Top 5 Tips For Creating a Cozy Home (Budget Friendly)

Create a cozy home with my 5 top tips that stir all the senses and help create that cozy home environment we all crave.

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A couple of years ago, maybe a bit more recently. I wrote a blog post about Martha Stewart. An ode to Martha truly. Finding her at 17 in a home that was anything but cozy gave me a lifetime of inspiration. Martha’s show would air once or twice weekly on those days.

I would watch her come up with some new exciting way to enhance a space or a meal. Or show how we too can create comfort or beauty in our surroundings with simple steps attainable by anyone who would just take the time to learn. She put a name to what she was doing.

Homemaking. A word, that at the time I knew very little of. A word that now excites me in my everyday life. It is simply what I do. What I am driven to do. To create beauty for myself and for the people that matter to me.

One huge aspect of homemaking is creating a space that is not only beautiful but one that is cozy, inviting, warm, and an all-around joy to be in. Over the years I have noticed a trend in my own personal homemaking. I have key things I go after and look for when creating a cozy space.

So in true Martha fashion, here are my top ways to create a cozy home.

Digging Deeper

First, let’s consider our senses for a moment, shall we? And let us ask ourselves what gives us a cozy feeling in the first place? Surely this answer is not so broad when we break down the feeling itself. I believe that this feeling involves all of our senses since creating a feeling goes a bit deeper than appreciating the look of something through mere sight. Cozy is inviting, nurturing in its own way, and a feeling everyone can appreciate.

Let’s dive into some of these ways to make a home cozy.

Lighting

What an awful thing it is to enter any space and find a stark intrusive light beaming at you. Any space no matter how pleasantly decorated will be lessened by bad lighting. What to do? Well, improve it of course! The right lighting goes a long way and soft lighting has a calming effective. A great option is to swap out the bulbs in your table lamps and floor lamps for  Edison bulbs. They instantly provide warm lighting and are essentially an inexpensive way instantly change the look and feel of a room. 

The warm soft glow is comforting and will even work well in a dining room. If you have harsh overhead lighting consider, turning it off all together in the evenings and bring in some smaller lamps placed around the space. If not using Edison bulbs, opt for light bulbs that are lower in wattage that will help give off softer lighting. As an extra touch, I found these really great flickering battery-operated candles to create a faux fireplace.

Their soft twinkle sets the tone for comfort and are a fun way to create ambient lighting in a seating area.

Textiles

Textiles are almost always sure to make this list in one way or another, since they are such an effective way to make the home feel cozy. Throw blankets, soft fabrics, throw pillows and a pretty area rug to tie the room together are all elements of coziness. But focusing more on the touch aspect. Ensuring the space has these softer comforting elements will add to the comfort of being in it. Different textures work well for both look and comfort.

 I like to change my throws and pillows out seasonally. Opting for flannels and heavier throws in colder months and even faux fur which can be nice. Then lightening up both the color scheme in neutral tones in warmer months. Natural materials provide lighter throws for warmer months. You might not need a soft throw blanket to cover up with on a hot day in July but having a lighter fabric to feel and wrap up in on a cooler evening will provide a breathable throw and a nice cozy look to the space when not in use.

Scents

One very often overlooked aspect of creating a cozy space is the scent. There are a number of ways to freshen up a space with smell or just provide a nice inviting scent. I personally like to take a more natural approach to this with beeswax candles and essential oils. You can learn how to make your own Beeswax Candles here.

They give off an earthy scent that I do enjoy however I do also like to provide more of a scent in our home. I have diffusers placed in both sitting areas and bathrooms. Right now I am enjoying pine, and fur mixed with a bit of lemon. In the summertime I find sweet oranges, grapefruit and lemon to give a nice citrusy smell. If you don’t like to use either, consider using a stovetop potpourri.

Music

Even a dead space can be livened up with music. One of the best ways to create a cozy environment is through music. I tend to lean towards classical music as it is not only beautiful but it is a great background filler. Dinner party music is great for times when the environment is a bit more upbeat.

An easy way to add music to a space is by adding an Alexa or even a bluetooth speaker to your home. If you don’t already have one, Alexa can play just about any music you ask her to. You can even create playlists. We love smooth jazz on rainy afternoons for a cozy vibe and soul beats on a Friday night. 

Bringing In Life

It might disappoint you to see indoor plants on this list if you are not one to keep them alive. Rest assured there are several that are extremely low maintenance and even do double duty by cleaning your air so they are especially great to have in a living room. I will list some below for you to check out. 

Bringing in a plant or two to space creates a bit of liveliness to it and a sense of calm. Plants are great for small spaces, set atop a side table, placed by the front door for entry and in cozy nooks. They are a great way to create a cozy atmosphere any time of the year.

If you absolutely don’t like them, I would suggest flowers. Fresh flowers also work wonderfully to add a bit of life to an area. An easy tip is to buy a larger bouquet and fill smaller vases to place around your home. This maximizes the bouquet’s impact and extends it to other others rather than just one.

Easy Plants To Consider

• Snake Plant
• Lady Palms
• Spider Plant
• Peace Lily
• Montersera Philodendrons

Practical Items and Candy

For this list, we have hit most of the senses. We have touch, smell, sound, and sight. But a missing one is taste. Now of course you won’t be leaving snacks all over the house but this is more to do with practical items that are placed in your home that provide usefulness when needed.

Ensuring that sitting areas have a place for setting drinks is one way we can do this. If you don’t have a table in an area where people gather and sit, add a table tray as part of the décor ensuring there is always a place for setting things down.

In the video I mentioned my grandmother, a lady like no other. She was the ultimate homemaker who kept a tidy home, served beautiful meals, and seemed to never have a hair out of place. She was from the heyday of homemaking, the 1950’s when homemakers were revered.

This lady knew her stuff. As a personal touch she had beautiful candy dishes placed throughout her home in sitting areas for guests and for herself to enjoy. Just a small simple treat to cozy up the space. Whether they were mints or Andes chocolates, the dishes were always filled. I know this because we were often shooed away from them. I love the idea of this. It is old-fashioned and gives a nice touch to an area.

Final Thoughts

Creating a cozy home is about thinking ahead, and seeing the need within a space. I often ask myself, what can be better here? Then I set about making small changes that contribute to its improvement. Although there are five things mentioned in this article that I believe are sure fire ways to create coziness in any home, there are endless possibilities. So look around, see the need and ask, what can be better here? Then let the transformation begin.

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Flickering Flameless Candles With Remote

Edison Bulbs

Alexa

Bluetooth Speaker

Wooden Drink Tray with Handles

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