Creating a warm, inviting space doesn’t have to cost anything. If you’re looking for practical ways to create a cozy home without spending money, you’re in the right place. Small changes, like rearranging what you already own, maximizing natural light, and adding personal touches can instantly make your home feel more comfortable and welcoming, without stretching your budget.
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Let Natural Light In
Having blinds and curtains closed during the day creates a very unwelcoming and cold environment. I love to open the curtains in every room in my house, first thing in the morning, whether we spend time in that room or not. By letting natural light in, we instantly make our home feel cozier. By keeping curtains and blinds closed, our home is either dark or filled with artificial light, which just isn’t the same as natural light.
I’m sure there’s science to it, but when my house feels dark during the day, I don’t like it. It feels off to me. If I need to turn on lights on a gloomy day or as the evening rolls in, I’ll turn on all of my lamps to make sure the lighting is benefitting us and adding to our space, not taking away from it.
Turn on Lamps
As the sun starts going down in the afternoon/evening, I like to turn on all the lamps. The only time I turn on an overhead light is in a bathroom or in my kitchen while I’m cooking, since there’s not a bright enough alternative. Otherwise I much prefer the warm glow of lamps scattered all around the house. It instantly adds a layer of cozy to each space.
The essential part of this is that the lightbulbs have to be warm – otherwise it doesn’t warm/cozy up a space. Some people light amber bulbs, but those are extra warm. I personally like the warm white light bulbs.
Clear Clutter
It’s hard for a space to feel cozy and inviting if there’s clutter everywhere (trust me, I know). There’s something miraculous about cleaning, decluttering and taking care of your space, even if it isn’t the most updated or well-decorated home.
Give your house a good declutter. Donate items you don’t use or need anymore, throw away trash or broken items. What’s helped me get rid of a lot of things (as someone who naturally has a cluttered house without intentional effort) is to ask myself “Is keeping this specific item worth my home being/feeling cluttered?” Typically the answer is an easy “no”. I don’t know about you, but my brain already feels on overload most days. Having a bunch of random stuff that we don’t need laying around adds to that overwhelm. Most items are just not worth my home feeling that way.
Find a home for everything. You’ve probably heard it a million times, but for some reason this has finally clicked for me. I’m on a mad mission to find a home for everything that lives in our house. If there isn’t room for it, it has to go for my sanity and for the peace of our home.
If you constantly have a shoe issue, get large wicker baskets to put by the door. Makes for easy and quick cleanup and cute storage. Same goes for toys. If there are constantly toys all over the floor and you aren’t sure where to put them all, create a system for toy storage and implement a quick pick up time before moving onto the next activity.
Papers are something that feel like a constant issue in our house. My kids bring papers home from church, school, bible study. And then there’s mail. I recently got this for a small area in my kitchen and made it paper storage. Now my kitchen counters are free from paper clutter and my kitchen feels much cleaner. If there’s one thing that is going to help you create a cozy home without spending money, it’s this one.
Add Throw Blankets and Pillows
A little cozy goes a long way! Especially in the colder months, a throw blanket and a few pillows on the couch are really inviting and cozy. You can see a list of pillow options here. On a normal couch, I’d personally do 2-4 pillows (either two on each side or one on each side and one lumbar in the middle). On a sectional, maybe 5 pillows (two on each end and one in the corner).
When I’m mixing patterns, I try to do a graphic pattern (some sort of stripe or plaid), an organic pattern (typically a floral pattern of some sort) and a plain pillow.
Play Calm Instrumental Music
If you don’t have a Bluetooth speaker, I highly recommend getting one! If you don’t have one and your plain phone isn’t loud enough, you can set your phone, speaker down, in a bowl and it will magnify the sound. You can also play Pandora or music from YouTube on your SmartTV.
Here are a few super cute, vintage style bluetooth speakers (all budget options and one splurge option)
- Oncheer Portable Retro Vintage Speaker
- Victrola Willow Speaker
- Vintage Greadio Walnut Wood Speaker
- AudioCrazy Vintage Wooden Speaker
And for the splurge option – I’ve heard amazing things about this, but absolutely not necessary
It’s so easy to set a tone in your house by playing certain types of music. When I’m cooking dinner, sometimes I like to play calm instrumental music. It feels fancy and isn’t overwhelming.
If I want music just in the background throughout my day, I also would choose something calm and peaceful. Maybe with words, maybe without. The idea is that I don’t want to be overstimulated, but maybe want to add a little something to my day.
Light a Candle While Making Dinner
Adding a candle and playing some music while making dinner makes all the difference for me. I also love if the kitchen is clean before I start cooking. Sometimes I’ll even tidy up first, just to have a clean area to work in. It feels so much more special and cozy when I take the time to do that first.
When I think of a space that is cozy and inviting, typically that space is enjoyable and I want to be there. Isn’t that the goal with our houses? Try to think of it from that perspective… Maybe you work backwards by asking a question like, “what is stressing me out in this space and how can I change that?” That’s going to put you on track to love your space and feel at peace there.
Make Some Soup
Nothing says cozy fall and winter like soup just at the ready all day long. It makes the house smell so good and you can just have a bowl of soup whenever you want all day long.
This is a soup recipe that I make often – it’s so good! Whole 30 Zuppa Tuscana
Bake Something
Nothing smells better or more welcoming than the smell of something yummy baking in your oven. Whether it be cookies, breads, cinnamon rolls (even canned counts), the smell and then the enjoyment of eating something delicious and warm adds a level of coziness to your home. Not to mention, your family will thank you.
I like to collect a few recipes that I know we love and circulate through them. Typically, I write the recipe down on a card like these below and store them in a recipe box for easy access. This way, If I want to bake something, I know I have a few options that I know taste good, without having to put a whole lot of thought into it.
These are all of my practical ways to create a cozy home without spending money. I hope you enjoyed them!
If you’re wondering how to create a cozy bed on a budget, check out this post How to Make Your Bed Cozy | Decorating on a Budget
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