It’s one thing to have a house. But if you want to transform that house into a home, you have to think about comfort and aesthetics. To put it another way, it needs a cozy “feel factor.” But don’t worry; this isn’t as expensive as you might think. There are several simple and inexpensive tactics that you can put into play.
1. Pay Attention to Color Choices
Color has a direct impact on human emotions and the way we feel when we’re in particular spaces. Every color on the spectrum has certain feelings and reactions that it conjures up. By strategically optimizing the design of your home with certain colors in mind, you can make it a more inviting space.
If you’re wanting a warm and cozy house, look for shades that evoke a sense of natural warmth. Browns, deep greens, and rusty colors mimic the great outdoors and give people a sense of tranquility. Light neutrals, such as creams and soft whites, are good too. Avoid colors that ramp up a person’s sense of urgency, such as reds, oranges, and harsh yellows.
2. Be Thoughtful With Lighting
Don’t overlook the importance of lighting. While most people view lighting as a functional system, it’s very much an aesthetic one.
“You can change the entire look of your residence simply by updating the hanging light fixtures – especially in the kitchen, living room, and/or dining room,” Green Residential explains. “Light fixtures can get fairly expensive, but they don’t have to be. Lighting stores often hold large year-end clearance sales where you can find tasteful and sleek options that would fit your space.”
If you want the most bang for your buck, focus on the biggest light fixtures in the home. This includes dining fixtures, pendant lights over the kitchen island, and vanity lighting in bathrooms.
3. Layer Textures and Materials
Too much of one material can make a house feel like a cookie-cutter home. One way to get around this is by layering a variety of textures and materials together – especially ones that have natural elements.
Soft, plush textures such as knitted throws, velvet cushions, or shaggy rugs naturally evoke a sense of warmth and coziness. Hard textures like wood, metal, or stone can add contrast and balance the soft elements, preventing the room from feeling too one-dimensional.
When looking for ways to integrate different materials, focus on upholstered furniture, rugs, curtains, hardware, plants, and even decorative accents like throw pillows and wall hangings.
4. Infuse Inviting Scents
Do your best to appeal to as many different senses as possible – not just sight and touch. Smell is a really important one. Candles, aromas, essential oils, and even wood-burning fireplaces can all contribute to inviting smells. (On the flip side, be wary of any smells that negatively impact your home’s “cozy” factor, such as mold, mildew, pets, or old furniture.)
5. Keep Things Clean (But Not Sterile)
A vital yet often overlooked aspect of creating a cozy, inviting space is maintaining cleanliness and order. No matter how well-designed a home might be, clutter and mess can disrupt the desired atmosphere, causing feelings of stress and unease rather than relaxation and comfort.
Clutter can make a space feel chaotic, crowded, and stressful. It’s not just physical clutter that can be an issue, either. Visual clutter, or having too many things in your field of vision, can make it difficult for your eyes to rest and can even lead to feelings of overwhelm.
But don’t confuse cleanliness with being sterile. A sterile home might be clean, but it lacks personality and feels cold. You want to find harmony between keeping an organized home and still making it comfortable enough to live in.
One simple way to do this is by regularly decluttering and finding smart storage solutions. Built-in storage, baskets, boxes, and strategic use of vertical space allow you to keep items you like without making the house feel overcrowded.
Make Your House a Home
It’s not the four walls, floor, and roof that make a house a home. It’s not even the decor. At the end of the day, it’s about how the people inside of that house feel. By amplifying the cozy factor, you can instantly make your house feel more like the home you’ve always dreamed of. What do you say – time to get to work?
