Aren’t vacations the salvation we all need to fill the glorious, thoughtful idleness, the gaping black hole drilled in our souls by the modern world? In theory, that might be the case. But, as we learn more and more as we get older and raise families, holidays are also massively stressful.

Have we been sure to choose the best resort in the best destinations? Have we paid the best price? Have we got the best room? Are we eating in the correct, recommended restaurants and ordering the best dishes? Have we ticked off the must see local sights on the list in the guide book?

Most of us who have organised a fair few holidays, especially vacations for the whole family, will be able to list a hundred different angst inducing comments of a similar nature.

Middle class professionals who have tired of the all-round lack of “holiday” afforded by regular holidays usually alight at some point on the vacation home, as a solution to the ever more consuming problem of how to carve out a bit of truly satisfying R & R, where there’s more by the way of blackberry picking than blackberry texting!

But the classic home in the country solution to the family holiday conundrum equally has so many drawbacks that a substantial proportion of people abandon the experiment after a while and retreat to the cities, somewhat scorched by the rural experience. Much the same happens to people who buy holiday homes abroad, plus in their case the increasing hassle and expense of flying further diminishes the pleasure.

The worst problem traditional second homes encounter is the sense that the real, working locals resent their relaxed, laid back presence. The very kind of tranquil mode we try, if we are wise, to adopt in the country, is an affront to working countrymen and women. Paradoxically, it’s also the case that the sight of urbanites making money simply by pinging off a few emails from their PDA whilst they are in the queue at the village Post Office could also be seen as practically a form of passive aggression.

Rural people’s disquiet at the presence of incomers is not unfounded; either many villagers have been transformed into ghost settlements by part time urbanites and local economies nastily warped. In many parts of the UK countryside and even Rural Spain, the average house price has soared to 20 or more times the local annual wage. It’s a thoroughly unsustainable distortion, and one unlikely to be dented by even the severest cyclical dip in property values.

The change in the demographic of the most desirable rural honeypots means that the people who maintain the delights of villages, the friendly pub, the village store, the agriculture and so on, can no longer afford to live in them.

Many people who are unaccustomed to living in an apartment feel like their apartments are nothing more than glorified hotel rooms. But your apartment doesn’t have to leave you with that impression. There are some easy and simple things that you can do to make your apartment feel more like a home, and many of them involve your senses.

Sights of Home
The sights that greet you when you enter your apartment can really set the mood for the entire apartment. Make sure that your doorway is welcoming and inviting by placing a wreath on the exterior of the door, and a welcome mat. Your entrance should have a place to take off your coat, such as an unobtrusive hall tree. If you enter into the living room area, make sure that you have a comfy couch and that the area is well lit. A few books and magazines on a coffee table can give your living area a lived in look. Lay a throw across the back of the sofa. Add some plants near the window to bring the look of nature indoors. All of these things will make coming into your apartment seem more “homey”.

Smells of Home
Apartments are usually small and cramped, so they can become musty smelling in no time, no matter how staunch your housekeeping practices. Counter this by opening your windows and letting in fresh air as often as weather permits. You can also purchase spray odor neutralizer or room deodorizer. Choose scented oil that you like and invest in an inexpensive scented oil burner. Scents of baked goods and other sweet goodies can give you a down home feeling. You can achieve this effect with scented candles, but always use caution when burning candles; never leave a candle unattended.

Touches of Home
Throughout your decorating scheme, adding elements that are soft to the touch can be very comforting and make you feel like you are living in a “real” home. Go for fuzzy rugs, plush bath towels, down comforters, and lots of toss pillows.

Sounds of Home
Many apartment buildings are noisy. You have street noise, noise from people coming and going, and if you’re unlucky – noise from noisy neighbors. While you cannot completely block the noises from outside, you can do some very inexpensive soundproofing to your apartment to make your space more tranquil. There are kits on the market that will allow you to place rubber matting covered by thin 1/8th inch wall board to keep the noise to a minimum. If you don’t want to go to that extreme, playing your favorite music in the background can help to block out some of the noise. At night, operate a box fan in your bedroom to block noise, or use a sound machine that will soothe you to sleep to the sound of the ocean rolling in and out.