**The Art of Coziness: Creating a Warm and Inviting Home**

For many of us, our home is more than just a physical space - it's a sanctuary where we can relax, unwind, and be ourselves. A cozy home is one that welcomes us with open arms, where we can let our guard down and be comfortable in our own skin. When designing a cozy space, there are several key elements to consider.

**Embracing the Unusual**

One of the hallmarks of a cozy space is its ability to accept and even celebrate its imperfections. This means embracing those quirky features that might otherwise seem out of place - like a weirdly-shaped Nook or an awkward wall space. Rather than trying to hide these quirks, we can lean into them and make them a part of our home's charm. By doing so, we create a sense of uniqueness and character that sets our space apart from more generic, cookie-cutter designs.

**Functionality Meets Comfort**

A cozy space is also one that prioritizes functionality over aesthetics. This means considering the flow of furniture and ensuring that our daily routines are made easier. We want to be able to move around our home with ease, without having to navigate through obstacles or clutter. By thoughtfully arranging our furniture, we can create a sense of fluidity and ease that makes our space feel truly lived-in.

**Lighting: The Warm Glow**

Lighting is another key element in creating a cozy atmosphere. Rather than relying on harsh overhead lighting, we can use lamps and other light sources to create a warm, inviting glow. This can be achieved by using table lamps, floor lamps, or even sconces to add depth and character to our space. The soft light created by these fixtures helps to create a sense of warmth and comfort, making our home feel like a true haven.

**Investing in Art and Decor**

One of the best ways to add coziness to our space is by investing in art and decor that speak to us. This might include statement pieces like vases or sculptures, or more subtle elements like throw pillows and blankets. By curating a collection of items that resonate with us, we can create a sense of personality and character that makes our home feel truly unique.

**The Value of Impermanence**

Rather than feeling pressure to wait until we've "found" the perfect forever home before decorating, we can start building our cozy space right now. By investing in pieces that can be taken with us when we move, we can create a sense of continuity and consistency that makes our home feel like ours. And even if we do move into a new home in the future, the memories and experiences we've accumulated along the way will make it feel truly special.

**Self-Expression and Experimentation**

Finally, designing a cozy space is all about embracing our individuality and having fun with the process. Rather than second-guessing ourselves or trying to conform to someone else's aesthetic, we can lean into our quirks and preferences. By experimenting with different styles, colors, and textures, we can create a space that truly reflects our personality and values.

