If you’ve followed along for a while, you know how much I love being at home and cozying things up a bit, even if it’s just in small and simple ways. With that in mind, in today’s post I’m sharing some easy decorating ideas to make your home look and feel more cozy and inviting, while retaining an elevated and luxurious feel.
Pure Salt Interiors – similar ottoman – similar sectionals here, here, and here
How to Make Your Home Look and Feel More Cozy
Below, you’ll find some easy ideas on how to make your home look and feel more cozy and inviting, not just in winter but every season.
Even better, these ideas work beautifully with any design style, color scheme, and budget.
1. Add warmth with rugs
One of the easiest ways to make your home feel more inviting is with rugs. Since all the floors on the main level of our home are wood or tile, rugs are a must — especially during the cooler seasons.
I love the elevated feeling a vintage rug brings to a space, as demonstrated in this gorgeous living room from Pure Salt Interiors:
Pure Salt Interiors – similar sectionals here, here, and here – similar coffee table here and here
I love the warm look this vintage runner adds to this timeless kitchen design from Jean Stoffer Interiors. Here’s a similar vintage rug.
This bright and welcoming dining room is perfectly tied together via a striped jute rug, wood dining table, and statement chandelier.
A rug made of jute or a wool and jute mix is the perfect way to bring a touch of warmth to the living room. I have jute rugs in almost every room of our home, and I love how they add a casual yet cohesive look to any space.
Pure Salt Interiors – rug – side chairs
area rug ideas:
2. Bring in warmth with cozy blankets and throws
One of the best ways to warm up your home for winter is with throws and blankets — particularly ones made of soft fabrics like cotton, cashmere, linen, or faux fur.
I love the cozy look of layered throws and bedding in the beautiful bedroom shown below:
favorite throws:
3. Add in a few pillows
My next tip is to pile on the throw pillows. I can’t think of anything that changes the look and feeling of a space faster than adding in a few new pillows.
I’m a big fan of velvet pillows — especially for winter decorating. Their soft, luxurious feel adds the perfect touch of warmth to the living room and bedroom.
favorite pillows:
4. Plants
I love having plants in the house–especially during the colder months.
They definitely keep me busy with all the watering, but I love the positive energy plants bring to our home!
5. Layer on the cozy textures
One of my favorite ways to add some interest and warmth to a space is with textured rugs, baskets, wood elements, and textiles.
I especially love the cozy look of nubby or tweedy fabrics, fur, sherpa, and boucle’ for winter.
I recently added some texture to our living room, via a boucle’ ottoman coffee table, a natural jute rug, and cozy fur throw, and I love the sense of coziness they bring to this space.
Even though the artwork in this bedroom is beach inspired, the cane bed, braided jute rug, basket, and mix of pillows supply abundant texture, warmth, and coziness to this space.
6. Artwork
Displaying artwork, photos and treasures from your favorite trips, either individually or as a collection, is a great way to bring a fresh touch of warmth and personality to your home.
Lindye Galloway Studio – artwork source
7. Books
Books add a personal touch to any space and are such an easy way to make your home feel cozy on a budget.
I like to display books on coffee tables, side tables, kitchen counters, night stands, and consoles.
In our kitchen, a basket displays a rotating collection of favorite cookbooks. This basket is no longer available, but here’s a similar one.
8. Natural wood
The natural beauty of wood creates a warm and welcoming environment in any space.
And, with the growing desire for lighter, airier spaces, wood adds a much-needed grounding effect.
Warm wood tones are making a big comeback, particularly in flooring, as well as kitchen and bathroom cabinetry.
Jean Stoffer Interior Design – pendant lights
You can also incorporate warm wood tones through coffee tables, side tables, chairs, and wood picture frames.
Pure Salt Interiors – similar coffee tables here and here
Wooden counter stools and wood cutting boards are always a great way to bring a touch of warmth to the kitchen.
Anthology Creatives – similar counter stools
9. Add coziness to your home with color
Earth tones, warm neutrals, and rich colors like burgundy, navy blue, and chocolate brown are trending in 2025, and that trend will continue to grow in popularity throughout this winter into spring.
