Winter means a lot of things to a lot of people. For some, it is an adventure that is best experienced outside. Whether it’s sledging, tobogganing, ice hockey, or some other kind of adventure, you will never find these people sitting at home. For others, winter is the time to stay at home and cuddle up with your better half. It is a time to spend with your loved ones and families and enjoy the coziness, the hot chocolates, the lattes, and the warmth.
For many people, however, winter means sitting at home, waiting for the sun to come out and the temperature to return to normal. They are counting down the time when they will get to go out without 7 layers of clothing. And then there are those who actually hibernate during winter, or seem to do that. No matter what type of person you are, whether you want to stay at home or you come home after an adventure, you want to find a home that is warm, comfortable, and inviting. No one wants to come home to an empty, drab, and cold space. That is why you need to make sure that your home is as cozy as you can make it in the winter so that it emanates warmth.
WILL IT COST A LOT?
That is the best part about renovating your home for the winter. It doesn’t have to be expensive if you don’t want it to. If you do have the money, you can go all out. But if you don’t have the budget , don’t worry. There are things that you want to do that will fall in your budget and still fulfill your needs. You don’t have to invest in a high-grade renovation to turn your place into a cozy place that you feel like coming home to. It will also ensure that you don’t get a heavy bill in the winter. These are tried and trusted methods that will enable you to enjoy the warmth without turning up the heat.
Here are some ways that you can do that:
Use Your Fireplace Correctly
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when we mention a warm and cozy home in winter? A fireplace! Nothing says warm and cozy more than sitting and snuggling next to a fire. But you should know how to use the fireplace properly, or you might still feel the chill. If we talk about a traditional fireplace, it is an open box and sucks the air from inside the house. This can make the room feel a little drafty. If you want to end this, you need to close all the surrounding doors.
Also, before the winter comes, you need to have a professional chimney sweeper come and clean up the insides as well as inspect it for any kind of damage so that there aren’t any accidents later on. Remember to do this at least once a year if not more.
Hang Heavy Drapery
The idea of changing your curtains depending on the season is old, but it is still very useful today. There are a number of ways that windows can lose the heat and negate any effort that you make of turning up the heat. It also makes your bills increase because you are using too much heat than you are supposed to. One of the major ways that you can lose heat is because of your window panes. If they are old, they might be doing it through the glass and making the room colder. If you have drapes or curtains, then make sure that they are of a thick material and keep them closed when the sun isn’t shining to trap the heat inside.
You can also use a modern approach like Empire Window Furnishings vertical blinds to do the same thing. Another energy-saving window treatment is to create a quick décor like thermal shades or anything else. These act like warm quilts for your windows and keep the warmth inside and keep the cold outside. Another way that you can do that is through a DIY project. You can use wool to make your own curtains if you are so inclined. Wool is a great insulating material and will greatly help reduce your heating bill.
One more thing that you can do is to use a ceiling fan. Warm air floats up to the ceiling, and it can make the room feel a little cold. If you use your fan in the opposite direction, it can push the warm air down into the room.
Design a Warm and Cozy Bedroom
Warmth and coziness are not only about insulation, but they are also about the design and the look of a place. Although normally people prefer their bedrooms to be on the cool side, in the winter it is the exact opposite. In the winter, people don’t enjoy the icy cold bedroom as it becomes pretty unbearable and uncomfortable.
In the winter, you should have extra blankets, comforters, as well as flannel sheets on your bed to give the warm look and feel. You can also invest in heating products like heating blankets, or heated mattress pads. They are easily available in the market, and you can really enjoy them when you’re in bed. Or, you can go the traditional way and keep some heated water bottles when you go to bed. They are great to put around your feet as your feet feel the cold the most. Even if there is a slight draft, your feet will tell you about it. For those mornings, when you are dreading putting your feet on the cold marble floor, you can just throw a rug on the floor by your bed. Also, invest in some cozy slippers that you can slip your feet into.
Check for Drafts
Making sure that all your windows of the house are free from any gaps or leaks for the winter season is one of your top priorities. This is especially the case with your bedroom windows as that is when you least want to feel a cold breeze rolling up your spine. Not only will it be uncomfortable, but it will also increase your heating bill. Make sure that you have your windows checked every season.
There are things that you can do to check yourself like using a draft detector or just lighting up a candle and check the air movement by watching the movement of the flame. If you find any gaps, fix them up immediately so that you don’t have to feel cold and numb. Not only will it help keep out the cold, but it will also help keep out the bugs. And you can easily do it yourself with a weatherstrip.
Try a Space Heater
If you don’t have a fireplace in your bedroom, or in any other room in the house, you can just get a portable heater for the same purpose and use it to warm things up a bit. Experts agree that if you want to sleep comfortably and soundly, then you need to keep the temperature of the room to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature goes below that, you can just use the space heater to bring it back up.
Just make sure that when you are shopping for a heater, you know what size you want to get. Also, place the heater far away from your bed or anything else that might catch on fire by coming into contact with it. Also, keep an eye on the cord. Make sure that it doesn’t come in the way. You might have to face a bad fall if the cord is going through the middle of the room and you forget where it is. Also, if there is an emergency and you have to exit the room in a hurry, you won’t have the time to worry about a wire, and you might trip. Another thing that you can do is to make sure that you buy a portable heater that has an automatic turn off feature when it overheats.
Wear Socks and a Knit Hat
This one is pretty obvious, but still, it is important to discuss it. Usually, we take off our socks and hats when we enter the house because we think that we are out of the breeze and don’t need these things. But we might be wrong. Keeping the socks and the knit hats on even when you are at home is a great way to make sure that you don’t lose the body heat and your body temperature stays the same. You’ll see for yourself that you have a good night’s sleep when you wear your socks and hats to bed.
You may also like to read: “Top Festive Season Warmers And Dresses”
Move Your Bed Away From the Window
This might not be true in some cases, but for most of us, we have our beds right beside the window. If you want a little more warmth in the winter, move those beds away from the windows. At night, the glass of the windows cools down because of the cold and the winds outside. This turns the air inside cold too.
CONCLUSION
Once you put your mind to it, you can really work out a lot of ways to stay warm once you are inside the house. These are all the ways that you can do it without increasing your budget and without putting in too much of an effort. So, make sure that you do these things and enjoy the winter.
