10 tips for creating a cozy interior

 

Hi ya'll, as you know I have been trying to get my house organized and ready to sell.  So lately my post have been about how to do just that.  So after hours and hours of searching for practical solutions and then some of my own, I have been posting them here.  I don't believe you can have to many "easy" solutions to help us as well as free up some of our time for other things we enjoying doing.  Right? 

I find it really hard to make a house cozy and warm and inviting with over half your belonging packed away in a box.  So I ran across this article and will be implementing some of them on making a cozy interior.

Sharing some pictures from model homes...

We asked Anne Côté, style director for Chocolat magazine, to give us the inside scoop on how to make a home feel warmer. Here are 10 amazingly simple ways to create a snug and intimate space.

By Text: Mélanie Pratte

1. Accessorize your foyer.
A welcoming entranceway makes visitors feel at home as soon as they set foot inside the door. Space a bit cramped? Even a small shelf for keys and mail will add a touch of comfort. According to our expert "It's as though your home is holding out its hand to help you take off your shoes and hang up your coat."

2. Bring the outside in.
You know that empty corner you glance at every day? Côté suggests brightening it up with flowers, or maybe berries and greenery bought at the market; even the supermarket may have something fresh and green.

3. Install dimmer switches.
To create an intimate ambiance, the interior design guru recommends installing a dimmer function on your light switches. It's a simple way to vary the lighting in a room according to your mood.

4. Scatter a few rugs around.
You can have cozy toes, eat your breakfast picnic style, even read the newspapers on the living room floor if you throw down some soft rugs down.

5. Create an elegant table setting.
Goodbye stained tablecloths and scratched plates! Our home decor expert invites us to go all out, even if it's just you eating: Cover the table with a length of tasteful fabric and get out your best dishes.

6. Become a candle collector.
Nothing creates a warmer ambiance than soft candlelight - The more candles, the better," claims Côté. Create arrangements you can vary depending on your mood or the season.

7. Make your couch a soft and cozy sanctuary.
A nice wooly blanket or throw draped casually over your favorite couch will add a touch of softness to your decor - and you can wrap it around yourself when you're watching TV. Kick up the comfort factor with big, comfy cushions. You can find them anywhere and they come in an infinite number of colours and styles.

8. Brighten up your walls with travel photos.
Fight against the dying of the light by hanging framed prints of your best travel photos in rooms or along the hallway. Our expert says that not only will they bring back fond memories, they will also act as an original conversation piece.

9. Play music, sweet music, music everywhere . . .
Make your home more welcoming by replacing TV sound with soothing music. If you have a laptop and portable speakers, you can tap into the Web's infinite resources to create your own personal playlist.

10. Stimulate your scents of smell.
"Everyone knows aromas can take you far away," says our expert. Her first suggestion is to burn incense or put a log on the fireplace for a quick cocooning effect. If you don't have a fireplace, you can burn some Papier d'Arménie, an old-fashioned air purifier scented with vanilla and resin, originally from the Middle East. Slip in a DVD that shows a crackling fire and glance at it from time to time when you look up from your book. "It sounds kitschy, but it really works," Côté claims.

 

Have fun decorating!