Properties have a strong emotive quality that can attract different kinds of people. What might be dated to one person could be an antique to another. So are there any objective qualities a property could have to help people transform them from a house into a home?
According to a 2017 study, an astounding 83% of homeowners feel an emotional connection to their home. In this article, we're exploring why environments can have such a big impact on your mental well-being, and what can help turn a house into a home.
Your home is your safe space - Private, and away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. It's a familiar environment that you can fix out with what's most important to you.
From a scientific perspective, the need for shelter is an essential human need. A place to protect you from the adversities of the outside world, keeping you warm and dry. However, a deeper psychological desire humans have is the need to feel safe and protected and to foster a sense of belonging. That's exactly what a home provides.
Psychological studies have suggested a correlation between a higher quality of life and having a permanent residence you are attached to. In your own home, you can nurture that sense of belonging by tailoring your space to your wants and needs. That means picking out the kinds of furniture you like most, using a colour pallette that makes you feel happy, and filling your home with your prized possessions.
Being able to decorate your new space as you please can help make settling into your new property so much easier, and it's especially easy when the house you intend to turn into your home is already a blank canvas.
New build properties provide just that. Not only are they made for the demands of modern life, but they provide flexible uses of space. What could be a spare bedroom can be transformed into a hobby space or even an office with relative ease.
While turning a house into your home is important, for many the wider community has great significance. A true sense of belonging expands beyond the confines of your property. A real sense of community can make you and your home feel a part of something larger than just yourself.
Location and community are big drivers for a lot of home buyers, with 3 in 4 buyers considering a sense of community a key factor in their home search.
A good neighbourhood extends beyond just being a safe place to live. It's a community that positively contributes to your mental well-being, providing you with a strong sense of belonging. It also comes with creature comforts from practical features. For example, that could be a local restaurant as 64% of people deemed them important in building a sense of community.
Green spaces are another way a sense of local community can be fostered, with 54% of home buyers looking to be within a 20-minute walk of a green space. This backs up recent research that suggests green spaces have tangible effects on both physical and mental well-being. Developers are increasingly reaping the benefits of creating new build developments in or close to green spaces.
One of the most significant factors people value in their home isn't something physical at all. It's the memories they've made there. This is deeply embedded in the human psyche - The desire to make connections with one another and with the spaces we inhabit. It's the fact that memories are not physical that ties us so strongly to familiar spaces like the home.
43% of homeowners claim they experience a sense of loss and grief when moving home. Saying goodbye to a physical space that has strong memories attached to it can be difficult, as it could weaken your connection to those special memories.
Yet it is that strong connection to our own space that makes creating new special memories so achievable. When the aforementioned factors, such as a strong sense of community and personalising your space, are met, creating new memories is all the easier.
While the connections and memories you've already made are sacred, when your new home better meets your needs you are gaining so much more than you are losing in the moving process.
It's hard to put into words the significance of the emotional connection people feel with their homes, but it's likely you already know what it feels like to have an emotional bond with an environment.
While budget and commitments will likely have a big impact on the house you decide to turn into your next home, you cannot downplay the significance of the emotional response a space evokes within you.
Seeking out a property that speaks to you in that manner is the right step to take toward finding your forever home. Remember that community, personalisation, and the potential for creating truly special memories are so important in a home.
With plenty to choose from, start your search for a new build property.
Source: LSL Land & New Homes
The Reeds Rains Content Marketing Team
