30 Ideas for How to Create a Cozy Home With Style

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What makes a home, homey? A true “warm home aesthetic” can only go so far when you only consider decorating and design. Instead, use these 30 ideas to learn how to create a cozy home with style!

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How to Create a Cozy Home

Creating a cozy home can be done very easily with simple design tips and decorating techniques. However, when you stop to consider what actually makes your home feel cozy, it is typically more related to personal experiences and family memories.

For that reason, I want to focus on more than just design. Let’s create a cozy home with these intentional design and lifestyle techniques.

Create a Signature Scent

We all have those homes that we’ve associated with a particular scent.

Maybe it was grandma’s moth balls. Maybe it was your aunt’s favorite candle. Or perhaps it was mom’s fresh baked bread.

Scent has an especially strong tie to memory and plays an important role in how to create a cozy home.

You decide what you’d like your signature scent to be. (Tip…let’s leave Grandma’s moth balls in the past.)

Perhaps it’s a regular simmer pot you have on the stove, a favorite candle, or an easy essential oil blend in the diffuser. For me, I love that my fresh baked breads are a welcoming scent when my family returns home.

What will yours be?

Create a Cozy GLow

There is nothing cozier than the flicker of a flame.

If you don’t have a fireplace, you can create the same atmosphere using candles. And, if you don’t love the idea of burning real candles, you can achieve the look using realistic faux candles.

These battery operated candles are especially realistic.

• Real wax, drippy taper candles with remote
• Flameless pillar candles
• Battery operated candles with a flickering flame

Dedicate Space to Rest

One of the easiest ways to create a cozy home is to dedicate a specific space to rest.

Perhaps rest to you is curled up with a book and hot drink. Maybe it is space to get alone with the Lord for Bible and prayer time. Or, perhaps you rest with a good old-fashioned movie night.

Whatever “rest” means to you, carve out a space in your home that is dedicated to rest. Make spending time in this space part of your family routine.

Craft a Drink Station

Drink stations are especially cozy when you are entertaining.

Whether you love coffee, cocoa, tea, or cocktails, creating a drink station is a great way to create a cozy and welcoming atmosphere.

Guests feel more at ease to make themselves at home when they can easily access everything they need to enjoy a cozy drink.

Design a Seating Area for Two

Is there anything cozier than an intimate sitting area?

If you have space, create a cozy sitting area for two next to a fireplace, in a bay window, on one side of your bedroom, or in a common space.

Use a small area rug to create the zone parameters, and add a small side table for a book or coffee cup.

You can create a cozy home by designing intimate little spaces like this for you to enjoy.

Carve Out a Reading Nook

Similarly, you can carve out an intimate little reading nook to create a cozy space.

Many people do this with a built in between two windows. However, you can create a reading nook anywhere you can fit an arm chair.

Just make it extra cozy with plush pillows and textured blankets.

Turn an Awkward Space Into a Journaling Zone

Another option to create a cozy space in your home is to turn an awkward space into a journaling zone.

We all have those spaces in our homes that feel useless or awkward. Place a small desk or a large arm chair in those awkward corners to carve out a space to be alone with your thoughts.

Adding journaling into your daily practice is a great way to calm your mind and bring intentionality into your routine.

Add Live Plants

Caring for live indoor plants isn’t as complicated as some may think.

You can learn all about caring for low maintenance indoor plants in these articles.

Adding live plants to your home helps the space feel more welcoming and whimsical. All the while, also cleaning the air and bringing other health benefits to your space.

Incorporate Wood Tones

Warm wood tones like walnut, mahogany, red oak and burl wood help a room feel cozy as it connects it to nature.

Bright white furnishings can feel sterile and bland. However, wood furnishings or accents go a long way to adding charm and character to a space to make it feel even more welcoming.

Bring wood tones in through furniture, picture frames, mirrors, wood beams, tables, flooring, or even figurines or vases.

Textured Textiles

Bringing texture into a space instantly adds warmth and coziness.

