|
When it gets cold outside, don't you just love the feeling
you get when you snuggle up with something warm
and cozy?
What if you could create that same warm feeling when you’re
inside at home, just by adding a few choice home decorating
accessories? Well, you can!
Here are several cozy home decorating ideas to help you
and your guests feel warmer at this time of year.
1. Move to Florida! Nah, just kidding. :)
2. Get out your favorite throw or fleece blanket, or buy a new
one, and place it on your sofa for cuddling. During the daytime
or when not in use, you can drape it on the back of your sofa
to enjoy the pattern or picture on it and add a bit of *warmth*
to your room.
3. Get that fireplace going that’s been inactive all year. And
if you don’t have a fireplace, it’s a great time to get some
candles glowing in your home.
4. Add the scent of cinnamon, vanilla or other *warm*
aromas to please you while you’re indoors. Try a scented
candle or use a fragrant oil in an oil warmer. Or, cook up
some treat that will please your tastebuds and fragrance
your home as well. You can bake some cinnamon rolls or
enjoy some spiced hot cider, for instance.
5. Add pillows and fluffiness. There are many types of
decorative pillows you can add to your living room, family
room, and to your beds. These are good accessories that
add a cozy feel to your rooms and they also are just plain
fun to use- under your head, over your legs, hugged
between your arms, they actually do help to keep you
warm besides those throws you’ve gotten out.
6. Even if you don't move to Florida, you can still transport
yourself to a tropical climate and start anticipating spring
by adding a flowering plant or some cut flowers to your
kitchen or dining room table. Include some palm tree low
wattage lamps by your reading nook or on your nightstand.
Get a CD of some Jimmy Buffet island music and enjoy
relaxing to those tropical tunes.
So let the right textures, sights, scents and sounds hug you.
And let your imagination take you to warmer places and
no cares.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liz Hekimian-Williams is owner of Giftsprings, a popular online
shopping site for gifts, home decor and personalized gifts. Did
you like this article? Then go to http://www.giftsprings.com
and subscribe to the Giftsprings ezine. You'll get more articles
like this, a new subscriber's discount coupon and sales alerts.
Giftsprings 5373 Ehrlich Rd Ste 203, 169 - Tampa, FL 33625.
Email: mailto:mailroom@giftsprings.com
If you are hopelessly lost when thinking beyond shoving your
furniture against a wall, or if you've recently bought a
six-foot sofa for an eight-foot room, you need help! Here
are some easy tips for arranging your living room furniture
in ways that make the most of your space:
1. Measure your room. Draw it to scale on graph paper which
you can find at your local discount store. Use a ¼ in.
equal 1 ft. scale. If you can't figure out how to draw
out scale, ask your know-it-all teenage son!
2. Mark anything on your room drawing that will affect the
arrangement of the room. Outlets, telephone, cable, light
switches, windows, doors that open in, the space between
windows, and the height of the window sills are all things
that should be measured and noted.
3. This is the fun part! Make scale paper cutouts of your
furniture (just like cutting out paper dolls!) Use the
cutouts to arrange and rearrange the furniture in your
room until you are satisfied with the result.
4. Select a focal point of the room. If you have a fireplace,
it will nearly always be the focal point. If you have large
bookcases, you might make those your focal point or you may
choose a sofa with a special painting hung above it. Orient
the remaining furniture and the lighting to highlight the
focal point.
5. Think about your guests when you arrange the room. The room
should promote conversation. Set up cozy areas with a
couple of chairs or a loveseat. Ideally, there should be
4-10 ft. between your sofa or loveseat and chairs so that
the space doesn't seem cramped. If you move the pieces too
far apart, conversation will be difficult.
Other points to remember: leave 14 to 18 inches between the
coffee table and the sofa for comfortable leg room (Err on
the side of more space!). And make sure you have the traffic
lane at least 3 ft. wide to move from one area of the room
to another.
Arranging your room on paper allows you to experiment with new
looks, new combinations, and new ideas before you move the
furniture itself. Not only when you come up with the perfect
arrangement for your room, but you'll also save a visit to the
chiropractor for your husband or furniture-moving friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pamela Cole Harris is a writer, eco-decorator and author of
*100+ Wildly Imaginative Ways to Make Your Own Coffee Table -
a Handbook for Creatively Deficient Decorators.* Visit her
website, http://www.homeandgardenmakeover.com for her unique
decorating and remodeling style (and a free newsletter!) Or for
unique content for your website, written especially for your
keywords and audience, visit http://www.pamelacoleharris.com.
|
bravenet.com