Warm tones of sand, mushroom, camel, terracotta, oatmeal, deep wine, and chocolate, along with muted greens and blues, work with every other color palette, making them the perfect cozy addition to any space.
Pure Salt Interiors for Katrina Scott
Rich earth tones work with every style of decor and are hugely popular this year, thanks in part to the modern organic and quiet luxury design trends.
A couple of years ago, gray and cool tones were popular in winter home decor; however, 2025 is all about a warm aesthetic and rich-hued tones.
If you’ve already embraced neutrals and warmer hues in your home, you might not need to do much to make your home feel more cozy for the cooler seasons!
You can learn more about incorporating earth tones and a warmer aesthetic in your home in my posts, What is Coastal Grandmother Style? (and why I’m loving this trend) and California Casual Style Decorating Ideas for Your Home.
Also, my post, Colors of the Year: Top Home Color Trends for 2025, shares more about this year’s color trends.
After we painted all the walls and ceilings in our house white, I discovered I could still make our home feel cozy by adding in some color via pillows, rugs, throws, artwork, and decorative accents.
Despite the piles of snow outside, a touch of color helps bring a warm feeling to our hearth room:
My favorite color is blue — and even though blue is on the cool side of the color spectrum, it’s also a “friendly” shade, making every space feel more welcoming.
10. Cozy scents
With all its hard surfaces, creating a cozy atmosphere in the kitchen can be tricky.
But I’ve discovered that a warm and welcoming feeling can be brought into any space with aromatherapy.
Here are some of my favorite essential oil diffuser blends I use to add a warm and inviting feeling to our kitchen:
3 drops clove + 4 drops orange
3 drops frankincense + 2 drops orange + 2 drops peppermint
4 drops orange + 3 drops cinnamon
4 drops tangerine + 3 drops peppermint
There are so many great ways to create a cozy, inviting feeling in your house, and I hope this list gave you some ideas for making your home feel more cozy and comfortable.
If you’re looking for stylish and affordable decor for the coming season, you might also be interested in my post about The New Studio McGee collection at Target. xo Jane
get the look:
Looking for more great ways to make your home cozy? Here are a few popular decorating ideas from the blog:
How to Add a Touch of Nancy Meyers Style to Your Kitchen and Home
Quiet Luxury Style: How to Bring this Chic Trend to Your Home
Modern Kitchen Pendant Lighting Ideas You Will Love
Where to Find Affordable Turkish Oushak Runners
Modern Coastal Decorating Ideas for Your Home
2025 Kitchen Design Trends and Decorating Ideas
Guest Bedroom Ideas for a Beautiful & Welcoming Space
Beautiful Modern Bathroom Design Ideas You Will Love
A Simple Guide to Mixing Metals in the Bathroom
How to Install Decorative Wall Molding: An Easy Weekend DIY Project
2025 Home Decor Trends and Design Styles You Will Love
Modern Bedroom Design Ideas for a Dreamy Master Suite
Modern Living Room Decorating Ideas You Will Love
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18 Comments
Jen
March 10, 2023 at 10:53 amHello! Thanks for all these great tips! Can you share where the couch is from in the first picture?
Jane
March 11, 2023 at 8:51 amHi Jen! Thank you so much for your kind words! That beautiful living room is from Pure Salt Interiors – they do have an online shop, but it doesn’t look like they have that sectional available right now. Here are a few other ideas:
The Pottery Barn Big Sur
The Crate and Barrel Oceanside
The Serena & Lily Norfolk
The Aiobha from Wayfair
The Serena & Lily Haven
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have additional questions. xo Jane
Lynn Reiner
April 16, 2020 at 4:57 pmJane: have a question regarding the living room rug. Love, love the indigo color, yet when I click on the picture, I am jumped to a Target page and while the description says “Indigo Blue”, the picture looks like navy blue or almost black. Is the rug really the beautiful indigo as your pictures show?
