Top 5 Tips For Creating a Cozy Home
Today I am discussing my top 5 tips for creating a cozy home that incorporate all the senses.
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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 creating cozy in my home.
But first, let’s consider our senses, shall we? And let us ask ourselves what gives us a cozy feeling? 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! I find Edison bulbs to be a lovely way to enhance the lighting.
The warm soft glow is comforting. Turn off overhead lighting and bring in some smaller lamps placed around the space. If not using Edison bulbs, opt for bulbs that are lower in wattage that will help give off softer lighting. I found these really great flickering battery-operated candles to create a faux fireplace. Their soft twinkle sets the tone for comfort.
Textiles
Textiles are almost always sure to make this list in one way or another. Throws, soft blankets, and a pretty 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.
I like to change mine outseasonallyy. Opting for flannels and heavier throws in colder months. Then lightening up both the color scheme and fabrics in warmer months. You might not need a soft light throw to cover up with on a hot day in July but having one there for both looks and for a cooler evening provides comfort.
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.
Music
A dead space can be livened up with 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. Nonetheless, I think you get the idea. Adding an Alexa or even a bluetooth speaker to your home is a nice touch. If you don’t already have one, Alexa can play just about any music you ask her to. You can even create playlists.
Bringing In Life
It might disappoint you to see 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. 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. If you absolutely don’t like them, I would suggest flowers. Fresh-cut 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 stretches the bouquet’s reach instead of just one area.
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 decor 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.
The lady knew her stuff. She also had beautiful candy dishes placed throughout her home in sitting areas for guests and for herself I imagine. Just a small 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.
Needless to say, these tips have a lot to do with thinking ahead and providing something of a comfort. I hope you find them useful in your home.
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