A beautiful home may not always be a cozy one. In fact, the most beautifully furnished and Pinterest-perfect living room in the entire universe may give you the sinking sensation that something is just not quite right.
What it is, is coziness, and the ability to learn how to make a home cozy is the ability to know what to buy, and what not to buy in order to make your home feel like the warm hug you crave when you arrive back from work. Interior designers will tell you that lighting, textures, materials, and personalization are all essential in coaxing a home into a warm and inviting environment for you and your loved ones. However, learning how to make a home cozy rarely involves tearing everything out and starting over; in fact, here are 15 simple and easy ways to transform your house into your home.
1. Layer Your Lighting
Whenever you want to know how to make a home cozy it all begins with lights. A dramatic chandelier can take away from an otherwise beautiful living room by making it feel impersonal.
The easiest way to create a cozy environment with your lighting is to create layers with lamps, floor and table lamps. Adding warm light bulbs will also contribute to the level of coziness in your home. Lastly, dimming your overhead light in the evenings will help you create that warm nest feeling that we all crave.
2. Add Plenty of Soft Textures
Texture adds coziness to a space. Cushions, throws, bedding, rugs, walls, curtains and upholstery all contribute to the overall level of coziness in a home.
3. Bring in Warm, Earthy Colors
Adding warm colours can work wonders in a room. However, if you are wondering how to make a home cozy it is best to steer clear of stark white and other cold coloured tones. Instead try adding warm neutrals such as beige, terracotta, caramel, olive, warm browns, mustards and dusty pinks to your home. If you are not quite sure you are ready to repaint your entire house in warm neutrals (and who is?) you can add these warm colours in through cushion covers, art, curtains and rugs, which will brighten up any room!
4. Create a Cozy Seating Area
If your furniture is all pushed against the walls, it’s time to break out of your shell (or push your furniture out of its). Arranging your living room in such a way that it encourages conversation and sitting down (rather than being pushed against your walls) is a great place to start. A comfortable armchair and a lamp next to your bed, a sofa with a generous throw on top, or a pair of chairs placed across from each other in your living room are all excellent ways to start creating a more homey and cosy vibe in your home.
5. Add in a Rug
While furniture is often an eyesore, bringing in a cozy rug will help put a room together. To add extra comfort to your living room (or bedroom) be sure to add a texture to your seating area.
6. Use Curtains to Soften the Room
Curtains are a great way to add volume without sacrificing natural light. Using sheer linen or cotton fabrics will allow your rooms to feel less stark and more open. If you’d prefer to use a heavier fabric for your living room and bedroom you’ll create a more cocoon like feel.
7. Add Plants and Fresh Flowers
Nothing brightens up a room like some fresh greenery. Place a few large leafy plants in the corners of a room or add two smaller potted plants on your shelves. You can also add a fresh bouquet of flowers to your dining room table or kitchen counter to add cheer to any space.
8. Display Things That Actually Mean Something
This tip will make your home feel even more like a home. Display your treasures, photos, souvenirs, family heirlooms, your beloved books or hand-made ceramics. Personal display is a hallmark of a cosy home. As the current trend of collected, lived-in style becomes more and more popular, meaningful objects can often prove more valuable in a room than a matching set of accessories.
9. Make Your Bedroom Extra Inviting
Your bedroom should be your happy place. Make it as comfortable as possible. Throw on your favourite cushions and a soft throw on your bed, use warm lights in your bedside tables, get a rug up on the space if you can, and keep the palette relatively neutral. Just changing the sheets in your bedroom can make all the difference.
10. Introduce Pleasant Scents
Smells can do a lot for creating a warm and pleasing environment in your home. Candles, reed-diffusers, essential oil perfume machines or simply things like cinnamon sticks, citrus, herbs or even vanilla can all create an atmosphere of cosiness in your home. Just be careful not to go overboard. Pick out a few scents that you love having around the house, rather than what’s popular.
11. Incorporate Natural Materials
Natural materials like wood, rattan, linen, wool, stone, and ceramic are all good ways of adding warmth to your home. Even just a few additions can go a long way. Try adding a wooden tray to your coffee table, or a ceramic vase to your bathroom. Adding all the natural materials to your home will do wonders in making it feel more homely and not too sleek/modern. They also add variety to your space.
12. Create a Cozy Corner
Your house needs a spot to do absolutely nothing productive; a cute place to sit and simply have your thoughts. It might take the form of a reading nook (armchair + lamp), a window seat with some cushions or even just a spot where you might leave your morning coffee to enjoy the peace. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a large area, just somewhere you can kick back and relax in.
13. Declutter to Let Your House Breathe
One little secret to how to make a home cozy is that it can often involve decluttering. Too many visual competing items and surfaces can make a space feel cluttered and busy, not cosy and calm. Give your eyes a break by getting rid of the unnecessary jumble and making sure that every day items have a place.
14. Don’t Make Everything Match
A house which has every single piece of furniture that matches can sometimes come out looking too bare or sterile. Instead mix up your collection, or buy a few new ones that don’t all match each other. A beautiful side table that combines a couple of different styles will look way better than a matching set of boring furniture.
15. Don’t Make It Look Too Perfect
Lastly, don’t try to make it look like nobody lives in it! If you want to know how to make a home cozy then leave books stacking up on your coffee table, throw a gorgeous blanket over your armchair and display your favourite mug. Showcase your photos in places you can see them. Showcasing your personality is a great idea, as the most welcoming homes are rarely, if ever, spotless!
Final thoughts
In summary, the way to discover how to create a home atmosphere is by understanding that a home environment should be comfortable and refrain from worrying about the overall look. The style of the house that has been chosen can be made more comfortable through appropriate lighting, seating, use of natural resources, warm colors, displaying of personal traits and leaving some space to breathe.
Therefore, when people think about getting rid of their current furniture and buying new ones because something does not seem to be right, they should take some time to analyze what has been present already. Use warm lighting, blankets and throws. Gather your seating, and display your treasures in a nice spot!
Sometimes creating your home feels like a home is easier than we think.
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