9 min read

30 Things We're Grateful for About Home

From “fort potential” to furry residents, we think you’ll love these.

Written byJessica Rapp|November 18, 2022

For some, it’s where we cozy up with a puzzle and a glass of wine after a long day. For others, it’s where we have a meal with family around the dining room table. Maybe it’s a downtown rental with friends, a fixer-upper outside the city, a suburban one-bedroom condo or something else entirely.

“Home” looks different for all of us, yet when we’re comfortable in our homes we typically share one thing in common: There’s just something purely joyous about being there. As Thanksgiving approaches, we think that’s worth taking a moment to reflect on. We asked our followers and team members to tell us what it is about their home, from the tiniest architectural details, to the people living inside, that fills them with gratitude. We compiled their responses below.

1. Within my home, it's the way the sun shines and highlights the various crooked prints on my gallery wall that fills me with the deepest gratitude.

With each hour, the sun showcases a new piece of art — from the picture I purchased in a Danish flea market to a painting my grandmother made of my cats. This space displays my identity, it reminds me every day of all that I brought with me to make it a home.
— Layla Alazawy, Zillow

2. Extra wide overhangs that shade the walls from the hot summer sun and also allow me to open the windows when it’s raining.

— Rex O'Neal

3. I’m grateful that it has some architectural style to it.

It's a Spanish revival home with a lot of details that they don’t do in most newer homes, like the top half of the bathroom door is leaded glass, and there is a swinging door going into the kitchen.
— Ted Tarrant

4. I love my porch where I can enjoy my cup of tea and smell the orange blossoms.

— Wanda Estes

5. I don’t have a permanent home right now, and I think sometimes about what I miss about that. But I’m grateful for the ability to find almost any sofa or bed comfortable enough.

I’m grateful that most of the administrative duties of life can be handled online. I’m grateful for getting to know what other parts of the country and the world are like at different times of year, and what people in those places do to make themselves feel at home — and I’m grateful that usually, after a few days or weeks in a place, regardless of how stiff the bed, I come to feel at home, too.
— Ian Port, Zillow

6. There is a nook in my son’s room that perfectly fits his little bed. Seeing him snuggled up in there at night fills my heart with gratitude.

— Kate Aher, Zillow

7. My 8x10 laundry room on the main level.

I am well pleased with the other rooms in my home, but having a true laundry room is a great convenience.
— Bonita Griser

8. Several people have commented the first time they walk inside that our home has a warm, welcoming vibe.

— Janice Garner Bittle

9. My tiny apartment balcony that gives my one-year-old a chance to see cars, construction, birds and dogs on the street below — all his favorite things, all in one perfect perch!

— Anna Baldasty, Zillow

10. As a renter, I used to struggle with feeling that my home wasn’t mine — but then one day I realized what makes a ‘home’ is not who owns it, but the feeling you create inside of it, the people you invite over and the memories you create.

I look around my apartment now and am so grateful I have built a home that makes me feel safe, loved and I get to share these feelings with anyone who comes in. Also, watching my senior rescue cat relax in the sun is another thing that makes me so grateful about my home.
— Hannah

11. In a world where I work from home, in a city where it often rains (Portland, OR), I couldn’t be more grateful for large windows and natural light.

My pre-pandemic life was in San Francisco, where my charming but small studio apartment had windows that faced… the neighboring building’s wall. The gift of staring at tree tops while I answer emails from my corner desk is priceless!
— Becky Brown, Zillow

12.Home is my source of peace, it is the place where I and all are always welcome.

Taking steps through my front door feels like a weight off my shoulders. I know when I am home, I am free to just be. The coziness of the fire, matched with a freshly frothed matcha and some slippers on, is where I find the space to relax and reset. Speaking of space, the loft of our 1930s farmhouse has that kind of character to it that could be the perfect zoom background if that is your fancy, or place to make music, craft or grab a book and wind down. The way the vaulted ceilings are designed makes you feel like you are in the playroom you always wanted as a child, the fort potential is endless. Home is where my heart and mental health find their center, the place a true introvert finds their power.
— Shelby West, Zillow

13. I love our retro-style home. All my vintage ’50s and ’60s furniture and decorations are very serene for me. Definitely a walk back in time!

