the ritual of it, a weekly trip to a flower market, starts to build its own sense of belonging.

• Accumulate a few small to medium houseplants, keeping your permanent home in mind as you choose them. Just make sure they're easy to move.

• Invest in a home fragrance, whether it reminds you of somewhere you love or signals the chapter you're stepping into. B corp certified Comfort Zone make some beautiful ones.

• Put your favourite items of clothing on show. I used to hang my favourite dresses somewhere visible. If there's rental artwork you're not mad about, there's no rule that says it has to stay on the wall.

If you’re in a long-term furnished rental 

The benefits of a long-term rental is the permanence built-in, you know you’re going to be there for months or years; but the same issues of sterility and impersonal interiors persist. All the above tips apply to long-term rentals, but you can add more pizazz depending on the length of your tenancy agreement.

• Removable wallpaper is a quick, low-stakes way to transform a room without touching the walls. It's often reusable too, so it can come with you to your next place. Peel and Paper have some gorgeous options.

• Swap out the existing artwork for your own. If there are no hooks, 3M Command strips do a brilliant job. Worth noting they can mark darker walls and aren't ideal on wallpaper.

• Layer in rugs and cushions that you love and can take with you when you go. Just like the Bedouin.

It's worth checking in with your landlord before adding any peel and stick items, just to be safe.

Brick red checkerboard pattern wool rug from & Burgundy velvet round cushion  from The Socialite Family. Piper Removeable wallpaper in ‘‘Fire’’ from Peel & Paper.

If you’ve moved into an empty home

Empty homes are daunting – I mean, where to start when you need everything! This is a problem I have faced innumerable times (ok four times in truth, but it feels innumerable).

• Get a dining table as soon as you can. Aside from a mattress and bedding, it's the piece of furniture I'd prioritise above everything else. It's where you eat, work, make big decisions, host people, and occasionally watch something on your laptop. Because finding the right dining table takes time, I'd suggest starting with a garden set. When the perfect one eventually turns up, the old one can move outside.

• Make your bedroom feel good before you focus on anything else. It doesn't need to be designed, it just needs to feel restful. Good bedding, soft lighting, and a few flowers will take you most of the way there. Marshmallow make beautiful bed linen, and IKEA's Fado lamp is only €15 and creates the most lovely evening ambiance.

• Unpack your suitcase. I know that sounds obvious, but in an empty space it's genuinely hard. A wardrobe helps enormously, and if your budget allows, IKEA's Pax system is the one I always come back to. It's modular, so you can build it in stages as you go. There are also some beautiful second-hand options out there if you look: Facebook Marketplace, pre-owned IKEA, eBay, OLX, Pamono and local second-hand shops are my regular haunts. And in the meantime, a clothes rail and some good hangers will absolutely do the job.

• Focus on getting your bedroom comfortable. It doesn't need to be designed, it just needs to feel good to wake up in and good to go to sleep in. Quality bedding, lighting and some flowers goes such a long way. Marshmallow have gorgeous bed linen and IKEA'S fado lamp is affordable at 15 euros and creates a lovely sleepy ambiance
  

If you’re overwhelmed by the interior design task ahead

Designing a home is a lot at the best of times, and it's even more so when you've just moved somewhere new. Sometimes you have to ask: WWDD? (What would Dorothy do?) She'd call on a new friend for help, and that's where I come in.

I'm Jennifer Day, the founder of Nuvem Interior Design, a design practice based in Northern Portugal. Our goal is to make interior design more accessible and a lot less intimidating. We're not a traditional practice. We've built a range of design packages to suit different needs and budgets, starting from €75, and because we work digitally, it doesn't matter where you're based. We can help.

At Nuvem, we believe that good design starts with listening. Relationship-based design is the only way to create spaces that truly feel like yours, and that's the approach we bring to everything we do. We're a small but mighty team, and we genuinely love what we do.

If you'd like a free consultation or just have some questions, drop us a line at interiors@dreamnuvem.com, or take a look at our design packages below.