Winter can be a challenging season when it comes to interior design. The cold weather can make your home feel chilly and uninviting, but you can create a warm and cozy atmosphere with a few simple changes. Besides decorating your house according to the holiday season, here are some interior design tips to make your home comfortable during the winter months:
Use rich, warm colors
Beat the chill outside by filling your interiors with rich, warm, fuzzy colors. Using rich and warm colors in your home decor can create a cozy and inviting atmosphere. Consider using deep red, brown, and gold colors to create a warm and inviting vibe. You can also use earthy tones like olive green, rusty red, burnt orange, and mustard yellow to create a cozy and natural feel. You can incorporate these colors in your accessories, textiles (bedding, curtains, throws, rugs, etc.), and art.
Layer your bedding
During the winter months, the bed becomes extra inviting as everyone feels like they want to cozy up and hibernate. It’s why it’s essential to introduce different layers to your bed during the winter months. Replace your summertime sheets with warmer fabrics like a thick duvet, plush blankets, and flannel sheets to make your bed feel like a cozy cocoon. Adding throw pillows and a warm rug beside the bed can make the space more inviting.
Pile on the throw blankets
Throw blankets are usually the first things to come to mind when you’re decorating for winter. When temperatures drop, you instantly want to wrap yourself up, lie on the couch, and watch some movies while chilling. Don’t use one – drape and layer blankets over the couch, bed, chairs, and benches in classic winter fabrics like fur, fleece, wool, and flannel.
Use cozy lighting
During winter months, the lack of sunlight and being cooped up at home during the weekends can feel a little gloomy. As days get shorter, use your home’s lighting to make up for the lack of sunlight. Create a cozy ambiance using your light fixtures, and consider using warm and soft lighting to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere. Use floor lamps and table lamps to create a warm and welcoming glow.
You don’t need to spend as much as you can use what you already have. You wouldn’t have to hire an electrician – softening your lighting to create a warm glow can be as simple as replacing light bulbs or switches, adding a new lampshade, and changing out a sconce. LED light bulbs come in different tones – those that work well during the winter are soft white and warm white.
Another way to create a snug feel and atmosphere is to use candlelight. Candlelight is soft and evokes a snug and cozy feel.
Incorporate natural elements
Incorporating natural elements into your decor can make your home feel more connected to the outdoors. The cold weather can keep you inside so that you may be missing elements of nature. Consider bringing the outside in by adding potted plants, branches, pine cones, and other natural materials like leather, rattan, aged metals, and other linen fabrics to your decor. You can also use wood accents and furniture to create a warm and rustic feel.
Gather around the fire
A fireplace is an ultimate addition to any winter home. The soft flickering of a flame is relaxing and cozy. This will add warmth to your home and create a cozy and inviting focal point.
Not everyone is lucky to have a fireplace at home (or maybe they do, and for some reason, they can’t use it), so if you don’t have a built-in fireplace, consider adding a portable electric or gas fireplace. Then, consider adding smaller chairs or stools that can be pulled easily so you can be closer to the warm hearth.
If you don’t want a portable fireplace, you can recreate the feeling by adding a group of candles with a simple casing or use votives with a wood exterior or dark metal.
Use an area rug
No one likes walking on a cold floor in the chilly winter season. Besides wearing fuzzy socks and slippers, fend off your icy toes by laying down area rugs. They don’t only keep the toes warm, but they also help insulate the floors. It’s a double win because you get warmth and the appearance of warmth. For winter, get area rugs that are thick or shaggy. But if you don’t want to deal with cleaning these things, you can get a smaller version of a fluffy area rug like a runner, then layer it on top of another less-thick rug. It gives you warmth and texture, but the rug is still small enough so that you can wash it with ease.
Pull out your quilts
Check your storage and pull out those family-heirloom quilts you’ve been keeping. Use these to add a comforting layer of nostalgia to your house. Pile a few of them across the bed for extra warmth, or use them purely as decoration. You can repurpose an old quilt as a wall décor by framing pieced squares to be hung in a grid, or try mounting the entire quilt on the wall if you have the space. Also, if you have an out-of-the-way table like a console table, try using a small quilt as a tablecloth.
Hang heavier curtains
Many modern homes today use blinds and not curtains, perhaps mainly because of aesthetics. But it doesn’t bring the same feeling of warmth and hominess like a curtain can provide. You may already have curtains, like those light and sheer ones you use during the summer to filter the hot sunlight, but in winter, it’s cozier to hang curtains with heavier fabrics and rich colors. Choose ones that are lined at the back to keep your home insulated as well. Plus, heavy drapes add a touch of elegance to the room, especially if they are hung from the ceiling to the floor.
Add piles of pillows
Throwing pillows make sofas much more inviting when paired with a warm blanket. Try to mix fluffy sofa throw pillows to make them cozier. Consider adding larger pillows or poufs for the floor. You can also add a few cozy blankets or throws on the sofa to add an extra layer of comfort.
Line your tables with fabric
One of the easiest ways to decorate a dining area is through placemats, tablecloths, napkins, and runners. It can be easily dressed up, so it means that whatever party you’re hosting, you can transform it to suit the theme and purpose of your choice of tablecloth. Bare tables are perfect for breezy summers, but it can feel stark and cold during the fall and winter, so consider using tablecloths and runners to dress up your table for the colder season. It will make your table feel more inviting.
Besides your dining table, you can also cover bare table legs and create an entirely new feel in the room by draping some cloth over a table. Make sure the table skirt reaches the floor for a polished look. As a bonus, you can even stash boxes of your stuff beneath the skirt for a quick decluttering.
Embrace seasonal scents
Winter is all about the smell of cinnamon rolls, pine cones, and freshly baked delights. Instead of baking and placing a tree inside, get the other comfortable version – aromatherapy. Seasonal scents around a home immediately incorporate magnificent warmth and coziness. Most diffusers offer natural wintry aromatherapy and incorporate scents like lavender, cinnamon, and pine. Add softness to your home by enlivening your senses rather than solely focusing on the visual touch.
Add scented candles
Speaking of scents, you can use scented candles to change a room’s atmosphere and ambiance instantly. Besides the warm flicker of its fire, it can also cast a lovely feeling of coziness due to the scents you pick. Choose from scents like pine, cedarwood, spiced apple, clove, mulled wine, chai, vanilla, orange spice, musk, amber, and cinnamon.
Liven up the space with greeneries
If colder weather is keeping you inside, bring some of the outdoors in with decorating things from nature. Plants are great for keeping your home lively and homey during the gloomy days of winter. The great thing about wintertime is it’s common to decorate with wreaths, garlands, and similar accents. Get some clippings of winter plants like spruce or holly for your vases. Add pinecones to your table decorations, and use magnolia, pine boughs, eucalyptus, or lamb ear in your wreaths and garlands. Add some berries to add even more color and warmth.
Add seasonal patterns
Use small doses of cozy patterns like tartan, herringbone, buffalo check plaid, and tweed. Look for pillows, throws, bedding, rugs, and other accessories with these patterns in colors that complement or work with your existing color scheme.
Conclusion
You can make your home feel warm and inviting during the winter months by making simple tweaks. As the weather can be harsh outside, depending on where you live, you can create a cozy and inviting atmosphere that will make you want to stay inside all winter long.