With the help of interior designers and other top industry experts from Direct Interiors, we’ve got everything you need to revamp your home into a cozy space that you’ll be eager to spend the rest of winter in. For many people, winter means holding up at home, counting down the minutes until sunshine returns and temperatures start to rise again. It’s not unusual for the winter to bring fatigue, sadness, poor sleeping patterns, and difficulty concentrating— otherwise known as the ‘winter blues. If this resonates with you, and you tend to take a hibernation-like approach to the cold months, then there is no better time to revamp your home than these cold months.
The good news is that you don’t have to invest a lot of time or money on major renovations to transform your space into the warm and cozy retreat that you need. It can be as simple as adding some warm and cheery accents to your home in order to liven up your space and help combat those winter blues. After all, your home is said to be an extension of yourself, which is why cleaning, rearranging your furniture, and changing up the decor every so often can have a profound impact on your mind, body, and spirit – especially when the external world is feeling a lot gloomier than usual.
11 Tips from the Best Interior Designers to Warm Up Your Home
1. Incorporate Shag Accents
Who doesn’t love having extra fuzzy blankets or pillows on hand for those chilly winter nights? A few thoughtfully placed fuzzy accent pieces can make all the difference in how cozy your home feels. Adding a throw blanket, accent pillow, or even an ottoman or coverlet made of a fuzzy, shag fabric can greatly enhance the warmth and coziness of your living space.
2. Add Seasonal Scents to Your Space
Adding to your home’s visual landscape isn’t the only way to make it feel cozy. Candle businesses tend to thrive during the winter months, as they typically offer a variety of soothing winter scents that are perfect for warming up your home. Not only will these scents add a sense of warmth, but a simple grouping of candles on a coffee or buffet table can add some extra ambience and warmth as well.
Diffusers also offer natural aromatherapy and can help humidify your space. Try one with soothing lavender, spicy cinnamon, or sweet vanilla to keep your space smelling and feeling cozy and warm!
3. Create Tabletop Centrepieces With Winter Greenery
While winter obviously isn’t the greatest time for gardening, don’t shy away from bringing in clippings of cold-friendly plants (such as holly, blue spruce, or pansies) and other natural elements like pine cones into your home, as these can cozy up any space in an instant—especially when they’re paired with some candles for extra warmth and light. Adding natural elements can give your home a decorative warmth, and using even small natural elements can give your existing decorations a fresh, unique look.
4. Put Down Area Rugs
Having to walk barefoot on a cold floor can make winter even more dreadful. To overcome this unpleasant feeling, try covering any uncarpeted areas of your home with plush throw rugs to make things a little more comfortable. Adding rugs to your home can drastically improve the overall feeling of warmth as well as the actual physical warmth of your space.
5. Use softer, layered lighting
The right lighting can make or break your space on any given day, but during the winter especially, it’s even more imperative. If you want to make your home feel cozier during those long winter days, there’s no time like now to upgrade your lighting. By layering your lighting and including more soft light, you can create a warm, welcoming ambience in your home. For example, you can add warm light LED bulbs to your existing lamps, or you can also achieve similar results by adding dimmer switches to your existing outlets around the house.
6. Create cozy furniture displays in otherwise unused corners
Take advantage of those bleak, empty corners throughout your home and create a cozy haven to retreat to! Filling your unused corners with comfy furniture such as reading chairs, footstools, a side-table, or floor lamp can brighten up your space and add some much-needed warmth.
7. Add some life (plants)
While the majority of the greenery outside your home may appear to be lifeless, frozen or covered in snow, that doesn’t mean the inside of your house has to look dreary too. Bringing home a few low-maintenance plants, like succulents or snake plants, can instantly add life and vibrancy to your space. If you don’t want the hassle of caring for any plants, adding fake plants never hurts, and you can also incorporate more faux greenery throughout your home whether it’s on your bannisters, stairways, across the fireplace, or around a chandelier.
8. Add some comfy, bold throw pillows
One of the easiest ways to make any space in your home better for lounging is to add some throw pillows to soften and warm the area instantly. Despite any intentions to get out of the house as much as possible during the winter, many of your winter days will inevitably be spent indoors, which is why it’s imperative to have plenty of comfy places to curl up with some hot chocolate or your favourite cup of tea.
9. Toss a colourful, cozy blanket on your bed or sofa
Curling up on your sofa on a cold winter night is pleasant enough as it is (especially if you have already added in some comfy throw pillows); but curling up under a thick, cozy blanket, however, is nothing short of heavenly. You can easily switch up your home décor with the season by draping cozy blankets in warm winter fabrics like wool, fur, flannel, and fleece over your beds, sofas, and other seating arrangements.
10. Add splashes of colour into your design scheme
The long, dark days of winter can make even the most vibrant home look dull, so adding pops of colour to your existing design scheme, such as brightly patterned pillows, a winter bouquet on your mantle, colourful decor, or accent walls, can instantly brighten your space, even when you don’t see the sun for days.
11. Work wood into your space
Wood features have been warming our homes for centuries now. Whether it’s log walls or ornate paneling, plank or polished hardwood floors, utilitarian or intricately carved furnishings, the mellow richness of wood enhances our interiors in a warm, comforting way. Additionally, placement of rich-toned wood shelving and tables (dining, end, and console) can also have a significant impact on the look and feel of your home. Overall, incorporating wood accents will make your home feel like one big cozy hearth!
if you want help or inspiration to make your home feel warmer and cozier during the wintertime, don’t hesitate on reaching out and speaking with one of our interior designers in Brampton. At Direct Interiors, we are proud to offer a wide selection of services, ranging from interior design and decorating to full project management and much more. As Toronto’s one-stop furniture and décor showroom, we’re committed to offering a complete and convenient experience to all who walk through our showroom doors. Give us a call at (905) 791-9660 or book your next consultation.