Your living room should be a comforting, cozy space for you and your family. With fall and winter on the way, now’s the perfect time to take stock of your living room décor scheme and furnishings and perhaps consider a revamp.
There’s no single, one-size-fits-all solution for what makes a room feel cozy. That all depends on your personal tastes and preferences. And you don’t need a big budget to transform a cool, bland space into a snug living room that never fails to give you that warm and fuzzy feeling.
Here are some simple ideas and tips that you can use to create a perfect cozy living space, which you and your loved ones will simply adore spending time in.
1. Keep It Warm
The first thing you need to do if you want a cozy living room is to eradicate drafts and leaks.
The windows are the primary culprits when it comes to allowing cold air in, especially if you have old-style sash windows with wooden frames. Although it’s not a cheap option, replacing old windows with modern double or triple-glazed units will rule out draughts and condensation, keeping your living room warm. Properly sealed windows will prevent expensive heat from escaping, too, saving you money on energy bills in the long-term.
Although exposed floorboards look beautiful, they can also let in draughts from below. Use a flexible sealant to plug gaps, or scatter thick rugs over the floor to keep cold air out.
Chimneys are notorious for allowing draughts into your home and for providing the perfect escape route for precious heat. To instantly cure that problem, install a draught excluder in your chimney.
Draught excluders can be custom made and professionally installed, or you might prefer to use an inflatable device that fits inside the chimney, just like a balloon. Make sure that the device you choose has a vent so that air can pass through or is made from a breathable material, such as wool.
When you want to light your fire, remember to remove the draught excluder first!
2. Trick Of The Light
Getting the perfect cozy living room ambiance can be created in by using clever lighting techniques. Soft lighting is preferable, ideally with dimmable ceiling lights, lamps with dark shades, and low-wattage, tinted bulbs.
If you have a woodburning stove or an open fireplace, the flickering glow of a fire on a damp, dull afternoon can make any room feel snug. If you don’t have a real fire, arrange candles of different sizes around your hearth instead, and create the impression of firelight with carefully placed mirrors or decorative reflective tiles.
3. Betta Glow
The presence of aquarium fish in your home is known to be relaxing and good for relieving stress. So, the addition of an exotic betta fish gliding around in a beautifully aquascaped tank to your living room can enhance the cozy, chilled-out feel of the room, as well as creating a lovely focal point.
Choosing a home for your betta is a fun activity that your kids will love, and there are lots of quirky, charming aquarium designs and styles to consider. Create a unique look for your betta tank that blends perfectly with your living room scheme, perhaps including lighting effects to compliment the colors that you’re working with.
4. Copper And Brass
Copper and brass ornaments can create a wonderful, cozy living room feel by reflecting the surrounding colors and light in muted sepia tones.
To maximize that beautiful olde-worlde vibe, try placing a pair of large copper pots on either side of your fireplace, or invest in an antique brass companion set or fire screen and stand it in your hearth, where it will catch the light of candles or flickering firelight.
5. Layers And Textures
On a wet and windy winter’s evening, nothing’s better than a cozy living room with a comforting blanket you can snuggle up with amid a pile of luxurious soft throw pillows and cushions.
Try mixing faux-fur, fleece, and chunky knitted fabrics layered with natural silk and cashmere to create a delightfully indulgent vibe that you’ll love sinking into.
6. Be Bold
If you want to create a cozy, warm atmosphere in your room, steer away from pale colors and pastels and focus instead on deep shades.
For example, navy blue and charcoal-gray look stunning together on a wall, especially when teamed with soft furnishings in brighter berry shades and autumnal oranges and reds. If you have dark-stained wood flooring, add a splash of warm color with mustard and ochre Persian rugs.
Final Thoughts
Creating a comfortable, cozy living room this fall doesn’t need to be expensive or require a huge redecoration project to achieve. Instead, you can use a combination of fabrics, colors, and textures to change things up, ready for the cold weather.
If you have any great ideas for making a cozy living room, share them with us in the comments box below.
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