The easiest way to do that is through fabrics and textiles. Here are a few of my favorite options:

• Velvet
• Wool
• Linen
• Organic cotton
• Knits (waffle, cable, knitted blankets…etc)

Antique Furnishings and Decor

Whether you love antiques or you think they belong in a museum, I say, add a few into your home.

Antiques or vintage decor add a storied element to your home. Storied homes are cozy.

If you aren’t a fan of tchotchkes, consider adding antique furniture to break up more modern elements.

Lots of Layers

There is nothing cozier than layers of blankets and pillows.

Cozy = comfort.

I love stacking 4-5 folded blankets on the lower part of a console table or the side of a fireplace hearth.

These serve as beautiful textile decor and cozy comfort that is easily accessible.

Dedicate a Mini Library

Almost every home has space for a book shelf.

Whether that is a 3 ft tall mini bookshelf, simple floating wall shelves, or a full wall of bookshelves, dedicate a mini library.

Create a cozy home with real books that you can pick up and flip through anytime you feel like it. Plus, it serves as beautiful decor.

Create Atmosphere with Ambient Lighting

Just like scent, lighting plays an important role in creating atmosphere.

Mood lighting doesn’t have to mean dark spaces. Rather, use warm light bulbs (2700-3000K), dimmers, lamps and sconces to strategically light a space.

Overhead lights are useful and practical, but ambient lighting is cozy!

Place Cozy Rugs or Carpet Underfoot

While I personally love wood or tile floors, carpet is also a great option for bedrooms and family rooms.

Cozy carpet is welcoming and especially nice for children. On the other hand, a cozy area rug can serve the same purpose when placed strategically under beds and sofas.

If you choose to use an area rug, make sure to add a rug pad for extra cushion and coziness.

You can find my favorite area rugs here.

Woven Materials

Anything textural, like we discussed above, adds a cozy element to your home.

So think beyond fabrics. Woven materials like baskets, jute rugs, wicker trays, woven lamp shades, or wall tapestries all add beautiful texture to a space.

Memorable Photographs

So far we’ve mostly talked about impersonal design tactics. But we all know that the things that make a home cozy are personal.

Add memorable photographs onto the wall, nightstands, coffee tables or book shelves. These don’t have to be family photos, though they can be.

Think beyond faces. Perhaps it’s a photo of your favorite memory of a sunset or an especially fantastic region of the world you visited.

Memories come in all shapes and sizes.

Use Luxurious Bedding

There is nothing cozier than sliding into a bed made with luxurious bedding.

However, luxury and cozy are defined differently by different people.

To some, flannel is cozy and luxurious. Others love silk or linen. Still others want simple cotton.

Choose your luxury and invest in quality bedding to spend 1/3 of your day.

Soften Windows

I love natural light.

I always leave some of my windows completely uncovered. Especially if there is a view to be seen.

However, adding drapes or bamboo/roman shades goes a long way to create a cozy home. This softens the window and also provides control over privacy and daylight streaming in.

Layer the Walls to Create a Cozy Home

Start by painting walls in a soft or warm color to create a cozy room.

Then, layer on wall mouldings or wallpaper for extra character and charm.

Finally, top it with a third layer of art or photographs.

These layers all create extra coziness in a home. Each layer brings a new element of design and character to the room. This helps allow personality and style to shine!

Use Warm Metals

Warm tone metals are a great way to bring in extra coziness to your home.

Warm tone metals are gold, copper, bronze, and brass. Not only are these beautiful colors, but the warm tone is best next to a cozy glow as it accentuates the lighting.

Personally, I like to mix metals. You can learn how to do this in this article.

Incorporate Plush Furnishings

Another way to create a cozy home is to incorporate plush furnishings.

While I would recommend mixing structured furniture with plush furniture for a more polished look, it is always extra cozy to have a plush chair or sofa to retreat to.

My favorite type of plush furniture is a chair-and-a-half style oversized armchair. It’s just big enough to feel like you can tuck your legs in and lounge, but small enough to fit in a cozy corner.

Remove Unnecessary Clutter

The next suggestion for how to create a cozy home is actually to remove clutter.

