<h2 style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt"><font size="3" color="#990000">Affordable ways to make your new house feel like home</font></h2><p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt">(ARA) – You know that moving into a new home can be one of life’s biggest stressors – the packing, the paperwork, the unpacking, finding the nearest coffee shop…even though numbers are down, 35.2 million Americans changed residences in 2008, according to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau. There are many ways to make your new house feel like home sooner than later, according to interior design faculty at <a href="http://www.artinstitutes.edu" target="_blank">The Art Institutes</a>.</span></p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt"><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">"Incorporating items with personal meaning, such as memorabilia or a special collection, can make your new place feel less like a stranger’s house and more like your home," says Annette Lawrence, academic director of the Interior Design program at <a href="http://www.artinstitutes.edu/cincinnati" target="_blank">The Art Institute of Ohio – Cincinnati</a>. Lawrence describes the concept of "adaptive re-use," an easy, inexpensive way to create a "sense of place" – in other words, making your new house the place in which you feel most comfortable – home.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/1b.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/1b.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Adaptive re-use involves bringing items from your previous residence to your new home, but with the twist of adapting them for a different or new use. Adaptive re-use is affordable, ecologically responsible and helps ease the psychological stresses that come with moving into a new, unfamiliar space. Adaptive re-use also involves using items from local design consignment shops. Such establishments can now be found in most towns and carry items ranging from furniture to window treatments and accessories.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Some examples of adaptive re-use:</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>* Same item, same use</strong> – The entry rug from your old house goes in the entryway of the new house.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>* Same item, different location</strong> – Your living room furniture from your old home becomes your family room furniture in your new place.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>* Same item, new use</strong> – You use the fabric from a window treatment to upholster your dining room chairs.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>"Mies van der Rohe’s old adage, ‘less is more,’ certainly holds true here," says Jackie Barry, interior design instructor at <a href="http://www.artinstitutes.edu/houston-north" target="_blank">The Art Institute of Houston – North</a>, a branch of The Art Institute of Houston. "Select significant pieces of furniture and art to move. You don’t need to have or show everything you have all in one room."</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Barry also advises incorporating a concept called biophilic design, which recognizes the inherent need of humans to interact and affiliate with nature to achieve and maintain optimum health and well-being. "Bring the outside in; don’t neglect good views to the outside, accentuate them," she says. "Let your garden and landscaping work for you on the inside. Connecting with nature can also have a calming and a comforting effect."</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">If all of this still feels too overwhelming to you, consider hiring a professional interior designer to help you out. Lawrence suggests using personal contacts and references to find a designer who is right for you.</p>  <p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt">Courtesy of ARAcontent</span></p></span>