And each of them will cost you close to nothing

Cozy homes are having a moment. It seems the days of millennial grey minimalism may soon be behind us, and I think we all stand to benefit. “Coziness” conjures up different images for everyone, but in general, a cozy home is one that feels warm, lived in, and appealing to the five senses. Homes of any style can be cozy, and the opposite is also true. You can spend tens of thousands of dollars on interior designers and expensive furniture and still end up with a space that’s cold and sterile. 

I’ve been investing in the coziness of my home for years, and have found that some of the biggest benefits came from the easiest and most affordable changes. These are my top three tips to add some warmth and comfort to your home today, and they range from pretty cheap to absolutely free. Give one (or all three!) a try and your home will be ready to embrace the coziness of the season ahead. 

Ditch the overhead lights

Most homes built in the past 30 years or so come equipped with an army of overhead lights. Recessed can lights, ceiling fans, ugly flush mount fixtures, you name it. Some of these lights do play an important role in your home, especially for task lighting. Unfortunately, they also have a tendency to absolutely kill the coziness. It hurts my heart when I come across a creator setting up her home for a girls’ night in, complete with crafts, wine, and a classic chick flick, but the overhead lighting is casting a harsh, cold feeling over the entire space. 

You would be amazed at the impact the simple switch to eye-level lighting can make, especially in the evening. Flip off the overhead lights and switch to lamps, candles, twinkly lights, or whatever else you happen to have on hand. Bonus points if you layer multiple small, eye-level lights throughout the room! If you need to do a little shopping, thrift stores are teeming with small lamps and candles that will add a beautiful, layered look to your home. Just make sure they use warm-toned bulbs; even an eye-level lamp will look harsh with cool-toned LEDs.

Create a home playlist

Whether you favor Spotify premium or your vinyl collection, keeping a selection of cozy background music on rotation is an incredible way to add some coziness to your home. We get out our little bluetooth speaker and queue up some soft music almost every evening, and find it creates the ambiance of a quaint restaurant or chic hotel lobby. A few genres we like to rotate between: 

• Big Band/oldies (like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong) 
• French cafe jazz (like Sidney Bechet, Edith Piaf, and Stacey Kent)
• Pretty classical music (like Tchaikovsky, Debussy, and Chopin)
• Soft indie-folk (like Caamp, Noah Kahan, and Mt. Joy)

If creating a full playlist is a daunting task, don’t worry! Spotify and similar platforms are full of playlists already created for this exact purpose. Try choosing an artist you think fits the vibe of your home and selecting their Spotify “radio” for a selection and their music alongside similar artists. Chances are, you’ll end up discovering some new music you love and figuring out how to tailor your music choice to fit the vibe of any time of day, event, or season. 

Keep your favorite little treat on hand

Taste is a very important element of feeling cozy. You might think of hot chocolate, freshly baked cookies, or a selection of cheese and charcuterie. Whatever your preference, keeping your kitchen stocked with your treat of choice will make your home feel like the coziest little coffee shop all the time. I find baking and cooking to be very cozy activities on their own, so I would really encourage you to try your hand at preparing your treats at home rather than ordering or buying them pre-made. If you don’t have much experience in the kitchen, don’t worry! There are plenty of beginner-friendly recipes that only take one or two attempts to master. 

For example, while I love to try out complex and challenging baking recipes, I always find myself coming back to the incredibly simple recipe for chocolate chip cookies found on the back of the bag of Toll House chocolate chips. They are so easy and basic, and yet receive the same number of compliments as the recipes that are twice as difficult and time-consuming. If you need a suggestion for a little treat to keep stocked, try out this simple recipe and before you know it, friends and family will come to know you as the woman who always has those amazing cookies on hand.

If your home lacks that warm, lived-in feeling, I hope you’ll give these tips a try and find that they help you achieve the coziness you’re after, especially as the days get colder and shorter. Before you spend hundreds of dollars on new throw blankets and Anthropologie candles, make the low-cost changes first and you’ll be surprised at the difference they make. And then to celebrate, maybe treat yourself to an Anthropologie candle or two.