10 Ways to Create a Cozy Home

Looking for ways to create a cozy home? My most commonly used word to describe what I want for our home is the word “cozy.” Next to that is warm, inviting, and restful. If I don’t feel peaceful in the space that I’m spending a lot of time in, I find that same feeling of unrest pouring over into the rest of my life.

When I say cozy, I mean a thoughtful space that you just want to curl up in with a good book. A place that you can walk into and feel relief and leave feeling renewed.

Today, I am sharing things that have worked in making our home a cozy and restful space. So here it is, a list of 10 ways to make your home cozy and inviting!

10 WAYS TO CREATE A COZY HOME:

1. A clean, minimal space to start.

This will be at the head of any list I make for creating a home that you love. Simplify, minimize, and have less stuff to manage. This will give you FREEDOM in your home, and room to add things that really “spark joy.”

2. Soft blankets and throw pillows.

I have been collecting blankets and throw pillow inserts since we were renting our first little condo. My favorite places to find these are at thrift stores (don’t be ashamed to take your $3 blanket score home, wash it, and give it a new life!) I also check throw pillow bins for pillows with removable covers that have a nice insert. I have found many of our down feather throw pillow inserts this way!

I use blankets in a few different ways:
Drape them on the side or back of your couch and accent chair arms.
Put them in big baskets to fill empty corners and spaces of your home.
Put them at the foot of a bed.

I like to look for blankets with texture. I have found almost all of our blankets at thrift stores, TJ Maxx, Home Goods, and Target.

For a living room, a good rule of thumb is to have 22×22″ to 24x 24″ pillows on each end of the sofa. Then 18″x18″ or 12″x12″ next to that. At minimum, two pillows at each end. Vary texture and color, but make sure the colors are complimentary. I also like to add one big pillow to our accent chairs, as well. Don’t forget to check your thrift store for those inserts! You can always order new covers to bring them back to life

3. Use lamps to brighten up dark spaces, instead of overhead lighting.

In both of our main living areas, I have two or three light sources. They are across the room from each other to help bring light to every corner. I rarely use overhead lighting in either room.

Check out thrift stores and marketplace for these items. I’ve found several of our lamps on marketplace and then spray painted or “aged” them to get the look that I want.

4. Add a couple of candles, electric candles, and/or diffuser to the room.

I love cozy lighting, so you’ll usually find all three of these things in our main living areas. Again, these help provide light and warmth to the room that may seem small, but really make a big impact.

Also, I may be biased and yes! This is a shameless plug! But my own, sweet mom has a candle business, and she makes the very best 100% soy candles. She also uses all natural wicks and keeps all things artificial out of the candles. I promise that I’m not just pushing these because she’s my mom. I do love the woman, but her candles are wonderful.

5. Add some plants or fresh flowers.

I have several plants in each room of our home. One of my favorite plants (the one in the photo below) was actually a philodendron hanging basket from Home Depot that I dropped into a concrete planter to make a beautiful and FULL houseplant. I actually think it has doubled in size since I took this photo.

I also love to cut stems from outside and put them in a vase indoors. Adds instant charm!

6. Add wooden and woven elements.

Adding wood and woven textures to a room brings an instant warmth and coziness.

This can be done in so many ways. Hardwood floors, a wooden framed doorway (as pictured above), wood tables, wood photo frames, wooden bowls. A very simple way is to display firewood in a basket.

I like to keep wicker baskets in each room of our home to “catch” things. If you have kids, you know what this means 

7. Incorporate throw rugs.

A good rug can really tie a room together and adds a softness to any space.

8. Add some books.

A few ideas for this… prop a couple books against bookends, sprinkle them on a shelf, or have a couple on an end table with a candle or small plant on top. I have found beautiful, vintage books at thrift stores for just dollars. You can also find groups of them for sale on ebay, or even your local marketplace.

9. Add artwork or photos that tell of who you are and what you love.

I made a Dollar Tree gallery wall and a faux matte to display some of our family photos.

10. Decorate with natural elements.

We already talked about wooden and wicker elements. To keep things cozy, yet also minimal, I like to incorporate natural elements. Decorate with a bowl of fruit or a stem from outside.

Hopefully this gives you a few, new ideas or sparks some inspiration to create a cozy home!