"How does a House Call to YOU?"

I read recently that the choice of your house is psychologically tied to self-definition.  I had never really thought about it in quite those terms. My experience, though, has taught me that the process of choosing a house, and making it your home, is very much about basic needs, on a subconscious level, and finding a house that speaks to you, on a conscious level.How does a house speak to you?  In so, so many ways.  A friend once told me she bought a house because she loved the railing in the front hall which was exactly like the home she had grown up in.  It could be the butler's pantry that recalls for you the one in your favorite aunt's house. It could be the way the light, filtered through the trees, brings a sense of the early spring you loved as a child.  It would be a big Palladian window in the family room that says to you, "this is MY style!." Perhaps it is the dining room that evokes the extended family dinners you have been dreaming of, or the screened porch, a throwback to earlier times of leisurely times with friends.  Maybe it is just the aura of the house, felt from the moment you step inside.  Whatever it is, it captures your senses, gives you pause and provides a jumping off point for making that house your home.And how does THAT work, you say. Like this.  Having felt that tie, that bond, that pull, you KNOW that this is a place you could call home.  The kitchen which is either not up to your standards can take some quick, non-"wallet-busting" fixes to bring it up to speed in short order, giving you time to live in YOUR home to consider how you would completely redo it.  Some trendy or soothing paint and hardware for the cupboards. Fresh countertops, perhaps not the "top of the line" you would pick for your redo, but something clean, fun and "losable." A new faucet for the sink and good mood lighting all around. Voila, a space where cooking happens, laughter abides and the family and friends gather, all the important pieces that turn a house into a home. They are YOUR choices and making those choices, however small, bonds you instantly. And there is more.  Your favorite bench in the front hall ready for a sit-down to put on boots or running shoes.  Your special plants, lovingly planted as babies spawned from a friend's plant in key windows for you to see. A wreath of the season on the front door.  All the touches of home.  And flowers in pots on the front stoop, always flowers, flowers, flowers. I could go on and on.My apartment in New York City was my house.  It was my haven, my place to build from. So many good times there with my family and friends.  Good times, hard times, fun times, not so fun times.  I saw it first with nothing in the kitchen, the floors a mess and wires hanging out of the ceiling.  But as I walked though it, looking at the incredible views from the windows, it spoke to me.  I knew it was for me.  I made it my nest and the memories are seared in my memory; they define who i am today in so many ways.  Each of us is different, Each of us has a story.  It is a story of our past, but also a story of our dreams for the future.  It is how we see ourselves, ourselves individually and ourselves as a part of a family.  A house is a place that provides shelter, yes, but it is also the canvas on which those dreams are painted.  It is the backdrop, the stage for the future happenings of our lives. 
Katie