Jane
April 17, 2020 at 7:30 amHi Lynn! Thank you so much for asking about my living room rug. In real life it’s more of an indigo blue than it appears in the photos on Target’s website. Even in the store, when the rug is rolled up, it doesn’t show how pretty it is when it’s unrolled and placed under furniture. The nice thing about Target is that it’s easy to return things if they don’t work out in your space. Right now, they’re temporarily not accepting returns in store, but have extended their return window and are offering free UPS returns. I hope this helps — please let me know if you have any more questions! Xx Jane
Michele Holleran
February 21, 2020 at 11:24 amJane… I adore your ideas! I live in Westminster and my decorating tastes run parallel to yours. But I always find new ideas from what you share. Thank you! And here’s to an early spring in Colorado. Fingers crossed!
Jane
February 22, 2020 at 3:21 pmThank you so much Michele, that means a lot to me! It’s so wonderful to connect with you — and yes to an early spring!! xo Jane
Anonymous
October 16, 2021 at 7:40 amLovely! Keep in mind some essential oils can be toxic for pets.
Jane
October 17, 2021 at 8:06 amThank you so much for this wonderful reminder! I’m always very careful when using oils around our pets and encourage everyone to educate themselves before using oils on or around their pets. xo Jane
Sue
January 11, 2020 at 6:23 amJane, I love your blue and white décor, and those rugs are perfect! However, I have two cats and a long haired pup, and find that the rugs just attract and hold hair and dust too much. After vacuuming at least once a day for way too long, I gave up and reverted to my wood and engineered vinyl plank floors. Is there something I could treat the rugs with, that would repel hair? Like ScotchGuard or ?
Thanks for your help, and inspiration.
Jane
January 11, 2020 at 10:14 amHi Sue, thank you so much for your lovely comment. Having had a menagerie of dogs and cats over the years, I completely understand your rug issue! I do think the type of rug makes a difference. It seems like low pile rugs seem to hold less hair–and I always look for tufted rugs, rather than loop, so our pets’ nails won’t catch and snag. I would definitely avoid rugs made with viscose, as they seem to attract hair and dirt. Also, patterned rugs–especially if they’re the same color as your pets’ fur–help make hair less noticeable! I hope this helps! Have a great weekend xo Jane
Lynn
January 10, 2020 at 1:58 pmBeautiful Jane! Now can you come to Northern Ireland and work your magic on my home! Determined to add blue this year!!!! Lynn x
Jane
January 11, 2020 at 9:58 amThank you so much, my friend! Oh, how I wish I had a trip to Ireland in my future! If you’re like me, once you start adding blue, you won’t be able to stop! Have a great weekend xo Jane
Mariangela
January 10, 2020 at 11:45 amLove the blue and white theme! Any suggestions on rugs for a more pale gray/white room?
Jane
January 11, 2020 at 9:55 amHi! Thanks so much–I love pale gray and white together! For a more neutral look, I love a pale gray or gray/green oriental style rug, or even a natural jute or sisal rug. If you look under the Shop + Favorite Sources Tab above, you’ll find a section called Rugs, which has several rug ideas in all colors, styles and price ranges. Hope this helps! xo Jane
Jeanne
January 18, 2019 at 5:57 pmYour blue and white theme continues to mesmerize me! And you’ve made it as cozy in the winter as it was fresh in the summer!
Jane
January 18, 2019 at 8:08 pmThank you so much, Jeanne!! Your kind words mean the world to me! Have a wonderful weekend! xo jane
Kristen
January 18, 2019 at 5:20 amHi there,
I love this — thanks for sharing! I’m looking to add open shelving just like you have in your kitchen. Can you let me know where the shelves are from? I’m having a difficult time finding ones that aren’t too rustic, and yours are perfect!
Thanks!
Jane
January 18, 2019 at 9:59 amHi Kristen, thank you so much! I also wanted non-rustic shelves, so after lots of searching I ended up buying the Omega brand of shelves through Woodworker Express. I bought the unfinished alder and we added a crystal clear satin poly coat (Minwax). The poly coat did darken them a bit, but I’m happy with the darker color. I hope this helps! I’m working on a blog post sharing all of the details and sources for our kitchen, and I hope to have it published soon. Have a wonderful day! xo jane