**Conclusion**

Creating a cozy home is all about embracing the imperfections, prioritizing functionality over aesthetics, and investing in art and decor that speak to us. By leaning into our individuality and having fun with the design process, we can create a space that feels truly like ours - a sanctuary where we can relax, unwind, and be ourselves.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi I'm Caroline and you might have recently seen my apartment home tour on HGTV handmaid if you did you know that I really love a cozy space I basically want to feel cozy I want to be like in a cocoon all the time and most people really want their home to feel cozy but it can be a hard thing to do when you're moving into to a new space or a rental space or some place that doesn't feel like yours maybe even a home you've had for a while and it just doesn't feel personalized or cozy I'm going to share some Hot Tips with you these are my tips for making your space cozy the art of coziness is about a lot more than just candles and throw blankets although I do like those things those are good things but if you're trying to make your space one of the first things I would think about is layering and by layering I mean more than just Fabrics but also the layering of furniture what do you see beyond your furniture what's behind that lamp where does the art lie on the wall um giving the eye like depth to follow the way you want to build depth and dimension into a I don't know like a TV character you watch you want to also see that depth and dimension in your home that's what feels really personal in my own home there's a couple different like corners and Nooks where artwork is partially obscured behind a lamp or a table or it goes down to the floor and you can't always see all of it and I love that it adds like mystery in a story and it's not just things it's not just Decor pieces lined up side by side it's like a lived in three-dimensional space that kind of keeps you guessing and peeking and wondering and then also layering of textures and materials incorporating lots of warm materials such as woods and natural fibers and fabrics definitely does make your home feel Cozier but mostly just making sure to vary the materials you're using it's great to hang curtains on your windows and that's not just decorative it's not just for color or pattern that's actually for depth and texture cuz say you have like a white wall adding white curtains even to a white wall same color still adds a lot because it's Dimension it's a different texture it's a fabric so those kinds of layers just like adding complexity it gives the feeling of the long span of life that has taken place in your home and I will say that textures also include light in my opinion how you're using light in your space whether it's natural light or incorporating um different accent light pieces as well as plants I consider plants a whole texture of their own and and both light and plants kind of inject a sense of life into your space and that's when you get the sense it's feel lived in and that's in inhabited and what makes it feel like a home and not a showroom not a hotel something else I really recommend is to try to design with surprises and by that I mean I think it's really great that you know Instagram and Pinterest have all this flood of inspo images we all look at but the problem that can come with that sometimes is that your space ends up looking like something that's already out there it ends up looking like someone else's or or you know a bunch of spaces copy each other and then your space will feel like a showroom and not like your personal home so when you design with surprises and you choose to do something that's not as predictable or not quite matchy matchy you get a much homier feel that it'll feel personalized and it's only yours designing with surprises could mean weird pops of color you know take that step outside of your color palette and do an accent color or a pop of something surprising uh it can be mixing different styles I hear people stress a lot about pinning down one style what do I call my style and the truth is if you're designing in a personal way that homey feeling it's going to mix a bunch of styles so I personally lean pretty traditional there's some parts of my home that are like very Colonial inspired but then I make sure to throw in modern accessories and it just feels um like a very custom perspective I think it can really trip people up to feel like they have to get their space perfect or like there's one answer in how to design your room like what's the design answer but there really isn't and instead of aiming for Perfection I think it can be better to aim for friction friction and like a surprising choice or something that's a little offbeat is what's going to make your home actually feel like a designer did it like it's completely customized and unique but also that it's um very personally your home very cozy and welcoming for example in my own bedroom I decided to use wallpaper in a weird way and wallpaper the ceiling it feels uh shocking surprising and it feels very much like my home space and then I chose to do just like a renter friendly tile on the fireplace and the patterns don't quite match they're not exactly complimentary they're not totally matchy matchy or predictable but the pairing of them together feels um very uniquely me and when I'm there it feels like my home not an Instagram picture not a Pinterest pen it feels very much like my home in a distinct way you can design with Surprises by kind of going against some of the design rules I love seeing artwork hung really low to the ground some people will tell you you can't do that but you literally can and it's so fun and it feels so personal and um and welcoming in a way cuz there's character to it it's really character that you're going for I love when there's like a really weird specific Nook or wall space in a home that feels strange but somebody really Hypes it up or like leans into it those kinds of choices feel like that's what imbus the character and coziness into your space to me a cozy space is definitely one that I feel like I can relax in and live in and not have to be like on my toes or watching what I touch or not put my feet on that I'm putting my feet on that whatever it is I'm putting my feet on it and I'm very inclined to breaking things or scratching things a cozy space to me is one that welcomes people really living in it relaxing um you don't have to always be on your best behavior so I love Furniture that's really durable um maybe it means fabrics and patterns s that are very forgiving to stains or to kids crayons or to animal hair whatever that is durability and livability in your home also means really thinking about like the flow of furniture what is the quickest path between two doorways and is there Furniture in the way of that path take it out of the way uh what is the path that you're always taking to go from your dining table over to the kitchen if it's a really annoying route I'm going to be mad every time so Co coziness is a lot about making um the function of your space letting it embrace the fact that real people busy people tired people messy people are living there I mentioned that light is one of the textures I recommend you consider in your space and I personally love when a space has lots of natural light but if you don't have natural light you don't have to be sad uh a great way to add warmth coziness that kind of like snug feel is with your lamp light I say get away from the can lights get away from the ceiling lights if we can it's not cute and it doesn't feel nice to me uh any given space can go for about three different light sources a lamp a scon floor lamp table lamp whatever um you know picture frame what are those ones that hang over pictures those it doesn't have to be three there's no hard rules but getting that variety of lamp light always has a warm glow um always feels kind it has that like snug cozy feeling also lamps are pieces of art I love to invest in lamps they are the jewry of your home um they're little sculptures so I love getting a lamp that has a really neat profile or incorporates some curves or has a weird lamp shade and it can add so much character to an otherwise very you know simple space for any Cozy home cozy space you've ever visited I promise you that their artwork and that their Decor has been collected and curated over time it's really really hard to make a space feel super homey just in like one month of purchases or just moving into a brand new space and buying all the furniture within that year the best route to a cozy space is curating over time and the good news with that is that like there's no rush you're going to keep building it throughout your life as long as it feels fun and it means that you don't have to wait for your forever home um forever home uh in order to start building your collection of pieces you love I think a lot of people think like oh I'm not like I don't own my home yet or uh this isn't my final home so I'm going to hold off and I think it's really great to start earlier so that by the time you do move into that forever home you've got this whole collection of memories and really varied different experiences that's what's going to make it feel lived in that's what's going to make um space feel immediately homey and immediately yours so you definitely don't have to like wait to the forever home to start investing in stuff invest in things you can take with you that could be art pieces um accessories Decor pieces chairs glasswar I basically cannot stop collecting glasswear and it's like the height of personalization to me I also love leaning into the weird thing every once in a while there's a little weirdo in all of us and um I think the fun part of decorating and designing it's a little bit of self-exploration like figuring out what is that weird preference that you have that maybe not everybody likes and how do you incorporate that into your space that's a home those are some of my favorite tips for adding coziness to your space but the tldr is just have fun with it lean into that weird thing you like stop second guessing what you're excited about it's your home decorating should be an experiment and fun and when you lean into those things it's going to feel like yours and it's going to feel like a home if you liked this video remember to like the video and subscribe to handmade for more videos like this\n"