MAKING HOME
“If I fill our house with flowers, music, & sweet loving scents maybe the silhouette of home will always be warmth.”
-Tess Guinery
Make it stand out
Recently, we have been reflecting on the importance of making home. Asking ourselves and each other why we continually work to improve our levels of visual comfort. We concluded that it is a natural yearning to seek solace within our surroundings. Both humans and animals have an innate desire to nest. Gathering what resources they have, seeking shelter from the elements, and then tirelessly and slowly weaving together bits and pieces until a suitable home is constructed for themselves and their families. Creating a welcoming home is an overlooked love language; a love letter to ourselves, our families, and our guests.
The upending that comes with a move across the country, or just across town, is something to which everyone can deeply relate. The process of sorting through belongings, editing what will work in the new space, and then acquiring pieces to fill in the gaps. It is in transitional times that we are able to assess what pieces hold value. Certain objects retain functional and sentimental value across time and locations. With each move comes the longing to feel settled and surrounded by the most important parts of our tangible selves.
I remember calling my godmother while walking around Audubon Park in New Orleans, having just moved there for graduate school after several years on the East Coast. She asked if I was getting settled in, and I distinctly remember telling her, “It smells like home.” The mix of mid-summer hot air and the scent of the moss laden live oaks immediately brought me back to my coastal Alabama childhood. That was all it took to be transported home- not a sight, a thing, or a person…but a smell.
Both Kate and I have made East Tennessee our homes. Neither of us grew up in this part of the country, but it is here that our families are putting down roots. It is home to our children. It is the place they will one day take the best parts and work to recreate those elements in their own homes. Will they need a space for a garden, a reading nook, or an art studio? Will they work to find spots for hand-me-down furniture that holds sentimental value? Will they reach for a familiar playlist of songs? I’m curious what moments or settings they will recreate to bring themselves comfort in a new place.
What is it that you associate with home? Is it the memory of making a cherished recipe with a loved one, is it time spent at the dinner table, the smell of fresh cut grass, your childhood sheets, or your mom’s breakfast casserole? Mixing new traditions with cherished memories is our goal. When we feel comfortable in our homes, it feels natural to let others in to the most personal of places. Similarly, when our homes are reflections of our souls, we feel comfortable letting others see who we truly are.
