COZINESS IN, CLUTTER OUT!
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Everybody wants a cozy home, but not everyone has a natural talent for interior design. Despite the myriad of TV programs about decorating houses, it is all too easy to miss the mark when decorating your own home without the help of experts. Sometimes we buy too many decorations, and they end up making the house feel cluttered. Have you ever wanted to put something down on a countertop and felt frustrated because there were already too many things in the way that had no other use other than looking pretty? Let us help you cultivate coziness in your home and follow simple rules to keep it clutter-free.
Shop Intentionally
Sometimes we buy things because we like them, and we want them now. But if we want to achieve a truly cohesive design throughout our home, our focus should be to look for specific pieces that will go together. Shopping intentionally may require patience at times. Buying all your decor in the first store you enter will limit the potential of what you could achieve in your home. For the sake of “getting it done fast” you could sacrifice your ultimate satisfaction with the outcome. You might not have the complete look right away when you move in, but what a great feeling it will be when you find that last piece you were looking for. Shopping for things you need rather than merely want, will help you maintain a less cluttered home. Two rules apply here: “less is more” and “patience is a virtue”.
Find Functional Solutions
Do you have things in your home that you need to keep but at times they feel like clutter? It’s all about finding functional solutions for these things. This means you want to find storage space with easy access to things that you often use. Bathroom is one of these rooms where clever storage solutions can be life changing as they allow you to not have all products of each family member always displayed. Once you neatly put these things away (but still have them easily accessible) you will realize that clean-up will get much easier and faster too.
Use Multi-purpose Objects
When deciding what to keep, what should go, and even what to buy, think about the practicality of things. Objects that serve multiple purposes are to be kept. It is ok if the secondary purpose of an object is simply the fact that it adds coziness. This is what we are trying to achieve, especially this time of the year. So, keep the candles and the blankets—they will both serve you well as it is starting to get cold. Have the blankets nicely folded if not in use. Scented candles not only look nice, but they make your house smell good. They are an important factor that creates an intimate and cozy feel in the house as they add low lighting and little warmth. Candle holders such as lanterns make for great center pieces on the table.
What else is a multi-purpose object?
- Curtains—they bring you privacy, give you a rest from the beaming sun, and help with the glare on your TV, not to mention their high “coziness factor”.
- Lamps—another alternative or addition to candles. They provide good-quality lighting if you decide to read a book, and different levels of lighting that goes from bright to intimate. Big lamps are also great decorative pieces of furniture that can even become a focal point of the room.
- Rugs—something soft and warm to step on or for children to play on. Rugs can add a pop of color and are much cozier than a bare floor.
Decorating Basics
Remember that everything does not always have to be displayed because that would make the house feel cluttered. Do you have too many pictures on the walls? Too many books in your bookshelf? Too many things on your countertops? Unsorted mail? A hundred magnets on the fridge? I could go on and on, but you get the picture. You can rotate decorations throughout the year or hang up different artwork and family photos with each new move. Make sure to hang up stuff at eye-level where you can enjoy looking at them.
When choosing color palette for your home, keep in mind that warm colors add coziness and light colors open up the space. An easy trick to make a house feel cozier is to incorporate plants and natural materials such as wood. Most people tend to focus on making their living room feel cozy but don’t neglect your bedroom. Update your bedding before winter with some material that holds in more warmth, and even add a nice throw.
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Andrea Marks is an Army spouse and a mom of two. Her educational background is professional journalism. Apart from writing articles for MilHousing Network blog, she is also an encyclopedic article author for EBSCOhost Research Platform and a devoted SFRG volunteer. At her previous location, Andrea was a volunteer editor for an overseas PCS reference guidebook.
