My mom's old console radio. It had to be in storage for a few years when I was kind of moving around fairly frequently, and it just never felt like home until it was here.

Exterior landscape plants. Once I get some of my favorites planted in the ground, I feel more settled/rooted, too.

I had to laugh about Bookworm's books comment. We have a lot of books, the vast majority of which are hardback non-fiction. When we bought our current house, which was larger than the one we had moved from, the books just got piled in the center of the living room floor. It was roughly 1,000 books, so that was quite a pile, and it took months for us to get them bookcases and shelved. More than a few visitors, whether here for work or friends, commented on what they perceived to be a massive number of books.

That's a perfectly reasonable number of books. :-)

We have more than 1,000 hardback books, too. Lots of bookshelves in our house!

This took some thinking, because I haven't moved since 1992. I couldn't come up with just one thing -- I would pine for all these:

Inside, my old vintage desk that I've had since I was in jr. high. And, also now my dad's old desk that is in my spare bedroom (I don't need both, but I cherish them both.) Some small keepsakes that I have on my bookshelf - like the anniversary clock that I was given by a former employer, and the small figurines. My music playing, a comfy sofa and chair, and a couple of particularly liked paintings. Oh, and the décor (like curtains and rugs) just has to be the right colors or I won't be comfortable.

Outside, my garden of flowers and fruits. Most of the fruits are in pots so if I ever move hopefully it will be to somewhere that I can bring (most of) them.

Amylou, I have bird and hummingbird feeders, but frankly they feed the raccoon and squirrels more than the birds -- I don't think a hummingbird has ever had a chance to get a sip!

We've had furkids our entire married life of 49 years. When the last one died two years ago, life and our home just wasn't right. It is now....we have two cats. We too feed the birds, squirrels, cats that come around, a raccoon, possum and baby possum. We have 5 bird/squirrel/chipmunk feeders plus a hummingbird feeder. We never know "who" will be at the outside feed table. LOL

I need my gardens, especially a vegetable garden. And my bluebird nest boxes (I have 4) and hummingbird feeders.

Inside would be books and a few art pieces, plus a couple of pieces of furniture that have been with us for a long time.

Bookcases - lots of bookcases, and a garden.

Bookcases for us too, we probably have 3,000-4,000 books, and at least one (preferably two) cat/s.

I have to agree with books, I turned my dining room into a library. Even though it is a love hate relationship, our clocks. I hate winding them and depending on the night, love or hate hearing them chime

No.

I'm less attached to my books than I used to be only because I do so much reading on my tablet, but I probably will always have at least a few bookshelves full of books in my home. Some of my art has been with me a long time and certainly contributes to a feeling of familiarity when I move to a different house.

A few favorite pieces of art (some dating back to college); an oriental rug; and the dog. We decorate this time of year with husky fur! — just white puffs all over. I grew up in Cotten country, and our house bears as stricking resemblance to a gin yard from the 60s (later osha got involved and gins were cleaner, or at least didn’t loose as much Cotten).

We bought our house because of the river rock fireplace but it felt like home once I had the balconies full of planters filled with annuals in the spring.

I would feel lost without my cats. (I heard something funny today...a woman who has more than 3 cats will probably die alone...or some words to that effect. I was busy and not paying close attention to "background noise." And I thought, yep...that is me. As I write this, my cat, Walter, is laying across me.)

I have raised waterlilies for 52 years...so, waterlilies are very important to me and I will always have them.

I will always have a horse and a dog...or, right now...several of each.

I like old "stuff"...furniture, dishes, and odds and ends...like today, packing up several glass and porcelain doorknobs that I will put in my next house, and light fixtures that I have saved.

Those are the things that make me feel comfortable.

It wasn't so much about things, but color, a feeling. We brought our things with us when we moved 5 years ago. It wasn't until every room was painted, new drapes and carpet was installed did it feel like our home.

Family photos are important to me. Furniture is impersonal. I like plants and flowers, I think a house is kind of cold without them.

