What makes your house a home?

The mess

I don't have much 'stuff' that I'm emotionally attached to. My books could all be replaced, ditto my music. I have a large collection of old and out-of-print books and Depeche Mode rarities, but I don't require their physical presence to feel 'at home'. If everything I owned went up in flames tomorrow, there's not much I'd mourn the loss of.

Sentimental things like old family photos are scanned, copied, backed up on other hard drives and/or online, so easily recoverable. I have an oddly shaped piece of driftwood that looks like the Yellow Submarine. I'd miss that. But not a lot.

Edit: Lounging around in my old fleece dressing gown makes me feel at home. But a new one would be just as good. Better, even.

Martenkay wrote (see)

I suspect SuperCaz has deliberately excluded spouse, family and friends from her question to focus on what helps you to feel good about your private space.

Photos of the excluded subjects if they make me feel happy and I remember good times. Good bed - i like to wake up fresh. Shower - I like to be fresh. Books. Those would be the minimum to help keep me mentally and physically comfortable. I could not have a radio or music constantly in the background.

All the best SuperCaz.

I've been spending a lot of time in hotel rooms, and have been trying to take things with me to make the room feel a bit more welcoming and less impersonal, while also packing as little as possible.  It has focused my mind on which of my posessions I need around me, which I miss but don't need, and all the junk that I could do without.

In that case, I think I'd take a scented tealight candle. Tiny but the smell would remind me of home straight away. Though I imagine most hotels wouldn't allow candles in the rooms...

My smelly teas tend to do a similar job

If you want an extra copy of Ulysses let me know and I'll fish it out of the dustbin.

After my husband and dogs - my books and the photos on the wall - our  walls have studio portraits of all our former shepherd dogs, Sabre, Shawnee, Shani, Snowy and Oz.  Also have my parents wedding pic and some race photos, plus two pictures done by artist friends, an oil painting of Oz and Shani, and a crayon pic of Sabre.

Colin McLaughlin wrote (see)

If you want an extra copy of Ulysses let me know and I'll fish it out of the dustbin.

No thanks, but if you have a copy of Finnegans Wake I'll take that off your hands.