7 tips to furnish your home and keep it cozy

Make your home feel cozy with these easy decorating tips.

Are you moving into a new home and starting fresh? Don’t feel overwhelmed! Here are six new home decorating tips when you’re starting from scratch. You’ll see that decorating your new home is fun — and much easier than you think.

1. Figure out your decorating style

If you can pin down the design style you want for your home’s interior, you’re half way there! An easy rule of thumb is to use the same style for the interior as the home’s exterior. With an architectural home style like ranch or craftsman, dark, rich wood pieces, clean-lined furniture and lots of earth tones work well.

Here are four of the most popular home decorating styles to consider:

• Transitional
• Modern
• Contemporary
• Farmhouse

2. Break down your new home decorating plan by room

The fastest way to get overwhelmed by an empty new home is by trying to decorate the whole house at once. Prioritize what rooms are most important to you and make a decorating plan, one room at a time! Maybe you’ll want to start with your bedroom, living room and laundry room. Pick two or three rooms maximum and plan to decorate them one at a time.

Matching all the rooms in the house is a design myth. If you decide you want a transitional bedroom but a modern living room, go for it! Your home will have far more personality when you decorate from scratch, one room at a time. Just be sure to add a unifying element to all the rooms for flow, like a certain color, or a decor item in the home’s architectural design style.

3. Start with the biggest piece in the room first

Now that you’ve broken down your decorating plan to one room at a time, take the same concept and focus on finding the most important piece in the room.

The biggest piece in the room is usually the most important and most expensive. That’s why it’s important to start with that one piece and work your way from there. In a dining room, start with the dining table. For your living room, choose your sofa or sectional first. In your bedroom, the bed is the most important piece in the room.

4. All About the Furniture

Choosing plush or upholstered furniture will set the cozy feeling in your home.

Your furniture is the main ingredient in setting the comfort factor in your room. By choosing upholstered furniture, such as this headboard, you add a homey feel while maintaining the traditional lines of the room.

5. Take advantage of the experts

Many stores offer free (or well-priced) design service to their customers. Most employ design professionals to help you make the right choice, the first time around. Their advice can save you a lot of time and money.

6. Paint is your new best friend

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to transform a blank canvas is by painting it! Repaint each room in a color of your choice. Now is not the time to be safe — choose a vibrant, bold or rich color. Even a neutral mocha shade or light grey can make more impact than plain white. And the best part is if you don’t like it, you can always repaint it.

7. Layer each room

Decorating your new home is a marathon, not a sprint. As you spend more time in your new home, you’ll get to know it better. You may have new ideas on how you want a room to look and function a few months down the road, so no rush to get it all done at once! Here are the elements you’ll want to address over time:

• Splashes of accent color
• Flooring/carpets
• Storage/organization
• Accent tables
• Lighting
• Textiles like pillows and throws
• Wall art
• Window treatments

Now that you see how simple new home decorating from scratch can be, decide on your style, prioritize your rooms and get started. Your new home will look perfectly put together in no time!