Add me to the book lovers list. And pets. A house without pets feels empty to me. I have only been without a pet while grieving for the loss of a pet, and not ready to "replace" him/her.

I am not a stuff person. My stuff has to have a purpose, bigger, than "just pretty to look at". But this house here, needed to have a paint job in all rooms, and once that was done, it felt like home.

Granted, I did some other stuff, like take out two windows in the kitchen and put an exterior door there, put a vent hood over the stove, and hung other light fixtures, so far. There is other stuff I want to do, and I will, over time.

The paint job really made it for me. :)

Moni

Books, dog, windows, trees.

Live plants. I don't get it when people don't have live plants in their houses.

It just has to 'feel right' to begin with. I can't describe it any better than that but anywhere I live has to speak to me in some way :-) And it has to have some outdoor space, both to do some gardening and to allow the dog to run. I can't imagine living in an upper floor condo with only a tiny little deck to enjoy the outdoors!!

It has to have one or two indoor plants that I can actually keep alive. And as Gardengal says a dog and garden area outside! Then it feels like home to me as long as my family is here as well.

My house must have a beer fridge!

I've always had live plants in the house even if just renting a room. One would think that with 2.5 acres of plants I wouldn't need any indoor ones, but I still have them. I have always had a veggie garden when I had the space, even if only renting. And a dog, it doesn't feel like a home without one. I miss our last one that passed last Sept. The house is too quiet and empty.

"Home" is where the dogs are.

edited: Oh, you asked for "stuff." Dogs are fellow beings, not stuff!

We have a watercolor painting of a cat sitting on a quilt. It's hung in our entry since the second year of our marriage. That picture marks a house as "our home" for me.

Books, lots.

Re: Books. I know someone who has moved three tons of reference books three times. Space to house the books he's collected over a lifetime is *the* primary factor in where he will live. IMO they are a sort of security blanket.

I need a lot of windows for natural light. I want mature trees, but don't want to live in heavy shade. We have never lived where we couldn't step directly outside -- as children or in 50+ years of marriage. I like a little 'space' from my neighbors, but not acres of isolation from the world. We've had four dogs over the years, but don't need an animal for company.

While I like being surrounded by my stuff, a house doesn't feel like home to me until it's had a thorough deep cleaning and a fresh coat of interior paint. I don't like the feeling that I'm living in space where others have lived before me; a good cleaning gets rid of that vibe and makes me feel at home.

I'm with Caflower, I even have one plant that I have had since a teen. One plant is from my DD when she was in first grade. She's now 29!

I have three window sills that have plants on them.

No. I like my stuff, but I'm not attached. My husband and cat I'm attached to!

When I moved, I went from ultra modern to lodge look donating the worn white leather acquiring dark brown leather and rustic things.

Books and art. Can't have one without the other, LOL.

Our 2 large skylights will be sorely missed, when we eventually downsize. They bring lots of extra light during the day, and show lots of stars, on clear nights. One of them frames the Big Dipper, perfectly centered!

A dog.

When my husband's job moved to another state and him with it, I stayed behind (it was 400 miles) to get ready to sell and move. He went house hunting in the new town all by himself. I told him that the new home must have a garbage disposal, a window over the kitchen sink and a big window with a view from the kitchen table. Other than those 3 things, I could make do with whatever house he picked out.

The day we moved in was the first time I saw my new home. It had the disposal, and a window over the sink, but it was too high for short me to see anything out of it but the tops of trees. And there was a window with a view from the table, but the dog couldn't see out of it. Within 2 months those windows were changed to accommodate both me and the dog.

I loved that house, DH did a great job house hunting on his own.

Nothing I can think of.

I have a lot of stuff and I love it, but my house is not complete without some live plants. At one point I had 50, but I'm guessing I'm down to under 40 right now.

Yes, bringing in the cats was one of the first "feels like home" stages. Then, the books. Lots of books! I did get rid of a bunch while moving, but I still have oodles. And, setting up the kitchen.

Oh, I have to pass on the bird feeders. We gots bears here. When they hibernate, I can set a couple out. Except they simply tend to end up being squirrel feeders.