How to make my house more welcoming: 30 Tips from a pro

How to make my house more welcoming is one of the questions I receive the most, and luckily it is very easy to do.

But this is important, to achieve this we have to “attack” the house at three points:

• In the physical, that is to say in the real physical thermal sensations,
• In the visual, as we have just seen in the previous tip.
• Emotionally, otherwise we will have a warm and cozy hotel room and not a home.

Let’s continue with the visual, the decoration, which is the most fun and easiest to apply.

You can watch the video where I explain how to do it or if you don’t want to watch the video, below it you have the article with photos and the text explaining step by step how to make the house more welcoming.

How to make my house more welcoming: Decoration

Put the books upside down .

Photography Rustic & Woven | Instagram @tonya_rachae

This trick is the most effective to make a house more welcoming.

In fact, this trick is often used a lot in the photos of the houses that appear in decoration magazines.

The stylist or commissioned by the publisher usually place the books like this in photo sessions when they want to provide warmth and closeness to a space.

Starting today, when you are reading a decoration magazine, pay attention to it, because you will see it more than once.

So, if you have a large, small or large library full of books, instead of putting them with the spine seen, as they are usually put, you can put them upside down and the warm white tone of the front cut sheets will create a warm and welcoming surface. .

Paint in warm colors .

If there is an effective and economical way to make a house more welcoming, that is undoubtedly by painting the walls in warm colors since the walls are the shell, the casing of your home.

In this case, soft warm tones work best, such as beige, cream, ochre, earth, sand, etc.

Although we could do it with any color from the warm part of the chromatic circle, if we choose highly saturated red, orange or yellow tones, even though they are warm, we can fall into excess and create strident contrasts.

It is better to bet on calm warm tones, in addition to the fact that they are easier to combine.

And if you like white, then bet on warm whites that have yellowish, reddish or ocher pigmentation.

Textures on walls .

OSAKA signature painting technique

A cozy house is not only dressed in warm colors, we can also add some artisanal painting technique to the walls, such as lime painting.

Or also Florentine lands, breezes or any technique that gives texture to the walls since the texture inside a home is synonymous with warmth.

Add wood .

There is no material warmer than wood.

So any house that has wooden floors, or wooden doors or wooden furniture will already have warmth incorporated.

The wood that works best to provide warmth is the one found in the middle part, that is, wood in medium tones such as oak, pine, elm, ash and beech, among others.

If you want to further enhance the warmth provided by wood, then the more natural and less treated it is, the more welcoming it will be.

And if you don’t have wood in your house, you can always add it through a piece of furniture.

Casika wood sideboard

Put a piece of wood, the more natural it is, the better, and with that you will have added a very powerful touch of warmth to the entire room.

Add natural plant fibers .

Vegetable fibers such as rattan or wicker are also wood, and without a doubt they are one of the most appropriate materials that we have at our disposal to make the house more welcoming.

Also, they are much easier to add than wood.

Add one or more pieces of these materials. As many as you want.

The more you add, the more warmth you will achieve.

You can add them to rugs, lamps, baskets, boxes, and endless other elements, most of them very cheap.

Add rugs .

Especially if you have cold stone floors and want to create a cozy home, adding rugs will instantly turn that cold floor into a warm surface.

In this case, we can enhance this feeling even more if we choose vegetable fiber rugs such as wicker or rattan that we saw before, or add rugs in warm tones.

Keep an eye on cool tones .

Blues, greens, and some shades of purple are cool colors, so the atmosphere they create is cool, cool.

I’m not saying that you can’t add these colors if you like them, but keep an eye on the balance between these colors and the warm ones so that, even though there are cool colors dominating the scene, the warm accents make the space cozy.

Metals can also be warm .

You may be thinking that you want to add metallic tones in your home and not knowing if they are warm or not.

There are metals that provide warmth, such as gold, copper or brass, for example, which we see above these lines.

But always without excesses.

On the other hand, silver, chrome, and mirrored surfaces aren’t warm, though that doesn’t mean you can’t add them.

In this case, add other warm pieces alongside these cool materials to make the overall environment feel cozy, as we see in the living room above that combines cool metals with warm wood.

