The irony of looking for cozy home decor ideas for winter on a day when it is supposed to be 93 degrees in Los Angeles is not lost on me. We are having our annual scorcher before temperatures return to sanity. And while we don’t get the blustery cold late fall and winter days that we did back in Ohio, my thoughts still turn toward cocooning on chilly nights. But we don’t want to spend a ton of money or make significant design changes because we have a relatively short season. So, these are the cozy home decor ideas that I am embracing in the hopes that this heatwave is short-lived.
1 Moving from Blinds to Blackout Curtains
My office has the standard vertical blinds seen in apartments throughout the United States (and certainly in Los Angeles). Sometime during Covid, the turning string broke, so I had to clip open the blinds to get sunlight inside. There is nothing here that says cozy home decor on its best day.
We took the plunge and invested in blackout curtains, brackets that use the existing hardware (because we don’t want to make big changes to the rental), and a rod. The curtains are thermal, so they’ll keep the heat in on chilly days and the heat out on blazing hot ones. We chose a deep burgundy to work with the earth tones and make the space feel cozy no matter what time of year it is.
This might sound like a sizeable investment, but they were on sale during Prime Days on Amazon (curtains in that color are typically around $44), so the total cost to was just shy of $60. This is the largest investment in the office we’ve made, so I feel okay about the splurge. Here’s the Amazon link if you want to check them out (if you purchase, we may get a small commission):
Burgundy Thermal CurtainsBudget Cozy Home Decor Tip #1:
If you already have the curtain rod and the hardware, simply swapping out lighter curtains for heavier fabric in a warmer/deeper hue may be the change that will perfectly celebrate fall and winter in your home. You can wait for holiday sales, or you can go thrifting now. You’d be amazed at the beautiful curtains you can find at the larger thrift stores!
2 Warm Up Your Bedding
I love flannel sheets, so I was hooked when I saw that L.L. Bean had a flannel duvet cover for under $70. I chose a “mariner blue” duvet cover that would work with the lighter-weight sheets we have, as well as the heavier gray plaid flannel ones. This isn’t an ad; this was just the way we went with things.
Even though it is blazing, the change in the duvet cover (that actually fits our duvet insert and has ties to keep the insert from slipping – hurray!) makes me think of the chilly nights to come. Depending on your choice of duvet cover (or bedspread), this cozy home decor idea is affordable and nearly immediate.
3 Add a Snuggle-Worthy Throw to Your Couch
The cooler temperatures mean layering for clothing, so it’s no surprise that when we think of cozy home decor, we think of layering there too. As soon as the nighttime temperatures dip below 60, I grab a cashmere throw I got from a friend out of storage. It’s a charcoal gray throw blanket that visually adds texture to our couch and delicious warmth to us whenever we need it. We also have some festive wool throws that we use everywhere, from our office chairs to Andy’s club chair.
Throws made of natural fibers are among the best choices, and dozens of sustainable options are also budget-friendly. Choose complementary shades (or even those with high contrast) to your couch fabric to bring a pop of visual excitement to the space. It’s particularly effective with homes that lean toward a more neutral palette. If you have the budget, consider buying (or making!) a throw that feels wintry with a holiday flair. It will help get you into a festive space but won’t be so holiday-specific that you’ll feel awkward keeping it out on cold days in March (although I’m a fan of staying festive as long as we can).
4 Consider Laying Down Rugs
We have hardwood floors in our living room, and we restart the “maybe we should get a rug” conversation every winter. We still haven’t done it, but this could be our year. But if you are intrigued by the idea, you do anything from adding an affordable sheepskin rug from Ikea (less than $40) to a larger area rug (Ruggable has washable ones that look stylish and are less expensive than the handwoven wool ones). Depending on the quality of the rug, the price can be quite high. However, it can also last for decades. It’s a bit of a trade-off, depending on how much cash you want to lend to your cozy home decor efforts right now.
Budget Cozy Home Decor Tip #2
Much l like the case with the curtains, larger thrift stores often have exquisite rugs at considerably lower prices than if you bought new ones. You may need to clean the rug with a portable cleaner, but this is a terrific way to get a high-quality piece for significantly less money.
4 Smaller Cozy Home Decor Ideas
‘Tis the season to add candles. We hear a lot of jokes about pumpkin spice everything, but there is something to that. The scent reminds me of pumpkin pies – it’s the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves swirling through the air. But you absolutely don’t need to go pumpkin spice with your candles. Fall and winter are the perfect seasons to try any scent that intrigues you.
We put chocolate truffle tea lights on metal candle trays that we had left over from bigger candles and then placed them on our coffee table. Even though the weather is still warm in Los Angeles, the nights are getting dark so early! This makes lighting the candles while we read an excellent way to ease into the evening.
Swap your pillowcases for something wintry. You can buy flannel pillowcases or make them quite easily if you have a sewing machine. I did that in 2021, and I loved having the snowflake pillowcases on throughout the winter.
Choose textured throw pillows for your bed or couch. This is an easy way to get seasonal colors into your space while changing up the texture in a budget-friendly way. If you have a pillow you like, you can change up the fabric if you are crafty.
Consider changing up your dining table’s tablescape to reflect the season. You can go elaborate with everything from new dishes to colored glasses, or you can swap out placemats for more seasonal hues and add decorative items like gourds or holy branches.
Those are my thoughts for the day. If you have any cozy home decor ideas that you love, reach out! I’d love to hear them.