While nearly everyone prefers summer, due to the ability to wear fewer clothes, spending more time outside, and tending to beautiful green gardens, winter also has its benefits. After all, since everyone is stuck inside, it allows for more time to bond, celebrate holidays, and enjoy the coziness of your home. If you don’t feel your home is cozy enough, here are some tips to help you create a warm and inviting space to share with your family.
1. Change the Air Filters
Most air filters should be changed every 60 to 90 days. If you aren’t changing the air filters that often, you could have allergens invading your home which could lead to respiratory issues. It could also put strain on your heating and cooling unit.
The best air filters for your home | filter king will depend on a variety of factors, including whether or not you have pets and how many you have. Always change your filter as often as recommended by the manufacturer.
2. Add Seasonal Scents
Fall and winter are perhaps best known for the scents they bring, especially during the holidays. When you’re cooking for Thanksgiving, Christmas parties, and New Years Eve, your home is going to naturally smell great. For the times in between, get a little help from scented candles or essential oils.
Great autumn scents include pumpkin, ginger, and witches brew. As you get closer to the holidays, use cinnamon bark, vanilla, and gingerbread. The scents will help boost your mood.
3. Have Your Fireplace Inspected
A fireplace can provide the ultimate in cozy vibes. Before using your fireplace, always have it inspected. If it’s been a few years since it’s been visited by a chimney sweep, take care of it.
During the spring and summer, a variety of critters could have taken residence in your chimney. And while you may have your chimney capped off, animals seem to always find a way to gain entry.
The last thing you’ll want to have is a carbon monoxide detector. Many of the new smoke alarms come combined with a co detector. Having peace of mind before burning logs or lighting the gas logs can make you feel better about enjoying this pleasant feature of your home.
4. Place Area Rugs Throughout the Living Areas
Many people are opting out of carpet and going with hardwoods and tiles. If this is you, then you know during the winter those floors can retain the cold. Placing area rugs throughout your home will not only help keep it warm, but they will also make it feel warm. Area rugs also add flair to your decor.
5. Have Ambient Lighting
Winter days can be cloudy and gloomy. Having some well-placed ambient lighting can help you turn a gloomy day into one that feels warm and festive. From candles to small lamps, strategically place your ambient lighting to highlight your finer furnishings, dishes, and collectibles.
6. Hang Heavy Curtains
During the summer, you enjoyed allowing the sun to flow in from your big, beautiful windows. However, once fall arrived, the atmosphere outside was less sunny and more overcast.
Hanging heavy curtains over your windows will not only look sophisticated, but the curtains will also help keep back the chill from the windows. On really cold days, you can open the curtains just a little to allow light on, while the heavy cloth will help keep your room cozy as the fireplace burns and you enjoy the scent of cinnamon filling the air.
While spring and summer are the seasons to enjoy all things outdoors, the fall and winter truly are the times to spend enjoying the inside of your home. Perhaps this is why the term spring cleaning came about. Having spent the last two seasons indoors, the interior of the home could use some refreshing.
As you cozy up your home for the winter, think of it as dressing your home for winter. Just as you wear winter clothes, so must your home, and it also wants to look its best.