Creating a warm and inviting home is an excellent way to minister to your family. It’s amazing how much your surroundings can affect your mood. So while it might seem superficial to be concerned about the decor of your home, it actually can have a big impact on your family’s attitudes.
That being said, becoming obsessed is a whole other thing. It can be easy to make an idol of anything in our lives. So we need to be careful that we are remembering why we are doing this. And also that we don’t go overboard and become overly obsessed with our Earthly home.
Having said that, cultivating a warm, inviting, and cozy home is a wonderful way to help your family relax and find peace and refuge from the valley of darkness that is this world. So here are some home decor tips to creating a warm and inviting home.
Make it Comfortable
Before you think of colors, furniture, accessories and all of that, make sure you’re considering your family’s comfort first. Be practical with your decor choices. If you have small children, don’t get a couch that you aren’t okay with getting all manner of bodily fluids on. Get something that’s easy to clean and will hide dirt well.
I know a lot of people have had great success with white slipcover couches because they can be thrown in the wash. For our family? That didn’t work out so much. Probably because we have really hard water and my husband has an extremely dirty job. So I would be washing that thing like every day. It just wasn’t practical for us.
So every family is different. Take your family’s needs into consideration. Because even if it looks good, it’s not going to be very inviting if it’s completely uncomfortable for your family.
Choosing a Color Palette
When choosing a color palette, pick 4-5 colors with 2-3 of those being neutral colors. You don’t have to choose specific colors for your home to be warm. Even a cool color palette of light blues and greys can make for a warm and inviting home. But choose colors that go well together so that they don’t keep your eyes too busy.
As you choose your color palette make sure to consider the wood tones in your room as well. These also contribute to the color palette. Wood tones don’t have to match perfectly, but they should compliment each other just like the rest of your color scheme.
Finally, choose a palette that’s flexible and can be easily changed out. Painting the room a neutral color and picking neutral couches; then using bold throw pillows allows you to change out pillows when you want to change the entire color scheme.
Add Varying Heights of Furniture
Having furniture that is both low (like coffee tables) and high (like entertainment centers) visually fills up the space and keeps it from feeling cold and stark. If all of your pieces are low and there’s a big empty space towards the top of the room then the space can feel extremely empty and cold.
Another bonus with having varying heights of furniture is that it gives you lots of places to add varying heights of lighting, which also contributes to the warmth of a space.
Like with textures, this more than likely will happen naturally. But, if you have a lot of shorter pieces then a quick fix would be to add a larger piece of wall decor above a few of the pieces. This way your eye is still visually drawn upward, but you don’t have to invest in new furniture.
Incorporate Different Textures
As you build your warm and inviting home, make sure you are also considering the textures for each space. Even though textures aren’t always going to be touched, they add dimension and interest to a room. Textures can be added in a lot of different ways, including pillows, accessories, baskets, etc.
Most of the time textures will be added pretty naturally as you add in pieces. A wood plank wall art, furry pillow, and big basket will already add texture. So you won’t have to think about this too much. But just make sure you’re mixing it up a bit as you add in pieces.
Keep the Space Well Lit
Lighting plays a big role in a warm and inviting home. Who wants to relax in a home that is dark and ominous? Well, not me at least. I think most of us prefer to be in a space that is well lit and…well, that we can see!
When adding lighting, consider varying heights of lighting as well (like I mentioned above). This not only adds height to the room, but it also fills up the space better with light. Even if you have recessed lighting, adding a few table lamps can make a huge difference in bringing in warmth and coziness.
If you don’t have overhead lighting then it will be a little more challenging to add enough light to fill up the space without having too many shadows. But, it can certainly be done. Varying heights here is the key to keeping your home well lit and inviting.
Collect Pieces Over Time
Having a home that has pieces that look like they were collected over time creates a lived in appearance. A home that looks like it has people living in it will always be more inviting than a space that looks like it’s never touched by human hands.
One way to do this is to have accessories and furniture pieces that don’t perfectly match, but rather have the appearance of being added piece by piece. You can do this by simply making sure everything doesn’t overly match. Your coffee table, end tables, and entertainment center, for example, don’t all have to be exactly the same style. Instead, have pieces the coordinate, but aren’t matchy-matchy.
The same goes with accessories. Having pieces that aren’t too similar, but share a theme, like a color or a style will create a sense of purpose, but without looking like you’re living in a show room.
Keep Your Home Decluttered
I speak from experience here because I struggle with this one myself. But, having a decluttered home can make a world of difference to creating a sense of peace in your home, and to having a warm and inviting home.
When our home gets so cluttered that there’s stuff on every surface, I notice that the members in our family get so much more stressed and have much shorter fuses. This even includes!
What a difference having a clean and decluttered space can make in creating a space that is warm, inviting, and peaceful for your family.
Fill Your Home With God and Memories!
What really makes a home warm and inviting? God! And the people in your family. The more you invite God into your home and family, and the more that you create wonderful and lasting memories in your home, the more warm and inviting your home will naturally feel.
Although we can’t see these types of things with our physical eyes, we feel this on a spiritual level. It’s not something that can be explained, but a home that is filled with the love of family, and the love of God, is a home that is much more inviting to live in.
You Can Have a Warm and Inviting Home
Creating a home that is comfortable and inviting isn’t hard. But it does take some thought and intentional planning. It also doesn’t have to be super expensive. You can find lots of great deals by thrifting, shopping on eBay, and (safely) buying things on Craigslist or Facebook.
I hope these home decor tips and tricks help you create a warm and inviting home that your family can love and enjoy for years to come!
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