I have been thinking a lot about home lately.  I have written a couple posts previously about what home is to me and you can read one of those here.  But the way I am thinking about home these days is a bit different.  It is more about the physical home and how Chris and I make a place our own.

If you have followed my blog for awhile you know that I have lived in a few different places over the years and this past summer we found ourselves in the semi-odd position of not having to live in any particular place for Chris’s job.  He travels and can do a lot of work remotely so the powers that be said we could live anywhere.

That was a bit odd and set us to thinking about where we really wanted to live.  We always wanted to end up back in North Carolina, Chris always wanted to live in the mountains and we love being able to “see” water so we ended up in our little piece of heaven in Connestee Falls.

The second week we were here we attended a Welcome Newcomers Breakfast and met two lovely couples.  Now sometimes when you meet people you meet them and go away saying “Well, they were nice but I don’t think we will be fast friends.”  Other times you meet for the first time and you leave saying “I really like them!”.  That was the case with these couples and I am so grateful.

But what does that have to do with home?  Well –just that everyone has a different home that suits them.  I have been in both of my new friend’s homes now and I have to say I absolutely love them both.  One friend (shout out to Marci) has a beautiful home with stunning artwork and original paintings displayed so beautifully it is almost like being in an art gallery.  Her home is very relaxing to be in and at a recent party at her home I was struck by how simply being able to view wonderful artwork created by her father and her talented husband made me feel so wonderful.  I am no expert in art but I do know that I loved what I saw.  Add to that with knowing that Marci herself is an artist in her own right who does botanicals and I can’t wait to see some of her pieces displayed.

Then there is Lali who is a wonderful mixture of so many things all wrapped up into one tiny little package.  Lali treated us to lunch at her home and while each of us is doing some kind of renovation to our “new” homes I loved the feel of Lali’s mountain home.  She and her husband have lived oversees in some pretty wonderful places and so each room displayed a part of their travels to Zimbabwe, Vietnam, India and more.  Once again it was like being in a museum with wonderful wood carvings and artwork that originated from some pretty amazing places.   Lali also has a lot of family pictures displayed in their loft and to me that was what said home.  Sitting in recliners, watching tv and seeing the pictures of loved ones would definitely make me smile.

When I come to “our home” I see us.  It is a comfortable place for us to be.  The decks on the front and back are what I have always dreamed of having.  The antiques that we have inherited fit in and even though we have less space here and things are a little more crowded than I would like them to be I feel like it is a good representation of us.  It is a home that you can come into, kick off your shoes, settle in on the couch and have a nice chat.  It fits us like a warm sweater on a chilly, rainy fall day.

So tell me – what does your home say about you?  Does it reflect who you are and is it a comfortable place?  Don’t forget to Comment for a Cause. 

By the way, I finally got my beautiful red door at this house!