The first meal in a new home may matter more than the first photograph of it.

A house becomes a home through use rather than through documentation. The first meal involves finding pans, working out the hob, and sitting somewhere that is not yet your usual place, with the room getting warm and slightly untidy. That is what changes your relationship to the space, while a photograph records a room nobody has lived in yet.

If you have just moved, cook something early even if the kitchen is not ready and the boxes are still up. Eating there before it looks right does more for settling in than another day of arranging.