Make your home a cozy, winter haven: four ways
When it’s cold outside, we tend to spend more time indoors than outdoors. It stands to reason, then, that we would want our homes to be a cozy and welcoming place — a kind of a livable, comfortable haven where you can lounge, work or relax.
Here are four cozy winter home ideas everyone needs to have:
Idea #1: Cozy Reading Nook
What sounds better than settling in with a cup of coffee or tea and our favorite book or magazine? To create a cozy reading nook, all you need are a few things:
- Corner space: Tuck your cozy reading nook into the corner of any room where you have extra space: a bedroom, office or living area. Sometimes rearranging existing furniture or clearing clutter will free up an area for your reading nook.
- Chaise, club chair or armless chair: Depending on the amount of room in your corner, add a comfortable chair in a soft, luxurious fabric. Perhaps you already own such a chair and just need to find a spot where you will use it more often.
- Reading lamp: Again, you may already have a lamp on hand that you can use in your reading nook. If not, you’ll find many affordable options in stores and online for a task light perfect for reading and relaxing.
- Side Table: A small, round side table, end table or nightstand works here for storing your books as well as to set your warm drink down while you’re reading.
- Throw blanket: Finally, you’ll need a warm and snuggly blanket for wrapping yourself in while you’re reading. Any throw will do, but consider investing in an extra warm or attractive blanket to make your nook more inviting. Drape your blanket casually over your chair
- Storage basket: You may need extra space to store blankets, books or magazines. So a good way to keep things tidy is to add a cute storage basket that fits easily underneath your side table.
Idea #2: Bedroom Retreat
The bedroom should remain the ultimate sanctuary of the home. Here are some things to add to keep it that way and up its cozy factor so you can enjoy hanging out in your bedroom even more:
- Comfy Headboard: The headboard defines the bed and gives it a more stately appearance. It also enables you to sit up in bed and enjoy conversation, watch TV or just lounge. If your bed is missing a headboard, consider adding an upholstered one. These are easy to add to existing bed frames, or to simply attach to the wall behind your bed. If you have an existing headboard, soften it up by adding some large, Euro throw pillows behind your standard-sized pillow shams.
- Plush Bedding: Nothing says cozy like a new bedding set. Splurge on a set that you love, whether it’s the fabric, color or feel of the bedspread. You’d be surprised at the difference this can make in your room’s look and feel. You can often find bed-in-a-bag sets for reasonable prices at discount retailers, home goods stores and bed and bath stores for all price ranges, including under $100.
- Utility Tray: A tray is a great decorative accessory to have in the bedroom, and can add to your room’s functionality and style. Use it to store your books, reading glasses, beverages and more, or simply style some pretty things like a floral arrangement or some LED candlelights to add to the mood of the room.
- Mood Lighting: Speaking of mood lighting, lighting is a must in this room. Opt for a dimmable and dramatic chandelier in the bedroom. Find one that fits the style of the room or the mood that you want to create. Side tables and candles can provide additional lighting options and fun accents to your main lighting.
Idea #3: Family Lounge Space
Everyone in the family needs a cozy space to lounge — even pets! So make sure you have a comfortable family space to gather, such as a family room, basement room or rec room. Basics that you need for your family haven include:
- Large couch or sectional: Make sure you have enough seating for your whole family to gather, and possibly a few guests.
- Coffee table with storage: Extra shelves or drawers can provide needed space to store magazines, board games, movies and more.
- Snack area: For having your family game or movie nights, you’ll want to have drinks and snacks on hand. To do this, create an area, whether it’s an extra shelf or a corner, for storing drinks and snacks that your family enjoys. This could include something fun like a popcorn machine or even a beverage center or mini fridge, along with a small cafe table and chairs.
- Extra seating: In a pinch, extended family and friends can enjoy your family lounge space too with the addition of movable ottomans and oversized floor pillows.
- Pet loungers: Pets like to relax too! So don’t forget to add a pet bed or mat for your furry friends to enjoy the new family area while you play games or watch TV.
Cozy Winter Home Idea #4: Functional Home Office
Whether running your home business, working from home or paying bills on the weekend, a home office can be a nice addition to any home.
Some families claim they have no extra room in their homes for a home office. However, much like adding a reading nook, often times there are unused areas of the home which you can convert to an office area. Even in a small corner, spare bedroom or hallway, you can have a functional home office to use and enjoy. Here are the things you need to make it useful and cozy:
- Work surface: Any desk or table that fits a laptop and some papers will do. Bonus points if it has additional storage such as shelves or drawers. In a pinch, a sofa table or side table will do, as would a pull-out design. Don’t be afraid to re-purpose an old, worn desk and paint it.
- Desk chair: Don’t forget about seating! Any chair will do. Perhaps an extra dining chair or office chair, or don’t be afraid to buy a more decorative, upholstered chair for this spot.
- Decorative storage bins and boxes: Keep the paper trail out of sight but not out of mind by storing files in bins and boxes. You can buy these inexpensively at craft stores and discount stores. Get some in your favorite colors or to match your decor.
- Shelves: Organize your office area paperwork with floating shelves to store your file storage bins and decorative boxes.
- Message board: Store notes and to-do lists, photos and receipts on a personalized message board, which you can hang above your work surface area.
- Fun accessories: Nothing makes you want to work more than to have fun accessories such as notepads, pen holders, staplers and tape dispensers. Check out your local office supply store for some which speak to you or match your decor style.
So there you have it — four cozy winter home ideas which can give you more relaxing, restful, comfortable moments. Which ones are you going to create in your home? Need some help creating cozy spaces? Contact Color Joy Interiors for help!
