Making Friends

Here’s one thing your Realtor might not mention: Home is a constant. Moving often causes emotional ripples – sometimes waves.

Are you prepared for how furniture will look in a new living room? Some people prefer to duplicate furniture arrangement, space permitting. I’m sure this reassures children and pets but then again, why not experiment with something new? No amount of to-scale diagramming prevents a long sofa from looking squeezed against a shorter wall. Pictures may not catch the same light. Area rugs no longer have the right proportions.

Besides, there’s a freshness about a new arrangement. Take this opportunity to make that ugly lamp disappear forever or create a conversation nook in an unlikely place. If major renovations don’t fit the budget try personalizing your new space with bolder paint colors, interesting but inexpensive window treatments and unusual ceiling fixtures. Select and highlight the room’s best feature – hardwood floors, the mantel, an arched doorway or a lovely view.

The kitchen’s a different story. Hand-brain coordination will be interrupted, often causing irritability until new pathways are established. You’ll reach for a pot where it’s not, pull a drawer that doesn’t exist. Cabinets may be higher and countertops lower. The Disposal could be in a different sink. In my many moves I always try to duplicate the location of dishes and utensils to ease the transition. However retraining footsteps from stove to refrigerator to sink takes months.

After a few days in your new home you will undoubtedly discover details not evident before occupancy. Don’t laugh, but placement of toilet paper rolls tops many lists. You must adjust to light switches, faucets, electric outlets, doors and windows that stick on a damp day, steeper stairs. You will wake up in an unfamiliar bedroom, pull into a strange garage, hear a quieter dishwasher and a louder furnace.

For these reasons and many others, experts advise home-buyers to hold off on some decisions and purchases until they have lived in the house, experienced its space and personality. Maybe you’ll realize that in the new living room two loveseats work better than one sofa. Or an oblong or drop-leaf kitchen table makes more spatial sense than round or square.

Most important – be flexible. Buying a house is an exciting, magical event filled with high hopes and mixed feelings. Settling in takes time. But the results almost always justify the effort.