I’ve had to move house many different times in my life. And while those who say that moving home is as traumatic as experiencing the loss of a loved one may have a point, I must admit that I rather enjoyed the process of uprooting myself and setting up again in an entirely different locale.

There is nothing quite like a house move to clarify your priorities for you. For me, whenever I have moved into a new space, the first thing I have done is set up the kitchen. I get all my appliances – coffee-maker, oven, microwave, electric kettle, fridge, etc. – up and running well before I move in. That’s because when I wake up for the first time in a new house, the one thing that makes it feel like home is a cup of coffee made exactly how I like it. And if I can’t cook myself a meal in a house, then it fails the ‘home-test’ as far as I am concerned.

Setting up the bedroom comes a distant second for me. I will happily camp out on a mattress on the floor for weeks on end, so long as I can roast some vegetables in the oven, or even just heat up last night’s leftovers in the microwave. And as for the living room, I take my time putting it right because sometimes I need a space to speak to me before I make any permanent design choices.

I realize that I am probably in the minority here. Most people would make sure that they could sleep in comfort in their bed (with their stuff piled on the bedside table) before they moved in. They would happily live off takeaway meals so long as their bedroom was set up to their specifications. But what can I say? That would be a deal breaker for me. As far as I am concerned, the kitchen is the heart of every home – and if it’s not functional, well then, neither is the home.

In the end, it all comes down to priorities. Some of my friends maintain that the first thing you should do when you move into a house is fix the in-house entertainment system. Make sure you have a wi-fi-connection that is strong enough to stream Netflix or Amazon Prime, get your TV hooked up and connected to the surround sound system. Then, once you’ve done your unpacking for the day, you can order in some food and chill in front of the television. That, they say, is the best way to make yourself feel at home in a new space.

I guess, when it comes to the crunch, it is a case of each to his or her own. But I think it gives us an insight into our own personalities to examine when we truly start to feel at home in a new house. Some people prioritize getting a good night’s sleep; others may want the public areas of the house (where they would entertain guests) to come together at first; some would be lost if they didn’t get their daily streaming fix every night; and then there are those like me, who only feel at home if they can rustle up a meal for themselves and their loved ones in their own kitchen.

Which of these categories do you fall into?

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