Newlyweds // 5 Things We Did To Make Our House a Home
Hi everyone! This is Severina, I’m the graphic designer here at AFF. I’m the newest member of the team and also the most recent newlywed in the bunch. I always complain to chat with the girls about the progress of our apartment so we thought it’d be fun if I shared 5 things my husband and I did to make our new place feel like home!
Blake and I didn’t live together before we got married, which is kind of unheard of these days, but its made all this home-making extra exciting.
1. You BOTH live there; make sure it feels that way.
Blake’s main concern was that I was going to make our home “too girly”. He had a right to be nervous…you should have seen my college apartment. We’re talking floor to ceiling pink, gold, and white. As much as I love all thinks blush, above all I just want our home to feel like the perfect mix of our personalities and a place where we feel cozy and content. Plus I get my pink fix here at the AFF office, as I write this blog post from my pink velvet desk chair hehe. Blake and I combined dark wood, sleek metals, leather, and marble, plus softer details like macrame and art prints to create a space that we both love.
2. Make big decisions together, but surprise each other with small additions
Obviously you want to make big decisions (like picking out furniture and appliances) together, but it can be really fun to surprise each other with cute nonessentials. When Blake goes on business trips, I like to do a bunch of little things around the house and then wait for him to notice. Maybe its a new house plant, a new vinyl record in our collection, a cute doormat…anything!
3. Try to out-do each other
I don’t mean in like, a weird competitive way, I mean “try to out-do each other” in an acts of service/sweet gestures/loving spouse way. We incorporate this into everyday life at home with chores and little gestures. If Blake takes out the trash, I do the dishes. If I make the bed, he vacuums. If I make dinner, he wakes up early to make breakfast. Its a great way to #1 never get overwhelmed by all the house keeping you have to do and #2 an easy way to show your spouse that you care and you’re pulling your weight around the house.
4. Have at least one home-making hobby you can do together
When you’re planning a wedding theres so much you can do together — go cake tasting, pick out flowers, meet with the caterer, take dance lessons, etc. Once all of that is over, it’s important to set aside time to do things together. Plus theres always a million things you can do for your home so why not kill two birds with one stone! This can be as simple as planting a garden together, or something more fun like taking a ceramics class and making vases and coffee mugs for your house!
5. Add personal, sentimental touches
The honeymoon phase is definitely not over so the lovey dovey-ness is still at an all-time high. Lately my favorite thing to do is put sentimental or personal things all over the apartment. Like framed wedding photos, a mason jar full of old ticket stubs from our dates, or buying the same flowers I had in my wedding bouquet. When you’re surrounded by sweet reminders, its hard not to feel the love in your new home!
Even if you aren’t newlyweds anymore, or maybe you aren’t even married but living together, these are great ways to make any house feel like a home!