I love the smell of new. The new car smell, a fresh coat of paint on a wall, and a new-mown lawn are as tantalizing as bread baking in the oven. If a candle company could effectively simulate these fragrances, I'd buy stock in the company.

And I particularly like walking into a brand new home where no one has lived yet. There are no other memories in these rooms, no pencil marks on the doorways to gauge someone else's child's growth, and no indentations in the carpet where their furniture remained in place for too many years. The walls have no stray picture hooks and if I move the refrigerator, I know I won't find a note or picture that fell from the magnet that had once held it in place on the fridge door. The appliances are fresh from the store, and the cupboards are free of stray bits that the previous homeowner left behind. There are no signs that this house was once a home for another person because it was not!

A new home is a blank canvas on which to paint your own masterpiece, one stroke at a time. You do not need to erase the marks left by another artist. And your artwork becomes an even more a personal statement because you have the opportunity to customize your floor plan, choose your windows and doors, and personalize every detail. Think of all the hours you save in making changes to get your house the way you want it. I would rather spend that time instead making memories, instead of changes.

Labels: customize your floor plan, making memories, new home, personal statement