Cozy homes are often layered with collected pieces. While not one item alone has the power to make a home more warm and inviting, sometimes all it takes to tip the scale is a single accessory.
When you finally figure out the missing piece, the difference is night and day. You may even suddenly find yourself finally wanting to spend more time at home or host often.
We asked a handful of designers to share about the very first thing they add to a home to make it feel more welcoming instantly. If your home is lacking an inviting touch that you can’t seem to put your finger on, it very well may be one of these things.
Lamp Lighting
Joni Burden, founder of J. Banks Design Group, almost always adds lamp lighting to any residential project she’s working on.
“Soft lighting and lower lighting make any home feel more welcoming,” she says. “Overhead lights, even with dimmers, do not accomplish the same feeling.”
Aim for a variety of table lamps and floor lamps in a space. If you want to magnify lamp light a bit, strategically place them near mirrors. The reflective surface will spread the warm and cozy glow across the entire room.
And if you’d rather not deal with the cords and prefer the look of hardwired lighting, consider investing in some wall sconces. Similar to lamps, you’ll get a warm and cozy glow that overhead lighting could never replicate.
Textiles
According to designer Claire Thompson, nothing can transform a room into a cozy space to relax quite like textiles. While area rugs and curtains might not be quite as essential as other investment pieces like a kitchen table or blinds, the difference they make is unmatched.
“Drapery or a large, wool area rug will do the trick,” she says. “Both will instantly make the room feel cozy and add a layer of softness to the room.”
Designer Lisa Whitley of J. Banks Design Group also cited rugs and window treatments as the first two details she adds to instantly make a space feel more welcoming.
“Rugs make spaces feel larger and cozier, but the key to using a rug is making sure it is the correct size,” she says. “At a minimum, you should have the front legs of the furniture on the rug, but I prefer that all legs fit. This does not mean that a rug needs to be wall-to-wall, but there should be a good balance.”
Houseplants
If a room Jennie Rebecca Springer is designing starts to feel a bit too sterile, she knows one thing is likely missing: houseplants. There’s just something about plants that makes people feel happy and at ease.
“Houseplants give a sense of life to a space, and are great for air quality,” she says.
Adding a touch of nature to your home is an especially great choice if your style leans more modern or midcentury. The soft, curved lines of vines, leaves, and blooms will contrast nicely against the sleek lines.
A Signature Scent
Springer also gave us one honorable mention. She says that a welcoming home engages all the senses, which in turn puts you completely at ease.
One of these senses that’s easy to overlook is smell. If you have a signature scent you like wearing on your body, she suggests letting that inspire how you scent your home.
Simply look at the notes in your perfume and layer them into your home with candles, diffusers, and room spray.