More curves and fewer right angles .

The right angles of the architecture, the corners of the tables and the pointed furniture, the windows or the doors contribute to create a colder and less close atmosphere.

An excessive linear aesthetic contributes to creating cold and distant spaces.

However, curves, whether in furniture, architecture or decorative elements, are more welcoming, for the simple reason that they are organic lines.

You already know that in nature there is no straight line.

That is why curves are so important when we want to achieve a cozy house, because they soften the architecture almost always of straight lines, they favor the flow of circulation in passageways and they are closer and more natural to us.

Cushions and blankets .

The whole set of Kenay Home

These elements are perfect for making a home more welcoming, especially when we use them with texture and/or long hair and in warm tones, as they have a soft and pleasant texture, like a blanket.

Thus, bet on these elements but without excesses, since the warmth is found at a midpoint between a flat space and an ornate space.

If you feel that your living room lacks warmth, try adding a couple of cushions with texture or in warm tones and a blanket and you will be able to raise the level of warmth considerably with this simple gesture.

Warm lighting .

Except in the bathroom and in the kitchen, where neutral and cold light is needed, in living rooms, bedrooms and corridors, warm lighting is always better, between 2700 and 3000 degrees Kelvin.

That will instantly make your house look cozier, and all you have to do is change a few lightbulbs.

Decorate with candles .

Candles turn any cold space into a cozy one, they are pretty, cheap and they decorate with pleasure.

In addition, its light is one of the warmest since it is around 1900 degrees kelvin.

Of course, always carefully, placed on suitable surfaces and away from textiles and other elements that can burn easily.

That said, candles are perfect for creating highly effective corners.

See if they are effective that even turned off they already create a feeling of warmth.

Decorate with plants and pots .

Plants are usually green, a cold color, but being an element of nature, they are perfect for adding natural details that always add a certain warmth and closeness.

So add plants to the decoration of your house to make it more welcoming.

Plants are a basic that should not be missing in the decoration, especially if you are wondering how to make my house more welcoming.

And we can enhance the warmth they offer much more depending on the pot and the support.

For large plants, choose pots made of clay, terracotta or natural stones or imitation of these finishes, and see the warmth you can provide.

For smaller plants you can use these same finishes in a smaller format or also macramé, for example, which is a warm textile.

Pictures and warm art .

You can put the box you want, the color you want and the format you want.

But if you want to make your house look more welcoming, you can take advantage of these elements to add that welcoming touch that you are looking for.

You can put the paintings with wooden frames, which is warmer than metal or aluminum frames, as we see in the cozy bedroom above.

You can also hang some tapestry, or textile art, a simple macramé ornament, or any other element made with warm materials.

It is most effective.

Avoid empty walls .

Bare walls give a feeling of coldness to a space.

I do not mean that they are not beautiful or that you have to have all the walls full of decorative elements, but if you want to have a more welcoming house, do not leave the walls empty.

Dress them with a simple painting or any other element, and this will make the room look more welcoming.

Corridors with friezes, skirting boards or wainscots .

In the corridors we can put a plinth, frieze or wainscot made of wood or any other material, although wood is warmer.

And by installing it, it will make the hallway more welcoming and close, with more presence and personality, in addition to the fact that it will no longer look so bare even if the walls are not decorated.

And this works for all types of corridors.

Now let’s move on to the second point, to make a home more welcoming from the real physical sensations.

That is, heating, energy efficiency, etc., to make the house warmer.

How to make my house more cozy and warm

Make the most of sunlight .

The sun, among other things, is a completely free source of heat, at the moment.

So let as much sunlight into your home as possible.

Fully open or directly remove the curtains.

We have already seen in other articles that curtains are not mandatory and that they steal light.

Have the crystals as clean as possible, remove or move furniture or decorative pieces that may be in front of the window blocking that light and let it enter as much as possible.

Here you can see how to make a brighter apartment instantly.

And at night, close the curtains completely so that the heat from the home finds a barrier before reaching the window and keeps the house warmer and warmer.

It cuts off any possible current or escape of heat .

Pay attention to your doors and windows and see if there are any small air currents through which heat can escape or cold enter.

