One of the most jarring things about moving house is how different everything ends up feeling. Of course, since you're in a different location in a different house with a new layout, this is perfectly natural, it just takes a lot of getting used to. One way to help this process along is to bring most of your furnishings with you. So even if the doors are different colour and the garden is in the wrong place, your house will at least feel at home straight away on some level. Of course, one of the main problems with bringing most of your things with you is getting them into the house and arranged in a aesthetically pleasing, but ergonomic way. Here are some techniques that will make this easier.

If your new house isn't an impractical distance away, it might be worthwhile paying a visit and taking some rough measurements. You know, about where the couch, beds and large appliances will go – it's not necessary to go too far in depth. If you know where the bigger things will, or more importantly won't fit it'll be easier to see if it's worth bringing them along. If you can't find a spot for your old three piece suite, you can sell it off before you move out. Having a rough idea is very useful, but not entirely needed if your house is far away or still currently inhabited.

Now that you know what you're bringing, you can handle all of the packing and loading in the usual way – heavy things in first, heavy things out last. Even though you'll be unloading all of the boxes first, try to place them out of the way. The heaviest ones are out last, but they should be placed down first. That way, there's less things to bash into when manoeuvring your furniture around.

When actually laying everything out, think about the balance between style and substance. You want the layout to look good, sure, but you also need to be able to move around without stubbing your toe every five seconds. The best thing to do, is to give everything a rough place, and slowly adjusting over time until you find a look that suits you.

If you're unsure about layout ideas, here are a couple of pointers;

-Don't push everything up to the wall, especially if there's not many 'thick' items in the room. This makes everything look barren and un-inviting. If you place medium sized objects near the centre of the room (like a coffee table for example) you can give the room more depth.

-Colours are very important. Keep to a theme, but don't leave it at that, add throw pillows or painting to make a room more colourful. Exercise moderation though, by putting too many lurid colours in a room that doesn't need them, it can make the room look busy and clumsy.


So, with everything looking more homely, you can start to settle in. Take a few trips around the block, and get to know the place outside your house. To make that bit more homely, you've got to take a less direct approach, but I'm sure you already knew that.