Creating Warmth in Winter
Winters- at least here in Chicago- are particularly grueling. Once the holidays pass, we’ve got approximately three more months to endure sub-freezing temperatures. For the most part, they’re everyone’s least favorite season. The best part of a Chicago winter is being in your home and watching the biweekly snowstorm from the confines of a plush throw blanket.
You want your home to reflect the coziness you require during the trenches of winter. Coming home to a space filled with warmth, light, and life can do wonders for your comfortability. There are several ways to achieve this, and many of them are simple, subtle changes.
Lighting
Lighting changes the feel of any room, at any time, and at any variation. Of course, natural light is the most favorable kind of feature to any space. When natural light is limited or even nonexistent, focusing on lowlights is a must. Overhead lights can create a harsh, sterile feel to a room, so adding bedside or end table lamps helps tremendously. Floor lamps are another great ambient option if you’re working with less table space. Inserting low-wattage bulbs or topping lamps with sturdily colored shades will help bring in that lowlight.
Rugs
Naked wood or tile floors are not only physically cold, but aesthetically cold as well. Spreading out an 8x10 rug in your living space softens the entire room and makes it easier to walk in shoeless feet. Low-pile rugs in high-traffic areas are much easier to vacuum, so choose a warm-colored area rug to enrich your living or den spaces. In lower-traffic areas like bedrooms, high-pile plush rugs are super pleasant to step onto first thing in the morning or climbing into bed after a long day.
Seating
Walking in from the cold outdoors and finding an array of comfy furniture pieces to plop onto is arguably one of life’s greatest, yet simplest joys. Sofas and accent chairs that look inviting- perhaps with the addition of a fur blanket and a few pillows- are bound to give off a warm and welcoming vibe to any room. An oversized, soft-top ottoman with fabric that coincides with the room is another great option to make a space cozier and more livable.
Plants
Plants bring life into the home, literally and figuratively. Whether they’re live or artificial, greenery brightens up any room and reflects all kinds of light off the leaves. Live plants actually help to circulate oxygen more fluidly around a space, and during a time of year when green growth and sunlight is harder to come by, adding them into a room will immediately make it warm and inviting. See our blog from the week of Feb. 7 for more tips on adding plants into your space!