And if so, effectively insulate your windows and doors, install weather stripping, both on doors and windows, or add a silicone cord if the joint between the wall and the window is worn.

These elements are very cheap and you can do the work with your own hands, making your house much warmer and more welcoming in a very short time.

Use reflective panels on radiators .

By Leroy Merlin

These reflective sheets are simply layers of insulating aluminum with polyethylene bubbles and are very easily installed behind radiators.

That is, between the radiator and the wall, and by installing them like this, they prevent the heat given off by the radiator from going to the back, towards the wall, and instead spreading throughout the house.

It is a very simple way to make your radiators more efficient and effective.

You can buy them at Leroy Merlin, Amazon or any other DIY store.

Beware of the thick curtains that cover the radiators .

Many of you ask me if you can put long curtains where a radiator goes. And the answer is yes.

Nothing happens to them, but if the curtains are thick, what does happen is that they will partially block the heat that the radiator gives off between the curtain itself and the window, so it will not be as efficient.

If you have light curtains or curtains with an open weave, nothing happens because the heat expands without any problem.

Purge the radiators .

In water radiators, air tends to accumulate over time, which means that less and less hot water enters, making the radiator unable to expel all the heat it should.

Purging them is a very simple thing that you can do with your own hands in a morning.

That the sofa or other furniture does not block the heat source .

In winter, a very pleasant feeling is to lie on the sofa and for it to be as close as possible to the heat source, be it a fireplace, a stove, a radiator, etc.

But it is very possible that the sofa is blocking and absorbing the heat from the heat source, preventing the heat from spreading as much as possible throughout the room.

So, within the possibilities of your space, clear the heat areas of furniture and other large packages to allow it to spread throughout the room effectively.

Use rugs .

We have already seen this advice in the previous point, but in this one it is also important since part of the heat goes through the floor.

And if we don’t have a good floor insulation system, we can use multifaceted rugs and make the house feel warmer by partially blocking this energy loss from the floors.

In addition to sheltering the cold floors in winter.

Use water bags on the couch or in bed .

We all know these ancient elements that, if filled with hot water, can effectively heat the sofa or bed.

Make use of them, they are perfect for heating a space that is cold by nature, such as newly opened beds in winter, and they are also very cheap.

Now that we have seen how to make a house more welcoming on the physical and visual plane, we move on to the emotional one, because if a house does not feel emotionally welcoming, it will never be warm.

You just have to look at some hotels.

They are perfectly prepared energetically speaking and also decoratively, since many are decorated with color palettes and warm and welcoming materials, but no matter how many of these elements they have, they are still hotel rooms.

We don’t feel them any other way, do we? That’s because it lacks the cozy emotional charge.

Let’s see these tips to achieve it.

How to make my house more welcoming: Emotional plane

Heirloom Furniture .

Design and photography Blesser House | Instagram @blesserhouse

Adding an heirloom piece of furniture, an antique piece of furniture that we hold dear, is a great way to make the most emotionally welcoming home out there.

In addition to this well-combined piece of furniture, it will give the entire space character, personality and charm.

What if you don’t have an inherited piece of furniture? Well, you can always get a second-hand one that you love.

It will not have that emotional weight that an inherited piece of furniture has, but the personality, character and warmth it does.

Here you can see how to combine antique furniture in a modern decoration.

Family photographs .

Few small things have such an emotional charge as a simple photograph, right?

So, to make your home more emotionally welcoming, don’t hesitate to add photos, memories, friends, family, pets, or any photo that makes you feel good, and do it anywhere in your home.

The more special that image is to you, the more welcoming it will be.

Decorate with memories .

Not only photos evoke pleasant and warm feelings and thoughts in us.

Any element that keeps a good memory can serve.

Use that figure you bought on that trip, use those elements that your friends give you every time they return from town, recover the crockery that your mother had saved and dress the table with it…

In short, add personal things that have an emotional charge and that make your house your home and not a beautiful and cozy hotel room.

If you are still wondering how to make my house more welcoming after seeing these tips, leave me a comment and tell me your question and I will be happy to help you.

And if you think this article may like a friend or family member, share it. Thank you!

You can also see: The 16 warmest colors to paint walls.