Simple, cozy living room styling tricks to try this year

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Do you find yourself wishing you had a  a more cozy living room this time of year?

There is no time like the present to get started, but sometimes not knowing where to start can hold you back.

Luckily, I’m happy to report that there are some specific and surprisingly easy things that you can do to create a cozier living space. 

Seriously, if you just work your way through this list a little at a time, you’ll be absolutely amazed at how much warmer your living room feels.

With this post’s actionable cozy living room styling strategies, you’ll be snuggled up and comfy all season long!

#1: Bring On The Blankets (And Pillows And Rugs!)

Do you ever look at a Pottery Barn catalog and think, wow… that sure is a cozy living room!

Catalog stylists employ most of the techniques I’ll cover in this posts, but the one that always draws me in the most are the sumptuous layers of textures and patterns.  

The good news is that this is one of the easiest instant-gratification hacks to decorating  a cozy living room.  You can do it today and it’s about as low effort as it gets!

Here’s how:

Pillow Covers

• I love to choose zippered pillow covers so that I can swap them out for a fun change rather than replace (and store) a whole pillow. 
• My favorite look is choosing 2-3 different touchable textures in a similar color palette for a monochromatic look.  
• Neutral (whites, off-whites, and browns/greys) are great because they go with everything, but you can also concentrate on a favorite earthy hue like dusty blue, sage green, etc. for a calm and cozy living room look.
• An easy formula is to add two larger square pillows to the outside corners of your sofa and then add a smaller pillow or a lumbar pillow layered in front on just one side.
• When choosing pillow inserts, opt for feather down.
• For a full look, opt for an insert one size larger than your pillow cover!

Throw Blankets

• I like to have at least one throw blanket per family member.
• Store extra blankets in a large textured basket near the sofa, rolled up like spa towels.
• Simply tossing throw blankets over the arm of the couch or on the cushion makes your space feel inviting and lived in.
• Again, I recommend purchasing pretty, neutral blankets in a solid color or a subtle pattern.
• Fuzzy, faux fur blankets are a favorite cozy texture for actual use, but neatly folded wool blankets draped over the back of a sofa or chair add a layer of texture that will make your space warm and inviting (even if they aren’t actually used as blankets.

Rugs

• Obviously, soft texture matters!  Choose a rug that feels good underfoot.
• Choose a soothing neutral color.
• Again, layering builds interest and depth you want for a cozy living room feel.  Try layering a smaller patterned rug on top of a larger solid one.

#2: Consider Comfort

One of the simplest (but often overlooked) strategies I suggest when someone asks me how to make a cozy living room is to make sure that you are considering comfort when purchasing and arranging your primary furnishings.

In other words… choose COMFORTABLE furniture and place it in such a manner that it will be comfortable to use.

Comfortable Furniture Tips:

• Choose deep sofas and chairs for seating your family will want to curl up in.
• Opt for soft fabrics such as velvet, natural linen textures, etc.
• Test the furniture if at all possible before you purchase it by going to the showroom.  While this isn’t always possible, it can save you from uncomfortable furniture regret.
• Choose chairs with comfortable back angles and consider comfort-increasing features such as recliners (they actually make some cute ones now!), matching ottomans, and motion.
• Consider purchasing a modular sofa that can be arranged in different ways for different purposes.  I am obsessed with our pit sofa- we bought it for a basement lounge sofa and liked it so much we brought it upstairs and made it our primary sofa.  We can move the ottomans around on movie night so everyone can put their feet up and I love the flexibility.

Creating Cozy Living Room Arrangements:

• If you have a fireplace, make it the focal point by facing your main seating directly across from it.
• Bring your furniture in off the walls a bit.  You only need about 14-18” between the sofa and the coffee table!  Pulling your furniture grouping in tighter makes for a more intimate feeling and often will make your living room look much bigger!
• Consider conversation areas.  If you have extra space beyond the classic couch/loveseat/chairs type arrangement, consider tucking a pair of smaller chairs in another area for an additional seating area.
• If you have any unused corners try this classic formula: Reading Chair + Side Table + Floor Lamp.
• Keep a pair of extra stools or cubes handy to increase options for comfort.  They can be used as extra seating, or pulled up to a chair or couch and used as an ottoman on movie night.  When not in use they can be floated in front of the fireplace or tucked against the wall.

You can find a more in-depth look at furnishing your open concept home by reading this article.

Do This If You Feel Stuck Decorating Your Open Concept Home

#3: Forget About “The Rules”

When you’re not a confident decorator, getting caught up in worrying about what you “should do”  can be a real stumbling block.

Rather than asking what the rules are, here’s what I want you to do:

Stop worrying! Rules are made to be broken, and this is especially true in the design world.

While you might hear pros mention tips (like optimal spacing of furniture, formulas for choosing “the right” size of coffee table, etc.), these are simply guidelines that you can try out as a starting point.

But if it doesn’t work with space you have or the furnishings you’re working with… just tweak it until it feels good right to you!

One thing I want people to understand about home decorating and interior design is that it is ultimately a creative act.  When you take away the pressure and make it feel like a playful experiment… you will loosen up and give yourself permission  to have fun with the process.

That’s how you find your style and get better at this whole diy decorating thing!

#4: Shop Your House

Grab your wallet  and put it away, because one of the most powerful ways to create that cozy living room feeling is to simply decorate with what you already have.

Sometimes looking at your old stuff with fresh eyes is all you need to do to find some forgotten gems.

Here’s why this tip works: a cozy living room is a familiar space.  It’s a space full of memories, and things that feel special to you.  And you can’t buy those things on a Target run.

Pulling hand-me down items or things from your past out of storage and into the light adds history to your space in the best possible way. 

