Prayer Day: The Good and The Bad

Good: National Prayer Day for those who want it.  Bad: Government Prayer Day, because  the government is too busy already.

Buying a house is not necessarily buying a home

In the excitement of saying yes to an ideal house purchase, one can easily forget the features essential to a HOME.  The apparent perfect house for sale is likely a well staged house.  For example, staging can mean bringing in small furniture to make the house look bigger.  But does that make the house more of a home?

The point is that both house quality and home quality, or 'hominess', are important.  The hominess has serious consequences for  the owners life.  Bad hominess can affect the occupant's whole life including work performance and it can even contribute to family strife and a divorce.

A house that is not homey is more likely to soon be back on the market,  Have you noticed that people in houses on a street corner often don't live there very long, even though their house  can cost as much as one on a side street?  In general, street corners seem less homey.

Have you noticed that some houses are 'unappealing' even if expensive and having a nice appearance?  For example, an appealing and pleasant home will have a variety of local environments within the house.  A pleasant house will have have warm spots, cold spots, bright spots and dark refuges. And a house does not have to be big for such variety. 

Good ventilation is also too often lacking. The buyer may not be able to tell, because an unoccupied house that is for sale will almost certainly have bad smells.  The house for sale is frequently sprayed with perfume by the realtor who tries to cover up the smell when showing the house.

Views out the windows of the house are nice especially when buying, but if you live there a while, you hardly be aware of the views except when visitors comment.  Have you noticed that (in the northern hemisphere, and especially in the cooler climates), a southern exposure to the sun is very nice.  If the sun is too hot, it can always be tempered by trees and window shades.  The right balance also helps minimize heating and cooling costs.

The north is a good place for a garage because it helps to protect the house from cold in climates that are sometimes cold.  Too many houses have a garage that obscures the sunny south.  I have a theory that the garage is added on the south because then the builder can enjoy the southern exposure while doing the construction.  I am not suggesting a conscious deliberate choice, but rather everyone including the builder tends to work and obscure the southern view because it is a pleasant place to build.

The bottom line is that the price of a house is a poor indicator of hominess.  Hominess is a different dimension for evaluating a house and one that is generally not reflected in the price of the house.  Everyone wants a nice house -- well most people -- but don't forget to find a homey place.