How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

I think our house is comfy and that others feel comfortable here, but it doesn't feel 'cozy' to me. We just moved in here in the end of May- i was 7 mths PG, so we really just focused on getting the initial set up and furniture done before the baby came (i.e- we have done NO decorating whatsoever).

DH and i both hate clutter though, so that holds us back from really decorating b/c i feel like its such a thin line. But we need to do something b/c i feel like it feels so barron here sometimes. We still haven't had the main floor painted, so i was holding out for that, but i think we'll decorate and if we hire a painter soon, then we'll just take it down (b/c i dont want to put it on hold anymore).

The other problem is also related to my favorite aspect of the house- it's open layout. One space spills into the other, so the task of decorating it seems daunting to me (yeah, im just not good with this stuff ).

So, i'm curious what you all do to make your homes feel more Cozy? Any tips? where do you get your inspiration from? I'll try to post pics also to show what we're working with.

Thanks!

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

Here's a pic looking in from the kitchen to the LR/DR. the LR is closest and DR table is set up in front of the window. Off of the dining room, there's sliding pocket doors (that go into the wall) and that leads to the play room. On the left side of the pic (where the baseboard is) is where we have our TV on a TV stand. On the right side (not shown) is the stairway upstairs. I was thinking of hanging artwork over the TV, but thought that might look weird?




here's another angle from the other side:


And another angle- from the dining area looking towards the kitchen. We have a sectional set up so the back is to the walkway to the kitch- 1 prt faces the TV, and the other part faces the fireplace.

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

great space and i love the fireplace!!

do you have any pics of how you have it set up now.. that will help us get a better idea of your style and how to accessorize it!! im in the mood to hunt online!

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

I agree about the great space.

To make it more cozy I would add an area rug (under DR table and coffee table), window treatments, art, table lamps.

Any thoughts about painting the brick?

Message edited 11/12/2009 11:42:55 PM.

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

I think that putting up artwork, photos and mirrors really help make a house feel cozy. I also like to have decorative pieces on a side table to help add some personality to the room.

ETS: I agree with the pp by using areas rugs and great overhead lighting to define spaces. I agree with you that I don't love a lot of nick nacks, but one great piece to help tie in colors will help give that homey feel.

Message edited 11/12/2009 11:44:52 PM.

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

Nice Levitt Ranch

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

DH and I dont like clutter either, we moved in our house the end of june, we havent gotten to hang pictures or anything yet but one quick thing we did to make our house more homey and cozy was put out plants,

we have an open great room to dining room so we put 1 plant on a corner table in the DR, 1 floor palm by the fireplace and 1 other plant on the end table.......

they just soften any space and of course clean the air, so i think its a quick win-win

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

Area rugs, personal pictures, warm throws, candles, mirrors

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

I totally agree with everything that has been posted.

- Art
- Area rugs
- Lamps
- Plants
- A white Mantle with pictures or decor on top (candles and mirror are always nice looking).
- Accent Pillows
- A throw on the couch
- A few decorative pieces on the coffee table and side tables. Nothing much.
- Candles are always a cozy thing.
- Soft sheers or curtains on the windows

Check out these links:
Link to pics in my album
My House (open area)
My Family Room

Also check out sites like Decorpad.com. Great ideas there. That is where a lot of my pics from my first link came from. Also YoungHouseLove.com....great blog.

ETA: And I love how nice and open your home is. Great room!

Message edited 11/13/2009 12:39:44 PM.

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

I agree with plants - they always make a house look a lot more lived in and homey to me. There are lots of plants that don't require much care/light and are easy to maintain.

I think a few personal pictures around always help as well - perhaps putting a mantle on your fireplace wall will give you a nice place to put up a few photos of you guys.

Area rugs and accent lighting always help too - floor lamps/table lamps give off much more intimate lighting and help create cozy areas as well

HTH!

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

i am having a hard time with this as well....we just about finished our living and dining room and are ready to move on to the accessories....i know that i still need some more pillows and a throw to cozy up the couch...but i still have to figure out what kind of things i can get to make the space feel more "lived in"....but i am like you - i hate "clutter" and so does my DH....if it were up to him we'd probably leave the room as is but i feel like it's too naked hahaha

i agree with the other girls - artwork, pictures, lamps, plants, maybe a mirror, some candles...

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

I feel certain rooms in our house are more cozy than others, but to me they are complete. Our formal living room is cozy and to me, I'm done decorating. Our den has nothing hanging on the walls. It's really comfortable but I feel like it's not cozy yet.

We've been in our house over a year and still not done with this process

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

Thank you so much for all of the ideas and links!!!

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

Warm colored walls. I usually stick to BM historical colors. I find as soon as you put a warm color on your wall everything else is just icing on the cake

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

for me what makes my house feel cozy is natural/neautral/warm colors on the walls. Nothing too bold.

we also have an open floor plan my living room spills into the kitchen and then into the dining room. so we used 2 colors that flowed. the other decor in the rooms arent matcy matchy but flow with each other, warm tones, blacks, beiges, tans, greens.

as far as furniture, we picked couches that looked nice but people arent afraid to sit on.

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

Paint will do wonders for you. Neutral colors will give it a more cozy look as will neutral furniture. Everyone else suggestions were great.

I have almost the same layout as you and I had difficulty with the decorating. We have hardwood floors and everything came together once we painted and added an area rug, wood blinds and some personal portraits on the walls.

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?

Re: How do you make your home 'Cozy'?