If you’re curious about what this looks like, here are some examples:

• Display kitchy travel art (or framed memorabilia) from past trips.  Tuck them onto bookshelves, layer them with family photos on a console table, or hang them on the wall.
• Look for books from your younger years or that have been handed down from older family members.  Stack them within displays  to use as risers, place on shelves, or  display on a coffee table for people to peruse.  I firmly believe that books give spaces soul.  
• Stack small trinkets within your displays.  Show one or two little clay sculptures from elementary art class.  The key here is to not go overboard.  One or two add charm.  More than that veers toward clutter.
• If you have a piece of old hand me down furniture in your basement, ask yourself if you can find a way to use it.  Can you repaint/refinish it?  Can you drape a cloth over it?  Can you tuck it in a corner with a few accessories?

Here’s a great series I found called Hand Me Downs In Your Home for more ideas on this concept.

#5: Make It Moody

While I looooove me some all white paint, I am equally in love with the dark, moody, color drenched rooms that are popping up everywhere at the moment.

Deep, rich colors just scream comfort to me, and painting everything a deep dark shade will completely transform your space and help you reach your cozy living room goals.

Here are a few inspiration pics to show you what I mean:

#6: Include a Fire Element

If you are lucky to have a fireplace in your living room, congratulations.  You are already lucky enough to have one of the most important ingredients in the cozy living room recipe.

If you don’t, that’s ok!  The last house we lived in didn’t have a fireplace in the living room and I really felt like something was missing.  I tried a variety of methods over the years to compensate and I’m happy to report that they all worked pretty well.

Here are some awesome “fire elements” you can incorporate into your living room to warm things up:

Gel Fireplace

Electric Fireplace

Candle Grouping

Tabletop Fireplace

#7: Add Layers of Lighting

Lamps are underrated, and you probably don’t have enough of them.

There, I said it. 

This may be unpopular but it is a hill I am willing to die on.  You can never have too many lamps.

Lighting is SO important to creating mood and atmosphere.  Collect them and take your cozy living room vibes up a notch.

Lamp Tips:

• Small floor lamps without shades are great space savers.  They add light without taking up much floor space. Tuck one behind a pair of chairs in your seating group.
• Floor lamps are also great corner-fillers because they bring height into the space.
• Generally speaking, it is nice to have one secondary light source (aka lamp) shining on each seating area.  Picture sitting down to read a book in the evening in every area of your living room.  Would you have enough light without turning on the “big lights”?  If not,  you probably could use more lamps.
• Mix up sizes, shapes and materials to keep things interesting.  Mix tall skinny silhouettes (such as buffet lamps) with wider urn-shapes in interesting textures.
• Give an old or thrifted lamp an update with an interesting new shade.  Chose a patterned fabric or natural texture for extra coziness.
• Make sure your lightbulbs are WARM white – never cool.  Light bulb packaging lists the color “temperature” and choosing the right ones makes an enormous difference.  Chris Loves Julia has a very thorough breakdown about light bulb selection (read it here) and they recommend shooting for 3000K bulbs.  I personally prefer 2700K, so you might need to experiment a little bit to find the temperature that looks and feels best in your space.

#8: Soften Your Walls

Adding an element of texture to the walls is a favorite designer trick for achieving  an inviting, cozy living room design.

Here are some ways to add warmth to your walls:

• Add a textured wallpaper.  My favorites are nubby, natural fibers such as grasscloth.
• Try a limewash or Roman clay.  These wall treatments can be a DIY project applied similar to paint but they add depth and texture to your walls.  My favorite products come from Portola Paints.
• Adding tall, full, luxurious  fabric drapes can soften a large expanse of wall and help make your space feel soft, finished and oh so cozy.
• Cover large canvases with interesting fabrics and hang them on the wall as wall art.
• Invest in a large scale oil painting or textural mixed media artwork.

#9: Mix In Natural Textures

I was flipping through Shea McGee’s coffee table book, The Art of Home, yesterday and came across this quote:

“The grounding nature of organic materials resonates deep within us on a visual and emotional level.”

She’s so right! 

There is no doubt that incorporating natural textures and organic materials makes a space feel inviting. And even though I knew it, I never fully understood why until I read this perspective.   It’s this notion of grounding (which is sorely missing for so many people) that can help turn an average room into a cozy oasis.

Experiencing calming hints of nature while we’re comfy and cozy on our living room couch?  It doesn’t get any better than that!

Ways to bring the outside inside:

• Include neutral colored woven materials such as rattan, cane, rope, seagrass, or jute in your design.  This can come in the form of an accent on a chair, a rug, or simply a woven tray or basket.
• House plants are easy to find and literally bring life to your space.  Greenery increases feelings of peace and wellbeing.
• Aged metals such as iron, copper, and unlacquered brass are a surprisingly earthy element.
• Brick (painted or unpainted) is a great option for a wall treatment if you want to add a natural texture.
• Natural woods are a classic in furniture design; be sure to incorporate wood textures.
• Stone such as marble is beautiful and an ideal surface for coffee tables and accent tables.  You can also add trays/bookends/decorative boxes made from stone materials.
• Terra cotta planters have an earthy quality, as do handmade pottery items (bowls, vases, etc.)

Key Takeaways

I hope this post has given you some new ideas about how you can decorate a cozy living room this season.   Some of these you may have tried and others will likely be new. Either way, there should be something that feels inspiring and totally do-able.

What’s your favorite strategy from the above? Drop me a comment below!

If you want more specific help sprucing up your space, consider joining the waiting list for my interior styling class (launching soon).  If you are ready to take a step toward upping your diy decor game, this short and sweet course is packed with incredibly helpful resources to help you build your decorating confidence and skills.

xoxo,