Home means different things to different people. We associate the word with the place where we live, but it’s more than that. For me, home has never been about the building itself, or the objects inside it. It’s a feeling. And a place where we live doesn't always 'feel' like home.

Living somewhere doesn’t mean it automatically ‘feels’ like home. I moved house several times in my teens, again through university and on into my twenties, but rarely did any of these houses, flats or halls of residence truly feel like home.

My mum’s house, however, the place where I did much of my growing up, certainly does. It may look very different these days: my bedroom is now occupied by someone else, my belongings have long since been moved on or at the very least relegated to the loft. Yet it is here that I still refer to – without thinking – as home. It is where I long to be when illness, sadness or despair rear their head. It is somewhere I return to time and again. My default place to be.

Something that reminds me that home is as much a feeling as it is bricks and mortar is my little boy. At three and a half years, he has no concept of the nuance of where ‘house’ ends and ‘home’ begins. Yet , if he feels nervous or a little afraid, the first thing he says is ‘I wan’ go home’. What’s most telling is that he uses the same words whether we are outside or inside our house. It’s an automatic response; a plea for safety, for love.

There is good reason why the English language distinguishes between ‘house’ and ‘home’. But for the lucky ones, the two things are (or become) one and the same.

HS, West Country

Further information

'A house doesn't always feel like home,' is part of our new series, A Savills Love Story, prompted by Savills new advertising campaign.

We invite you to submit your own Savills Love Story. What made you fall for your home? Was it love at first sight or more of a slow burn? Do you have a 'type' or is your approach to house-buying more pragmatic? Or tell us about your fantasy home – the magical place you've always wanted to live, perhaps inspired by a novel or a fleeting glimpse in a magazine? We will donate £50 to YoungMinds for every story we publish on Savills UK Blog. We'll also make a donation for every story submitted for consideration.