What Experts Mean When They Talk About Adding Warmth to a Room

Soft furniture, warm colors, textures, and scents all help make a room welcoming and feel like home.

When the cold weather hits, we crave the comfort of a toasty, warm space. But the warmth we’re talking about isn’t from stepping out of the icy wind. It’s the feeling you get when you’re enveloped by a welcoming space—an unmistakable but hard-to-put-your-finger-on sense of comfort.

Having a home that feels hospitable to friends and family is something most of us want. With the combination of cooler temperatures, longer nights, and the holidays, it feels especially imperative this time of year.

Related: The Reading Corner Is a Must-Try Cozy Decor Trend This Season

If you’re unsure how to achieve this in your home, never fear. We reached out to some expert interior designers for their thoughts on what makes a home “warm” and practical tips to make you feel cozy all season long without turning up the heat.

Meet Our Expert

• Shelby Van Daley is the founder and principal designer of Daley Homes.

• Laura Williams is the owner and lead designer of ATX Interior Design.

• Caroline Dedeker is a designer and marketing director at Cedar and Oak Homes.

• Bethany Adams is the principal designer and owner of Bethany Adams Interiors.

Ways to Add Warmth to Your Home

“In my opinion, adding warmth to a space means creating a sense of comfort. If a cold space is one where you feel out of place, a warm space is somewhere that makes you feel more positive as you enter and enjoy the space,” explains Shelby Van Daley of Daley Home. “There are mounds of research supporting the concept that the way a space appears can have a significant influence on mood and feelings,” which means the design decisions you make for your home are an essential part of your aesthetic and overall well-being.

At first, it may seem difficult to pinpoint what creates the kind of room that makes guests want to sit and stay a while, but there are some universally appealing ways to create this vibe in your home through your decor.

Rich Wood Tones

Van Daley recommends adding warmth through rich wood tones, whether that’s a table or smaller items like picture frames or the accessories you style the room with. Speaking of artwork, Van Daley says, “You can add warmth by using landscape or abstract style paintings. Choose a canvas that incorporates natural peaches, browns, and neutral tones.”

Soft Furniture with Natural Shapes

While color might be an expected way to add warmth, Van Daley says it can be added through other means. “Warmth could also be articulated through furniture pieces that have soft curves and natural shapes. Try adding unique ottomans or stools with soft edges.” These rounded shapes are the antithesis of sleek modern lines that can feel a bit stark and are the type of furnishings that invite guests to sink into your sofa and relax.

Textiles and Patterns

When defining what gives a home that cozy vibe, Laura Williams of ATX Interior Design says, “A space is full of warmth when someone walks in and instantly feels comfortable and at home.”

“I love to add warmth by including various textiles and patterns in my designs,” Williams explains. She goes on to describe how she adds varying complementary and contrasting materials to create depth, which ups both the visual interest and the comfort in a room. “For instance, add a textured blanket slouched over the couch and complementary throw pillows and a coffee table decorated with layers of books, greenery, and wood accents. Also, playing with fabrics used on your furnishings is a sure way to add warmth. My favorite are accent chairs in velvet or boucle fabric.”

Scent

Remember to engage all the senses. Williams says, “Lit candles or oil diffusers send out an aroma that automatically makes someone feel comfortable in a home and want to stay.”

Related: The 11 Best Essential Oil Diffusers of 2023 for Every Space

Texture

Caroline Dedeker of Cedar and Oak Homes says, “We believe visual warmth is imperative to making a room feel comfortable, welcoming, and truly livable. Visual warmth is the underlying aesthetic within a room that helps those who enter it feel as though they want to stay a while. It takes a space from beautiful to inviting, from staged to lived in.” In other words, warmth is what makes a house a home.

Dedeker suggests creating warmth through textures, but she starts with the structure of the building itself, which is perfect for those who are beginning their design from scratch or embarking on a major renovation. “In terms of architecture, we utilize wall detailing and varied materials to create a sense of warmth and patina even in our new builds. Authentic wood beams, beadboard, tongue and groove, archways, and Venetian plaster are all ways we incorporate textured warmth in the base of our architecture and design.”

The accumulation of rich, warming elements doesn’t stop there. “Then, we layer textured materials into our lighting, furniture, and decor to further enhance a feeling of visual warmth within a room. Utilizing and mixing materials such as wool, stained wood, leather, unlacquered brass, rattan, and marble work to develop the warmth within a space. Ultimately, the end result is a room that feels cozy, welcoming, functional, and beautiful from the ground up,” which translates into a home that is warm through and through.

Warm Colors and Lighting

Bethany Adams of Bethany Adams Interiors says, “Adding warmth to a room can be accomplished in many different ways, and not all of them need to be costly or complicated. Obviously, painting the room in a warm color (anything on the pink, orange, red spectrum, including creamy whites) is the go-to way to add warmth.”

If you can’t or don’t want to repaint, you can do lots of other small switches that add up to a much cozier atmosphere. Adams offered one of the most unique and simplest recommendations to add warmth. “Try switching out all your lightbulbs to soft white 2700k bulbs, or for a major mood, use nursery bulbs—they’re extremely warm and designed to help you fall asleep faster.”

Who wouldn’t love that at the end of a long, cold day?

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