Whether it’s down to the season, the weather, or desiring a little bit of comfort, we all love a cozy spot where we can feel snuggly and warm. Fortunately, creating a comfortable home with character is easily attainable with a few changes, additions, and some creative thinking.
Use the following seven tips to add year-round charm to your home and increase the coziness as fall and winter sets in.
1. Something Old, Something New
Furnishings and appliances may be sleek, shiny, and practical, but they can appear cold and even clinical. However, there is a solution—mix the old with the new for one of the easiest ways to add coziness, character, and charm to your living space.
Family heirlooms are a perfect go-to for old furniture and appliances. But if you don’t have any, there are other options that are just as good. Browse antique stores, second-hand stores, vintage markets, and online marketplaces to find all sorts of items to up the coziness factor.
2. Warm Paint Colors
Warmth is an essential element of being cozy, and it’s not limited to fireplaces, heaters, candles, and blankets. Make sure your palette includes warm colors—and, no, they do not need to be shades of orange or red.
Earthier shades of traditionally cool colors such as green and blue can also add warmth, as can shades of white. Avoid stark, clinical shades of white, and choose warmer creams, off-whites, or eggshell whites. Remember to consider depth and richness when selecting a color—the deeper and richer the color, the greater the sense of coziness.
3. The Right Lighting
Lighting is another essential in a cozy home, and it requires careful consideration. Bright white bulbs, bright spotlights, and bright white fluorescent lights add a harsh, clinical element to your spaces, which is not something you want.
Use off-white light bulbs and diffused soft lighting such as globe lamps to add a warm ambiance to your rooms. Light woods such as beech and gold or brushed brass accents, whether on lamps or around the room, are perfect for reflecting light and adding to the ambiance. If you have a dimmer switch, use it to create the best brightness for the occasion.
Don’t despair if you can’t do anything about the light fittings or the harsh overhead lights in your home. Purchase tables or standing lamps and place them around your room to solve the problem… or add candles. Lots of candles.
4. Candles Amplify Coziness
Candles are an excellent way to bring more charm and character into your home. Light them, and they’ll make your space seem even cozier. There’s something wonderfully intimate about the soft glow of candlelight, and if you use candles of different shapes and sizes, you can create a setting that is worthy of a Hollywood movie. Choose plain candles or add more magic to your home by using good-quality scented candles.
If you use candles in your quest to create a cozy home, just make sure that you practice proper fire safety. One way of doing this is to place them in lanterns or holders that keep the flame away from any other objects. The flickering of a flame in a colorful glass also adds a feeling of warmth, especially if the glass is a rich color, like red or purple.
5. Soft and Comfortable Furnishings
You can’t have a cozy home without comfortable, soft furnishings. Throws, blankets, and comforters in different sizes are fabulous ways to ramp up the coziness in your lounge and bedrooms. You can layer them for extra effect, starting from largest to smallest. This creates the idea of warmth and plushness that’s hugely inviting.
But don’t stop there. Add cushions—and in this case, more is better. Choose cushions of different colors, sizes, and textures for comfort as well as visual and tactile interest.
When choosing blankets and throws, get several options if your budget allows. Use one or more blankets and/or throws on your sofa and your bed, and keep the others for guests to use. Cashmere, mohair, velvet, and wool blankets are the best options for coziness and warmth.
6. Lush, Plush Rugs
Who said you could only put rugs on uncarpeted or wooden floors? Use rugs to make your home spaces cozier, whether you have carpeted, uncarpeted, wooden floorboards, parquet, or tiled floors.
Rugs add insulation and offer more softness for your feet. Depending on the materials they’re made from, your rugs can also add depth and texture to your rooms. The colors and patterns on your rugs should complement rather than clash with the rest of your décor. Choose rugs with warmer tones and colors to further increase the coziness they help create.
7. Fragrances For Coziness
Freshly baked cookies and cakes, exotic spices, warm woods and resins, and the nostalgic fragrance of potpourri are a few of the scents that some people associate with a cozy home. Those scents are not hard to attain now, thanks to fragrance oils, essential oils, diffusers, incense, and scented candles.
Scents such as freshly baked bread or cookies introduce or enhance homely vibes. Spices conjure up images of summer sunshine in warmer climates or snuggling up in front of the fire on a cold fall or winter night. Woods and resins are perfect for that cozy cabin-in-the-woods ambiance.
If you’re a fan of florals, think of warmer florals, such as lavender. Too much might make your lounge smell like your great-grandmother’s sock drawer, but just the right amount is an uplifting antidote to stress, anxiety, and sleeplessness. Turn to citrusy fragrances, adding a hint of ginger for warming fruitiness in the atmosphere. Use sage or palo santo for a scent that is natural, cleansing, and herbal or sweet woody.
Create Coziness In Your Home
Creating a cozy home with character doesn’t require a make-over that costs a fortune. As you can see from these tips, you can use color, lighting, soft furnishings, and fragrances to add coziness and character to your home.
It’s great if you have the budget to go big, but if not, the good news is that you can totally transform your living spaces with a few simple touches. Let our advice inspire you to create rooms that are inviting, comfortable, and supportive.
Meta Title: How To Create A Cozy Home With Character | DesignRulz
Meta Description: Cozy homes with character feel comforting and supportive. Find out how to transform your living spaces with color, soft furnishings, lighting, and more.