8 Ways to Get That Cozy Feeling in Your Home
Oh the days are getting shorter and there’s a chill in the air. This is my chance to bring cozy into my home!
Well, here in central Texas it’s a tease, but it still makes me want to cozy up my home for the change of seasons. I know that we’ll be indoors more since there’s less daylight, and it’s nice to signify the change with a few changes in our decor.
If you don’t have a cozy home, do you know how to create one?
It’s easier than you might think and I’ll show you a few things to add to your decor to bring some cozy into your life!
There are a few key elements you’ll love and they can be used in almost any room of your house.
Plants and Flowers
I’m going to start with the quickest and least expensive ways to bring cozy into your home and plants and flowers are a great way to embrace the change of season.
I’m a huge fan of having plants in my home year round. We’ve got some tropicals that don’t love the cold weather so they usually stay on the porch all summer and then come inside for a few months when it’s cooler.
There are plenty of plants that are easy to care for and succulents can survive on very little attention, so if you don’t have any live plants, go get some!
Of course if you travel a lot or just don’t want to deal with live plants, there are some great faux plants on the market. You’ll want to spend the extra money here to get the really nice ones and no one will be able to tell that they’re fake. Sometimes even if you touch them it’s hard to tell.
Unless you don’t keep them clean. A layer of dust will give it away every time.
Fresh flowers are also a great way to add some seasonal color to a table, or all throughout your house. I love to have a beautiful arrangement on my dining table most of the time. Sometimes I will divide up a bouquet and sprinkle it throughout the house to add a little bit of color variety.
Of course you can find bouquets at almost every super market these days, and if you keep the water clean and clip the stems they can last a surprisingly long time.
Cozy Throws and Toss Pillows
I think the fastest way to add cozy to your home is with chunky throws and toss pillows. I like to change out my throws twice a year by using linen throws for the summer months and fur and sweater knit throws for the cooler months.
We call it “the cooler months” here because it’s a trick. Winter is a total of about 2 weeks spread out over 3 months with hot sunny days in between.
Even though our weather may tease us, I like to use brighter colors in summer and darker, richer colors in the winter. When the time changes (don’t even get me started on that craziness) it’s a good time to make the switch.
Bring Cozy into Your Home with Accessories
Just like switching out the pillows, I like to add a little more decor when the days are shorter.
Baskets are a great way to add texture to a room (and coziness) and they’re also super handy to hold the pillows and throws if your family isn’t a fan of all of them.
When I say family I mean your dogs too, because it’s usually my dogs that push the pillows to the floor so they can get cozy on my throws.
Add in some ceramic, wood or leather to your decor as well. A nice stack of books or magazines is an invitation to get cozy.
Candles
Candles should have probably gone before pillows and throws, but they lead into the next category too.
And really, I can spend some money on candles. Is there really any such thing as too many candles? I think not.
There are a couple of different ways to use candles and I think you’ll agree with me.
One is for fragrance and one is for ambience.
For fragrance I absolutely switch out our scents seasonally. I like a more citrusy scent in the summer and a spicier scent in the winter.
I don’t ever burn candles that smell like food. All they do is make me hungry, and then I’m sad that I don’t have sugar cookie or apple pie or creme brulee.
If you want some more ideas on how to make your home smell amazing check this out!
For ambience I love to use unscented candles. There’s something romantic about flickering candlelight and candles can be placed anywhere in your home. And in any room in your home.
I love to have lanterns filled with candles on my porches, different sizes of candles on whatever table we’re dining on and lots of pillar candles in my fireplace. Because we rarely use it for fires. We’re more the fire pit kind of people.
And candles lead us right into….
Lighting
When the days are shorter it means the lights have to come on pretty early. That means that you need some good lighting to bring cozy into your home.
This is the time of year to show off all those pretty lamps!
Overhead lighting is great for cleaning but lamps and candles (see above) are great for ambience.
Make a cozy nook with a floor or table lamp that invites you to sink in and enjoy a book, or a video game, or even catching up on your social media!
The seagrass pendant in the photo above is a plug in chandelier, so don’t think that you can’t have great lighting without hiring an electrician. You can carry your pretty pendant to whatever room you want to use it in!
If you’re into all the latest tech you can get Alexa to turn your lights on and off for you and you can have specialized bulbs that change color and intensity. Oh my!
String Lights are another fun way to add light to an area. We use them on our back patio because even our outdoors can be cozy. There are string lights in one of the bedrooms over a mirror too because they add a nice soft glow to the space.
Even better are the mini LED sets that run on batteries. They can be wrapped around a vase or hidden on a bookshelf and their timer will turn them off and on.
Hang Up Some Art and Mirrors
Having art on your walls will make your space feel more cozy. There’s no doubt that adding some personality will make a space more welcoming and well, more cozy.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money on art, there are all kinds of things that you can use. Hang a mirror or a wreath. Don’t have a wreath? Make one out of branches from your yard.
Macrame or baskets make a beautiful statement on a wall.
Art can be purchased ready made or you can DIY it. There are lot’s of places on the internet that you can download art and print it on your very own printer, or have it printed pretty inexpensively. And if you don’t have a frame use some washi tape and get those prints up on the wall.
Or print off some of those amazing photo’s that you’ve been storing on your phone so you can smile at them on your walls.
Mirrors are a fantastic way to reflect light back into your room. They can create a beautiful reflection of a portion of your room. A bonus is that you have a place to touch up your hair or lipstick too!
Curtains
If you only have blinds on your windows adding curtains is a great way to bring some cozy into your home. If you’ve got lightweight curtains or sheers you could take this opportunity to change them up for the season.
I’m not going to lie, this one seems like a lot of trouble to me, but I’m not opposed to adding some embellishments to the curtains that I already have hanging up. Then it can come down in spring and it’ll look like a fresh new look.
Area Rugs
A rug is a great way to keep your feet warm and to bring some cozy into your home.
We have a couple of area rugs that stay out all year, but when it’s cooler I like to keep a few extra’s out. This is a great opportunity to layer some fun art onto our floors.
I have a couple of cute rugs that are a bit smaller than what I want so I layer them around and over the existing rugs to add some cozy and some warmth.
In the summer I keep our bath mats folded on a shelf when we’re not using them. In the winter they stay on the floor for the whole season.
I can’t think of a single spot in my home that doesn’t benefit from having some sort of rug on it!
And if you’ve got carpet, don’t despair. This is your chance to change it up and layer a rug over your carpet.
So how do you create cozy in your space? Whether it’s a room or an entire house there are great ways to bring in cozy and enjoy those shorter days. Curl up in your blanket and wait for the sun to come back out.
