Our Temporary Home: Part 1- Tips

Introducing a new series: Our Temporary Home! I will be sharing tips on how to make your home feel more home-y and some cheap and easy ways to decorate your space, no matter how temporary.

They say that home is where the heart is, but one of the biggest realities of military life is that you will have to move at least a few times in your career, which can be hard on your heart. The biggest source of melancholy for me once we moved out here was not feeling at home in our new house, let alone our new state. Once I got out of the mindset that the house was only temporary, and started making our house into a home, though, our new state didn't scare me as much. Maybe this is because I knew I had a place I could go back to that felt safe and cozy.

Throughout this series, I will be sharing some tips that I have learned along the way to help make your space feel like home, no matter where it is. This article will be useful to just about anyone who has that "this is only temporary" syndrome, military and civilian alike. 

Color Stories

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My biggest tip for decorating your home, making it feel home-y, and being able to easily translate from one house to the next, is color stories. Keeping a similar color story in certain areas of your home means that everything will work in your next home, no matter how much you have to rearrange it to fit the new floor plan.

Curtains and Decor

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Since painting isn't really a viable option in most temporary residences, this is the best way to bring color and personality into your home. A home doesn't feel complete and lived in until you put up curtains and wall art, in my opinion. Nothing says "temporary" like construction grade blinds and bare walls. For the last couple of homes, putting these things up was the last thing I did because it's such a giant pain. Once they were up, though, I breathed a huge sigh of contentment that the place finally felt lived in.

Putting these "finishing touches" up as soon as possible will help your home feel lived in sooner, and you'll be able to enjoy them longer.

Cheap or Free

One thing I have done in my last few homes is save wine bottles and use them in my decor. I mostly use them in my kitchen area, because my kitchen is somewhat wine-themed, but they have made appearances in the living room as well. This is a free option (well, other than the cost of the wine that you were going to drink anyway) and you can just get rid of them before moving to your next home, eliminating extra packing and extra weight.

There are also some great DIYs on Pinterest using wine bottles.

my kitchen

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I also have quite a few things on the walls and around the house that either E or I made (more on that in a future post!).

our bedroom dresser

Flexible Furniture

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Another key component is having furniture that is flexible. A couch and a loveseat is a lot easier to arrange from space to space than a sectional. Instead of an entertainment center, get a small TV stand and a couple of bookcases in the same finish. If nothing is oversized, oddly shaped, or only works one way, it's easier to fit everything into your next floor plan. This also helps reduce weight and the physical difficulty of moving your furniture!

Also, don't buy furniture that might only work in the home you're currently in.

Love Everything

This is a bit of a no-brainer, but I can't stress it enough -- make sure you love everything you bring into your home. Don't feel the need to bring in stuff you don't really like, just for the sake of filling a specific space. If you love everything in your home then it will be easier to move it from location to location. In all likelihood you'll have less junk, and it will also help make your space feel more like yours because you surround yourself with things that bring you comfort.


 So there you have it! Everything I've learned so far about being able to easily move from location to location and still feel at home. Next time, I will share 3 DIY canvas projects that I have completed for our space and will be able to move with us from house to house!