To ask how to make my cold and sad home cosy?

[Cacticus12345]

I’ve been away for 3 weeks helping a relative and have returned home to a cold, dark rather miserable (and messy) house.

I live alone so don’t have the family warmth and activity I can see through people’s windows at this time of the year

What can I do to make myself feel better and feel cosy at home?

Temperature aside I think cosiness has a lot to do with lighting. Table lamps dotted about rather than the overheard light being on. And some flickering candles. Nice merino wool throws make me feel very cosy when I'm watching TV in the evening.

And I always feel cosy when everything is tidy and shipshape.

A christmas tree and sparkly lights

Buy a Xmas tree and decorate it

Candles, little fairy lights, soft lamps, part baked bread rolls in the oven ( or full on bread maker!), nice coffee, anything with cinnamon in it, nice burner or diffuser with clove and cinnamon oils,, nice curtains or throws, YouTube Christmas carols or other playlist, Christmas films on netflix or TV.

Agree with lighting.

I saw these in windows in many homes in Scandinavia over the Christmas season. They look beautiful and aren't expensive.

paperstarlights.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA47GNBhDrARIsAKfZ2rDHxzJyx0J03ZRJAwKhJhDDOwBiI4Q8mxWbXNPa8ONgKaN-SWSFZwoaAra5EALw_wcB

I also like electric oil diffusers, smell changes my mood. Currently have a sandalwood oil.

Throws and nice cushions can transform a living room without costing much.

Tidy up then pop to your nearest big supermarket for candles, a little Christmas tree, and a nice warm blanket if you don't have one.

Excellent suggestions here, especially tidying up / lamps / heating. These are my essentials.

Get just your living room well decorated and have soft lighting, some wax melts so it smells nice. Have some Christmas music on or a Christmas movie, have a glass of something you like

Oh and a nice scented candle too!

Im not a fan of candles, but agree that lighting is very important. Also rugs down on any hard floors. Mess definitely stops a house from feeling cosy.

Candles, side lights, fairy lights,tnrows on the sofa

Thank you, I’m in bed, struggling to get up at the moment, wasting the day which is not making me feel good :((

Agree with the above comment, soft lighting and candles. Lots of soft furnishings, cushions and throws.
I have a rug in every room as we have the original floorboards and that immediately adds the cosy factor.
I've just bought an electric wood burner and the fake fire effect is really cosy.

**throws

Rugs make a room feel cosy imo. If you have carpet, a shaggy rug is nice. Like the IKEA Hampden rugs. And I second lamps.

Work through things in order, cold is easy, you turn the heating on and lighting is reasonably easy in that you turn the lights on. However for the lights make sure you are using bulbs with warm white lights rather than cold or pure white light, for living rooms and bedrooms you generally want something around 2,500-2,800k (3,000k + is good for bathrooms and cooking areas in kitchens, 3,500-4,000k for desk areas). Also mess never feels homely, it sits there as a task waiting to be done so maybe tackle that head on and get it done, so you feel you can relax.

The other part is what does "home" mean to you? What do you want it to feel like?

Sometimes living alone can sometimes feel a little lonely, especially when you have probably had near 24/7 company for the last three weeks. That does not mean that you have to feel that way though, having a friend around some evenings, watching a good film curled up under a blanket on the sofa. Also making sure you add things to the space that make it "yours", even things like fragrances in the rooms that become a reminder of home.

How old are you, do you have adult children?

Music. Tidy one corner, then decorate it. Repeat around the house.

Even one table, with a cloth and decoration, will make a difference.

And an advantage to being on your own is no one will interfere with your preparations! I can clear a corner and decorate it, set a beautiful table, and some bugger comes and empties his pockets on it or abandons glasses and books on it.

@MatildaIThink - I don’t have any children - I’m late thirties

Agree with blankets. My friend is a single man and he was saying how he wasn’t having a tree this year. I made him buy a little table top one and decorate it and he has since said that it does actually make a difference for him.

Do you have photos up? Books on shelves? I think it’s different for everyone, but my favourite home was when I had a massive bookcase with all my books on, blankets and cushions on the sofa.

Get up and have something hot to eat or drink.

Throw on scruffy clothes and go out for supplies.

Come home, shove all the mess into a corner and have a nice hot chocolate, then come back to mumsnet and assess how you're feeling.

Or - get up, have a hit drink, and hit up google and Facebook to see if there are any local Carol services this afternoon or tonight. DD is singing in one later, and there's hot chocolate and mulled wine in the church afterwards.

(I am not at all religious but I do like songs and hot drinks).

My thing is flowers and plants, they transform a home.

Start with tidying and cleaning. When everything is back in its place and smells clean, you can decide if you need to move things, buy things or if it's good as it is.

A house that's been uninhabited for a couple of weeks is always a bit sad. I love it when our cleaners come when we're on holiday, as it makes such a difference to the feel of the house when we get back.

The star lights linked to are often sold on the Christmas markets for about £8 each. Throws, cushion and a rug, as said. Asda and Matalan have been cheap on the throws this year. I get my cushion covers from Shein £1.50/£2 each. B&M/Primark do the inners. You can get a home looking nice, even on a budget.

@Softwonder

My thing is flowers and plants, they transform a home.

I agree

Photographs. Friends, family, lovely places you’ve been or want to go, pets.

Small pieces of art. Make your own. They don’t even have to be “good” just pleasing to your eye.