Two years and £5,000 to make a house a home

Turning a new house into a home takes nearly two years – and £5,000 worth of improvements, new research has revealed. A study found it takes more than a few cushions to make a house feel homely, with the process typically taking around 17 months and 12 days.

Knowing the neighbours by their first names, fitting new carpets and bathroom suite and hosting a barbecue are also boxes which must be ticked.

Hosting family twice and hanging at least six pictures on the walls are also essential, it emerged.

Craig Dodsworth, a spokesman for Planitherm glass which commissioned the research, said:

“There are many aspects that go into creating a real home and we all have a seemingly never-ending to do list for things we hope to improve.

“But it seems as well as improving the environments we live in we have to experience certain moments or aspects of life under a roof in order to call it a home.

“We’re very territorial and it’s no surprise to see that we like to feel a place is really ours by quickly getting rid of the previous owner’s influence on the property.”

The results emerged from a study carried out among 2,000 home owners.

It found the average Brit will spend £5,044 personalising their space, with the first target being the living room, followed by the main bedroom and kitchen.

It also emerged 40% of homeowners don’t properly feel their house is their home until they have stopped receiving the previous owner’s mail.

One in five said a house wasn’t officially a home until they’re on first name terms with the neighbours.

Laying new carpets, doing up the bathroom and ripping out the kitchen were named as key areas to focus on in the house, while fitting new windows were also high up on the to-do list.

Nearly half of the survey insisted for a house to really feel a home, all signs and traces of the previous owners need to be removed.

It takes decorating at least four rooms for the average Brit to feel the place where they live is really theirs, while 40% insist they have to tackle every room in the house to be content.

The typical property owner had lived in their current property for over seven years, but one in four still didn’t consider it a ‘home’.

And some people aren’t in much of a hurry – 28% are still yet to fully unpack.

In fact, it takes the average homeowner six months and 15 days to unpack completely when moving to a new property.

Craig Dodsworth added:

”The results show just how important it is to feel warm and comfortable in the place we call home but it takes almost a year and a half for the average person to properly achieve that.

”It seems that making renovations to a house has a big part to play in making it feel more like a home.”

TOP 10 HOME TO DO LIST
1. Paint each room
2. Lay new carpets in each room
3. Do up the bathroom
4. Rip out the kitchen
5. Fit new double glazing
6. Add new front door (or paint existing one)
7. Re-landscape the garden
8. Lay a new driveway
9. Add a conservatory
10. Extend/add another room

TOP 10 THINGS WHICH MAKE A HOUSE FEEL A HOME
1. Making it warm
2. Enjoying a first Christmas
3. Filling all rooms with furniture
4. Cleaned top to bottom
5. Experiencing all four seasons in the house
6. Planting your own things in the garden
7. Fitting your own toilet seat
8. Stripping the walls
9. Having a birthday
10. Being on first name terms with the neighbours

Source : 72Point Digital Hub
http://digitalhub.72point.com/2012/10/house-to-home/