As the new year settles in, perhaps you’d like to make some changes around your home. Adding a cozy feeling to rooms in your home that are utilized most often by your family, such as your kitchen and living room, would be a great way to encourage and celebrate more family time in your home. Here are some ideas to get you started.
1. Use Your Tax Return to Purchase New Furniture You’ve Been Eyeing
As a parent, getting your tax return may mean tucking it away to use for bills or to save for a family vacation down the road. While these are both great ways to utilize the money you’ve gotten back, think about a different way you can use the cash. Did you know that the majority of your taxpayer dollars go toward Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP at 26%, followed closely by social security at 24%? Since your tax dollars are being used to help and support people, utilize the money you get back to cozy up your very own home!
If you’ve been eyeing some new furniture, such as a cozy sectional sofa and some new end tables, consider making these purchases with the tax receive you receive this year. New furniture can be a great investment in the look and cozy feel of your living room. If you’ve been wanting a new kitchen appliance or two and your family enjoys cooking together, then it may be worth purchasing those instead of or in addition to new furniture.
2. Add Whimsical Decor and Pictures to the Walls
Another way to cozy up your kitchen and living room is by adding whimsical decorations and pictures to the walls. Whimsical decor can include hung vases or small glass jugs with flowers and other plants peaking out, wall hangings with meaningful quotes or simple paintings, and macrame or other textured wall hangings that will lightly pop on the wall. Pictures of your family would make a home feel cozy, too. Simple frames in a few different shapes can hold pictures of your family from previous vacations, birthday dinners, or holidays as well as make a fun addition to your wall space.
3. Utilize Natural and Soft Lighting
In addition to new furniture and wall decor, lighting is important within a home, too. Dark spaces can feel unwelcoming, so utilize natural light in your home to coax brightness into the main areas of your home. Open the shades and curtains of your windows, which take up about 15% of your home’s wall space and greatly affect the lighting within any room. Hang string or fairy lights behind your window shades so dim but inviting and warm lighting will shine through when it’s dark outside. Consider purchasing tall lamps with different settings so you can adjust the lighting in the room. Candles are also great for soft lighting; if you have young children, battery-operated candles will do the trick, too.
4. Have Comfy Materials Handy
Coziness is often associated with feeling warm and happy. When your family goes to spend time in your living room, you may be reading, doing a puzzle, watching a movie, or sampling chatting all together. Having blankets and cozy pillows handy to lay with is a way for your living room furniture to feel more inviting and comfortable. No one wants to sit with an itchy or thin blanket, so be sure to purchase comfy ones that wash easily and are soft to the touch. You could even make your own blankets as a family activity, too!
5. Make Your Small Home Feel Bigger
If you have a small home and want it to feel cozy but don’t want rooms to be overflowing with stuff, consider minimalist ways to make rooms in your home feel both cozy and bigger. To make a room appear twice as deep, hang a mirror or two with styled frames. One single large painting or another piece of wall decor can make a wall and room feel bigger, too. Overall, decorating simply and minimally allows for a room to feel bigger.
Consider your furniture as well. If you plan on purchasing new furniture for your living room, purchase neutral tones and small-sized pieces. Furniture with higher legs can help, too. Additionally, consider ridding of curtains and rugs. This way, the room doesn’t feel enveloped with more furniture than it needs, and the minimal items in the room make the room appear bigger than it is.
With a new year and a fresh start available to your family and your home, consider taking these suggestions into consideration and redoing the most-used rooms in your home. The living room is where many families spend time together, so this room may be one you specifically want to look into buying new furniture and decorations for. Make it a family project by having your partner and kids help you find new pieces, too. More family time will definitely be spent in 2021 if you take the time to make your house feel more homey and cozy this winter and spring.
