As the cold weather approaches, there is no better time to transform your home into a snug winter retreat that nourishes your body and soul.
Making a space for a winter retreat allows you to spend your time more leisurely, whether you want to spend more contemplative personal time or create a welcoming space for family gatherings.
From comfortable seating to the fresh scents of winter, preparing your home for the winter months indoors will allow you to embrace the cold months with comfort and joy.
Ideas for Creating a Winter Retreat in Your Home
Some of the suggestions for making your home cozy for winter are long-term projects rather than short-term objectives. Choose simple, short-term ideas to implement this year. Plan long-term projects for future completion.
Warm Lighting
Winter days are short in the northern hemisphere. Artificial lighting is necessary in the winter to enjoy your home at all hours of the day. Replace any harsh indoor lighting with warm lights. Warm lights are not only more inviting, but they also appear less bright and thus less stimulating to your brain. Warm lights allow you to relax, so they are essential in creating a home, winter retreat.
Layer warm lighting options, such as table and floor lamps, string lights, and candles, in areas where you spend time and where people gather. Consider installing dimmer switches on overhead, ambient, and decorative lights to better control the light output for all of your indoor activities.
Cozy Textiles
Any weather can be enjoyable if you have warm coverings. Making your home spaces comfortable includes providing rooms with blankets that are available to be pulled out at a moment’s notice. Use baskets or blanket ladders for easy access. Layering with cozy textiles also means decorating your furniture with plush pillows and layering the room with plush rugs. Choose fabrics like wool, faux fur, velvet, and fleece to provide a snug yet tactile experience as well.
Fireplace or Wood Stove
Fireplaces or wood stoves provide tangible warmth that makes them ideal focal points in gathering or relaxing spaces. Before the fire season begins, make sure that your chimney or stovepipe is free from debris. Bring in some firewood and stack it so that it stays dry and clean. Use fireplaces and wood stoves to their full advantage by utilizing them throughout the season.
If you don’t have a fireplace or woodstove, you can achieve a similar look with an electric fireplace or woodburning stove. Similarly, you can easily warm up a room with a space heater. This alone will make a room more inviting and comfortable.
Hot Beverage Station
A hot beverage station for making apple cider, hot cocoa, tea, or coffee does not have to be elaborate. It just takes some planning, careful stocking, and a designated space. Provide an electric hot water heater, a coffee maker, packets of hot drink mixes, spoons, and mugs for the station. Add small snacks, syrups for customizing drinks, and marshmallows and peppermint sticks to dress up hot cocoa if you really want to spoil yourself and your guests.
Winter Decor
Add winter decorations to your winter retreat areas, like snowflakes, wreaths, and evergreen branches. Though holiday-themed winter decor is popular, more generic winter options will last the entire season. Winter decorations can extend into every area of your home. Bring out your winter-themed dishes, mugs for the kitchen, and flannel sheets to keep the beds warm.
Consider incorporating real or faux winter greenery along stairwells, tables, above windows, and along mantles. Use garlands or wreaths made of cypress, cedar, spruce, or pine. Species such as cedar, pine, and cypress last the longest and dry well in place.
Baskets of Games and List of Movies and Music
Stock your winter retreat with baskets of things that your family can enjoy together. Bring out games and puzzles that are nostalgic or seasonal. Place them near gathering areas so that you can all choose a fun activity together. Make a list of movies and music that everyone enjoys and keep it somewhere accessible. This way, when the pressure is on to choose an option that everyone likes, family favorites and seasonal options are at the forefront of your mind.
Warm Up Your Interior Color Palatte
Consider incorporating some warm colors into your indoor color scheme to make it appear more inviting. Some popular options for warming up your color palette are burnt sienna, ochre, chocolaty browns, and terracotta. Alternatively, choose calming colors that are darker and cooler, such as deep gray and blue. Use these colors on items that can be changed, such as throw pillows, blankets, and wall art. You can also go a step further and paint a room or an accent wall in these warm seasonal hues.
Winter Scents
Warm winter scents can be layered throughout your home to delight your senses. One of the simplest ways to incorporate seasonal scents into your home is to use scented candles or diffusers. Look for scents such as pine, cedar, cinnamon, vanilla, spiced apple, peppermint, clove, and orange to create a seasonal atmosphere.
Consider simmering stovetop potpourri and holiday baking for more natural ways to add scents to your home. When natural garlands and wreaths of evergreens are displayed inside, they emit a pleasant scent.
Incorporate Comfortable Furniture
This idea may seem obvious, but it is worth mentioning because furniture can make or break a space. Purchase high-quality items for the room’s focal points, such as the sofa, side chairs, or bed. This is a long-term project that you are unlikely to complete in a year. Instead, plan to buy these items gradually to make your home more inviting.
Look for furniture that is supportive but still plush and cushy enough to invite hours of lounging. Also, make sure you have enough seating for everyone who will be visiting your home. Floor cushions, ottomans, and poufs are excellent investments for quick seating that can be easily tucked away when not in use.
Create a Cozy Outdoor Space
Invest in elements that will allow you to enjoy your outdoor space throughout the winter. A firepit is one of the simplest and most effective ways to warm up your outdoor space. This addition provides tangible warmth and a cozy glow on chilly winter nights.
Stock baskets with blankets and winter weather clothing, such as hats and gloves, so that people with low tolerance for cold can access them. Add seating with plush cushions and pillows so people can easily snuggle up.
Winterizing Your Home
Winter retreats are most enjoyable when they are warm. Take care of the household chores that will keep your home at a comfortable temperature. Changing the direction of your ceiling fans, checking and/or replacing weather stripping on doors and windows, inspecting your heating system and replacing air filters for the most efficient operation, and adjusting your thermostat to combat cooler temperatures outside are some of these tasks.
Reading and Resting Nook
Winter retreat areas that are most effective are adaptable to the needs of their users. Most people want a place to socialize with their friends and family, as well as a place to relax. Make a permanent or temporary relaxing or reading nook. Utilize unused space, such as under the stairs or a tucked-away corner. Outfit the nook with comfortable seating, a throw blanket, plush pillows, a lamp, a side table, and books or magazines.
Add Personal Touches
Bring in personal mementos, objects, and photographs to the area where you want people to congregate and relax. Framed photos, handmade crafts, and family heirlooms can add meaning to the space by reminding people of their history and heritage. These will also spark conversations and memories, making people feel more connected to one another.
Adopt a Hygge Mindset
These suggestions for creating a winter retreat will be ineffective unless you have a hygge mindset. “Hygge” is a Danish concept that means “well-being.” While it is enjoyable to incorporate hygge decor into a room, such as cozy throws, nature-inspired elements, and comfortable furniture, the spirit of hygge is much more.
A genuine hygge mindset values simplicity, togetherness, and the ability to disconnect from the stresses of daily life. It is also being fully present in the moment. So, once you have done the work to create your winter retreat, you will not get its full benefits until you stop, relax, and enjoy it.
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