10 Affordable Ways To Make Your Home Feel Cozy

For most people, a home is much more than just a roof and some walls. It's a place in which they take pride, make memories and spend time with loved ones. Whether you own your abode or rent it, there are easy ways to make your home look distinctively yours without spending a fortune.

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Keep reading to learn some tips to make your home authentically yours, and remember to check with your homeowner's association or landlord before making any major changes, if applicable.

1. Decorate Spaces With Meaningful Pictures

One of the easiest ways to jazz up any space in your home is to hang sentimental pictures on blank walls. Maybe you'll choose to showcase pictures from the trip to Paris you took last summer, or perhaps you'll decide to focus on snapshots that feature you and some of your loved ones, whether they're friends or family members.

Depending on the style you select, it's easy to find picture frames for less than 10 dollars. You can also hang a series of photos in creative arrangements for eye-catching effects. Consider buying colored photo frames to add an exciting element to a white wall.

2. Paint Your Front Door

Sometimes, you can let people know what to expect inside your home with one very important component: the front door. Pick a hue that matches the atmosphere of your home or gives visitors clues about your personality and how it's reflected in your home.

For example, you might want to choose a shade of red for the door that's identical to a shade you use frequently in your sitting room, because that decision gives a preview of your interior design scheme.

Alternatively, if you're characteristically a very cheerful, upbeat person and want your home to emphasize those qualities too, a shade of bright yellow or sky blue could help people feel more cheerful before they even walk into your home.

3. Use Throws And Decorative Pillows To Create Warmth

A cozy home is usually one where people feel comfortable lingering for a while. You can encourage them to stay a while by filling your gathering places with throws and pillows. Rest them on couches or toss them on chairs. The idea is to create a space that seems spontaneously cozy, rather than an area that you spent hours making it look just right.

Experiment by using textiles with funky patterns or appealing colors. Chair cushions are also excellent ways to make hard chairs look and seem more welcoming.

4. Buy Lights To Set The Mood

If a room is too bright, people may feel the atmosphere is overwhelming. However, you can do a lot to set the mood and not make your home overly illuminated by purchasing floor lamps for the corners, table lamps to go on top of some of your furnishings, and clip-on desk lights to brighten up areas near bookshelves.

Some rooms don't have enough built-in lighting, which can make them look drab and depressing.

Fortunately, it's very easy to fix the problem with the types of supplemental lights described above. Even better, if you're careful to locate the best bargains, you can find cool lighting options for less than 50 dollars.

Also consider that you may have the best luck shopping for home items in the fall, because many retailers specifically offer special sales geared towards students who are going back to their university campuses and staying in dormitories or apartments near their class locations.

5. Use Plates As Interesting Wall Decorations

Looking for an alternative to pictures while decorating your walls? Try plates! You can choose from a broad variety of colors, patterns and designs, and since plates are available to buy at most mass merchandise chain stores, you won't have to spend much to buy a lot. To make a maximum impact, lay out the plates on a flat surface first, such as a table.

Then, once you've figured out your desired arrangement, attach them to the wall with picture-hanging hardware. Put the most dramatic plate in the center, and then arrange complementing plates around it. Not only will the plates add color, but they'll give depth and dimension, too.

6. Bring Nature Indoors

Live plants and flowers add beauty to any space and make it more intriguing. These additions can also have a calming effect, especially if your visitors feel separated from nature because they're shut inside all day. If you're not able to manage the care necessary for live plants, consider decorating with wreaths that have nature themes and use them as worthy substitutes.

7. Decorate The Floors

If your home features some areas with hard floors, make them more comfortable by adding soft rugs. Soft varieties with a shaggy look are excellent options because they encourage people to dig their bare toes into the material. Also, use doormats to help signal transitions between one room to the next, especially when moving between outdoor areas to indoor ones.

Doormats remind people to wipe their feet upon entering, and you can find numerous cute designs featuring friendly sayings, cute graphics and gorgeous color schemes. It's easy to find lots of options just by visiting your local home improvement store.

8. Hang Hooks On The Walls To Serve As Easy Storage Solutions

It's smart to install storage hooks in highly trafficked areas of your house, especially because they'll give people cues about where to hang things such as coats, scarves and hats.

Ultimately, these hooks won't just be there for looks, but act as highly functional additions that help your home look less cluttered. The tidier your house is, the cozier it should look. Storage hooks are inexpensive, easy to install and available in many styles, making them sure bets for your space.

9. Depend On Mirrors To Make Spaces Look Larger

Mirrors do more than provide a way for people to check their reflections. They also create an optical illusion that makes rooms look larger than they really are.

Also, as light reflects off a mirror's shiny surface, it makes the area look lighter. Seek out a mirror that matches your stylistic preferences, and think about ways to personalize it. A can of spray paint, for example, works well if you like everything about a mirror except its color.

10-affordable-ways-to-make-your-home-feel-cozy-pin10. Rely On The Pungent Power Of Scents

In order to make a room look especially cozy, it's sometimes necessary to think about how a person experiences it with all of their senses. Don't overlook the sense of smell.

You can easily add a pleasant aroma to a room by using incense sticks or scented candles. Also, think of what you're trying to achieve by using scents. Lavender used in a lounging area might help induce relaxation, while a fruity scent, such as orange or lemon, works well for making people feel alert.

Hopefully it's now clear you don't have to spend very much to make your home a cheerful and cozy place for all your household members and visitors to enjoy. For best results, think of your goal as a never-ending and flexible process, and remember there's no right or wrong way to go about things.

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