How to make a house a home: Why art was just the thing we needed

I moved to a new house, and a new town, three years ago.

It’s a move that my husband, two children and I call the best thing we ever did. We immediately loved our new community, we’ve formed some strong friendships, and feel right at home in our town in north-east Victoria.

Our new house was great too. It had been renovated by the previous owners, saving us a lot of work: we walked into a house with an updated kitchen and bathrooms, a beautiful swimming pool, and an open plan that wasn’t part of the original layout, but suits the house and our lifestyle to perfection.

There was just one problem: I was having trouble feeling at home in the house itself.

Before moving, my husband and I had lived in our previous home – our first home – for 15 years. We had moved into a very 1980s house, filled with mission brown paint, beige carpet and, of all things, a pink kitchen.

By the time we moved out, that home was fresh and beautiful. We’d painted it in whites and neutrals, extended and changed the floor plan, and got rid of every last bit of mission brown (a personal challenge we’d set ourselves).

It was ours and, although we left happily to start a new life in a country town, there was still a part of me that missed that first home we’d created.

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A home is much more than a roof and four walls. Photo: Stocksy

Making our new house feel like home

When I started checking out the work of local artists, it was simply because I’d noticed the extent of talent in our new region. It, and they, intrigued me.

I started going to art exhibitions, following artists on Instagram, and saving up for a purchase that was looking more and more inevitable.

Eventually, we took the leap and commissioned a painting from a local artist, which would fill a big, blank, white wall space in our dining room.

While I thought I was just buying a lovely, colourful canvas, I got more than I bargained for. I was on my way to creating a home out of this shell of a house.

Not only did it fill the big white wall, but it actually filled a big, blank space in how happy I felt in our new house. The abstract landscape scene, with its splashes of yellow and green and pink, gave the house life.

My next addition was a beautiful painting of a nest – all purples and greys – to sit above our bed. It’s the epitome of comfort and homeliness.

Getting to know your local artists pays off. Photo: Stocksy

My house now feels more finished, more loved.

I’d never given much thought to artwork before, but these pieces are like rectangles of magic. I feel calmer in the presence of such creativity and atmosphere; a little piece of someone’s talent, hope and thought taking up residence in my own space.

And, even though I work at home alone most days, it feels like I have constant company in the depths of those brush strokes.

A house without artwork is, it seems, like a garden without flowers: it’s OK, but it needs something more to give it life.

I admit, I still don’t know the first thing about art, but I know what I feel when I look at something, and whether I want that hanging in my home.

Yes, my home.