While you can add to design, sometimes it is what you remove that makes all the difference.

A cozy home is curated, not chaotic.

So remove all unnecessary items and you will also remove unneeded stress from having to keep up with it all. I like to declutter with three piles.

1. Trash/recycle
2. Donate
3. Repurpose

Avoid Matchy Matchy Furniture

For quite some time, it was the style to buy in sets.

A bedroom set. A sofa set. A dining set.

These all make perfect sense and can be quite lovely. But a cozy home is often more collected.

I love to mix and match complimentary furniture that isn’t a matching set. This helps your home feel like it has evolved over time rather than erupted from one single store.

Establish Tradition in Your space

One of the easiest ways to create a cozy home is to establish tradition in your space.

That may look like a morning or evening routine where you intentionally take time for rest, connection with family or re-energizing.

Or, it may look like traditions centered around big events, holidays, or even something unique to your family.

These routines and traditions are the memories that evoke cozy feelings of home that will last a lifetime.

Invite Others Into Your Imperfection

I’m a huge proponent for hosting when you don’t feel ready.

We’ve fallen into the trap that our homes need to be perfect to welcome others into them. I say, invite others into your imperfection.

After all, they likely will not see the things that you deem imperfect. Instead, they will remember being welcomed into a home and shown love and care.

This is a great way to create those special memories tied to the feeling of coziness.

Think Outdoors

While most of the time we focus on the indoors for how to create a cozy home, you shouldn’t overlook the outdoors.

Curb appeal is more than just nice landscaping.

Creating cozy spaces outdoors is also a part of creating a cozy home. This may be with a beautiful walkway to the front door, nice landscaping along the house, or well thought out backyard entertaining spaces.

This post is a great resource for how to create cozy outdoor spaces to create new memories in.

Paint Cabinetry in a Warm Color

Most of the time, we focus our attention on wall color.

This makes sense since it is the largest space in a room. However, creating coziness through cabinetry is a great way to bring in warm paint colors without the commitment of a full room.

I chose a warm taupe for our kitchen cabinets in my most recent remodel to warm up the space and bring in a casual element. I love how much cozier it feels than an all white kitchen.

You can do the same with bookshelves, built ins and bathroom vanities.

Quick List: How Can I Make My House Look Cozy?

Let’s recap. You can use these 30 ideas to make your house look, and feel, extra cozy. Skim through and see which ones you want to implement into your own home.

1. Create a signature scent
2. Add a cozy glow with real or faux candles, or a cozy fire
3. Dedicate space to rest
4. Craft a drink station for coffee, tea or cocoa
5. Design a seating area for two
6. Carve out a reading nook
7. Recreate an awkward space to serve as a journaling zone
8. Add live plants
9. Incorporate warm wood tones
10. Add texture with textiles
11. Use charming, unique and storied antiques in furnishings and decor
12. Add layers with pillows and throw blankets
13. Create a cozy home with bookshelves or a mini library
14. Use ambient lighting with warm light bulbs, dimmers, lamps and sconces to create a cozy atmosphere
15. Place cozy rugs underfoot
16. Use woven materials like baskets, jute rugs, or wicker trays
17. Place favorite memories throughout your home with photographs
18. Pay attention to bedding with luxurious textiles like linen or organic cotton
19. Soften windows with bamboo shades or drapes
20. Layer the walls with a soft paint color, topped with wall moulding and then finish with artwork, tapestry or photographs
21. Use warm tone metals in hardware and lighting
22. Add plush furnishings like an oversized arm chair or extra deep sofa
23. Remove unnecessary clutter so the space feels calming, not chaotic
24. Design a room with complimentary, but not matching, furnishings for a lived in and collected style
25. Create tradition within your space.
26. Welcome friends and family in, especially when it’s not perfect.
27. Think beyond the indoors to welcoming curb appeal
28. Establish a cozy morning and/or evening routine
29. Paint cabinetry a warm color
30. Consider cozy carpet in bedrooms or family rooms

Stay Connected

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today! I hope that these 30 ideas for how to create a cozy home, with style, have been helpful to you!

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~Sarah