it takes a heap of living to make a house a home

Alternative forms

 * it takes a heap o' livin' to make a house a home
 * it takes a lot of living to make a house a home

Etymology
From the poem "A Heap o' Livin'" (1916) by.

Proverb

 * 1)  A house is simply a physical structure and does not count as a home until significant events in the inhabitants' lives have occurred there over a substantial period of time, and they have developed an emotional bond to the house and its immediate environs.
 * 2) * 1973, Government of Canada, House of Commons Debates, Official Report, Volume 3, p. 2476 (Google search result):
 * We often hear the famous lines quoted that it takes a heap of living to make a house a home, but we have to recognize that the family cannot do it without a house in which to start.