Britspeak: Homely

In conversation recently, a British man I know referred to a place as 'homely'. The context was not referring to appearance, but to being comfortable.
So I looked up the definition:

lacking in physical beauty or proportion; "a homely child"; "several of the buildings were downright homely"; "a plain girl with a freckled face"

homelike: having a feeling of home; cozy and comfortable; "the homely everyday atmosphere"

plain and unpretentious; "homely truths"; "letters to his son full of homely advice"; "homely fare"

without artificial refinement or elegance; "plain homely furniture"; "homely manners"

Interestingly, the most common use of the word in the US is the first definition, in the UK it appears to be the second definition. According to the definitions, a 'homely' building could have a 'homely' atmosphere.