Wondering how you can make your home (or just a room in your home) more cozy, without any wild, crazy redecoration or remodeling?
Take a look at these design tips that will inspire you with ideas on how to make the setting seem cozier, more intimate, and more inviting – in the blink of an eye!
Break It Up
Meaning, break the room into sections. Large, open spaces are cold and uninviting, even if the open concept appeals to you.
You can use furniture to break a room up, but instead of changing the entire layout of a room, you can use privacy room dividers to break one large room up into many small rooms – creating several small nooks in the process.
In fact, depending on how you use it, you can use one privacy room divider to create as many as three other, smaller spaces.
Plus, panel room dividers and folding screens have lots of other uses. They can be used to hide clutter, change the shape and flow of a kitchen, dining room, living room, or bedroom, and of course, even simply as decorative accents.
Rearrange the Furniture
An open floor plan, sparse furniture, or just furniture and seating arrangements that are spread too thin will make it feel open, bare, and unwelcoming.
Regroup that furniture so it’s all closer together, which will make a space feel cozier. Alternatively, you can change the manner in which the seating arrangements are placed with respect to each other.
For instance, rearranging two couches so they face each other or make an “L” shape will make a space feel cozier and warmer than if the couches were set in a linear fashion or on completely opposite sides of the room.
Dim the Lights or Use Warmer Lighting
Lighting with a cool color temperature feels sterile and institutional, as does excessively bright lighting.
Dim the lights, or change the bulbs to something with a warmer color temperature. Yellows and golds are warmer and feel more inviting than white or blue lights.
Drop the Ceiling
That is, add some hangings to the ceiling, such as a chandelier, which will make feel lower, or add some tall light fixtures or plants that will accomplish the same effect.
High ceilings feel open and intimidating, whereas low ceilings feel close, cozy, and secure.
Bring the Outdoors in
Add some greenery to your setting. According to numerous reports, live plants and flowers make a space feel more inviting, welcoming, and secure.
Plants can also be used to fill in negative, open spaces that would otherwise seem bare and impersonal. Moreover, plants mediate volume, temperature, and humidity – some additional bonuses.
Use Warmer, Saturated Tones for Paint and Wallpaper
If you don’t want to make any big changes to what’s actually in the room, consider redoing the paint job. Warmer, saturated colors on the darker end – like burgundy, gold, ochre, and amber, feel warmer, and more inviting than sterile, cool neutrals like white, off-whites, and slate grays.
Slate grays and off whites have taken modern design by storm, but say what you want, they do not make a space feel cozy.
Rethink the Curtains
Natural light does make a space feel bright, but lots of windows will accomplish the opposite effect of making a space feel cozy and intimate – instead, they will make it feel open and exposed.
To make a space feel warmer and cozier, consider thick, light-blocking drapes in a warm tone – you can always open these to let in a little light if you wish to change the mood.