— Cara Miller

14. I’m grateful for the giant picture window in my mid-century modern home that lets in so much natural light, and for having space to do what I love: decorate.

I enjoy curating each room with vintage finds mixed with heirlooms passed on to me from my grandma, and overall creating a relaxing and inspiring environment.
— Jessica Rapp, Zillow

15. For me I knew I had to have my house when I stepped into the den & breakfast nook. I instantly fell in love with the wooden beams, built-in bookshelf, hardwood floors and brick fireplace.

It’s open just enough to the kitchen for me to feel connected to my partner and our pups while I prepare meals, but feels like a very separate and private space. When we moved from our apartment, we didn’t have a ton of furniture, so we spent a lot of time in the den breaking in a gem of a leather loveseat and antique chest in place of a coffee table. It’s my favorite memory of 2020. It’s a cozy spot where I greet my two Shiba Inus in the morning, lounge after I leave the home office to reset, and spend chilly nights reading next to a roaring fire sipping tea. I am super proud of how my partner and I have made our first house feel like a home, and our den overlooking our beautiful outdoor space still makes us very thankful to have found our house during a crazy market.
— Skylar Toups, Zillow

16. Home is refuge from all the slings and arrows that life sends your way.

It's comfort, tranquility and a place to recharge. If you're lucky, home is a place you share with loved ones.
— Grant Brissey, Zillow

17. I have an awesome landlady.

— Shawna Brainard

18. The fact that it is still standing and intact after Hurricane Ian rolled through.

— Nikki McClellan

19. Every last thing!!

Beginning with my fabulous friendly & helpful neighbors to my Florida room that gets the afternoon sun!
— Eva Sole Pickman

20. Zillow helped me find my home about 10 years ago as a part of the Make Me Move program, so that already makes it very unique.

What I am most grateful for is the corner lot with a nice-sized backyard, which makes the home feel so much bigger. Relaxing on the deck in the shade of a huge deciduous tree during the warmer months reminds me of my hometown in Calcutta. #HomeSweetHome
— Joy Nandi, Zillow

21.The fact that it's mine and I bought it all by myself!

— Amy Gildemaster Opitz

22. I'm grateful to have found this feeling of connection with the place I've lived in for the last two years.

The building is recognized as a historic Seattle landmark, a result of a community-organized effort to preserve it from demolition plans. Because of this, there is a special feeling of belonging to all who live there — allowing it to feel less like a 'place' and more like a 'home.' I'm grateful for the building courtyard gardens where tenant cats roam freely, and the flowing water from the fountain echoes around. I'm grateful for the views of the downtown Seattle skyline and mountains in the distance, especially during sunsets. Inside, I’m grateful for the space I share with my partner, our dog and ever-growing plant family where we feel at home.
— Megan Roewer, Zillow

23. Electricity, refrigeration, roof and walls, indoor plumbing, heat... everything!

— Donald L Brumfield

24. While I’m grateful to own a home in general, I am most grateful for our yard.

We now have space for our dog to run around and play. We have space to gather with friends and family around a fire, or to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee in the mornings, or soak up some sun with a good book. We have space to garden. I’m so grateful to be able to grow our own produce during the summer, my favorite flowers, and even have enough space to plant fruit trees. Of all the things in our home to be grateful for, our yard is my favorite.
— Sarah

25. I love everything about my home and all the wildlife that visits daily.

— Nicky Besic

26. Our home is an updated 1928 rental, and I am most grateful for the living room.

The ceiling lights are museum grade gallery lights which we never use — instead we have string lights lining the windows and a fireplace, creating a perfect combination for a cozy evening with a bowl of popcorn and a good movie. We have a too-tall plant that is tied to the wall to make sure it doesn't fall over, and our sleeping cat who lounges in the sun beams as the light travels across the room. All of this makes for the homiest living room that I am oh so grateful for.
— Kim Maloney, Zillow