Making a modern house cosy

[BabCNesbitt]

We recently bought a 1960s split level (kind of like this: www.uwec.edu/geography/ivogeler/w367/web2008/web-house-styles/bilevel-split.html but without the porch bit - we're in the US). The previous owners decorated in the mid-90s so it looks like Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen tested all his ideas on it - swirly metallic paint, fake dado rails, a Tuscan view tiled panel behind the cooker

I'd like to decorate in a way that fits the house, without looking too much like a Mad Men pastiche, but I also like images of cosy, bright, cluttered homes (though too much clutter drives me insane). Is it possible to make a house look cosy while still keeping it fairly modern and uncluttered?

(Cheeky bump.)

Don't know if this would fit your house, but I like cream / neutral colours on the walls and then use furniture / accessories to provide colour. We have just re-decorated and I've gone for cream on walls, light wood floors, mid oak furniture, pale blue / greyish sofa with a shade darker on the throw, curtains and cushions. I'm trying to talk DH into getting a rug in same colour as well. In all honesty though, it comes down to the lighting which gives it the cosiness feeling.

Cosy to me suggests carpets and wallpaper - but that is a nono these days.

Mad Men pastiche sounds very daring, because the colours were pretty strong - tangerine, mustard yellow . Maybe you could wallpaper one wall in a, say, geometric design, then have the rest of the room in subdued colours with bright cushions etc.

We have a house in the US and it is a bit like living in a barn, high ceilings and little recessed lights and smoke detectors and intruder detectors all very functional so your ideas sound fun.

That's what in trying to do - when I moved in we painted all rooms neutral and put beige carpets in and it's very minimalist. I have been putting things in to make it more cosy ie - silk flowers in bright colour vases, pictures/paintings on wall, bright colour rugs, hearts and ornamental letters (the ones that say home sweet home for example)

I always think soft things like cushions, blankets and rugs help make a room feel cosier.

The Terence Conran style stuff seems to be quite fashionable at the moment. You could maybe google some of those things for inspiration?

Thanks for the replies! I think the idea of adding colour with accessories sounds ideal - we definitely need to get some cushions and a big rug - but we're so indecisive . stardusty, I like the look of the Conran stuff, but I don't know if I'd call it cosy?

If you have a house of a certain period, do you feel obliged to decorate it in either that style or from a later period? Lots of homes around here are filled with pseudo-Victorian and Colonial antiques, which feels odd to me when the house was clearly built in the last 30 years or so!

We bough a 1930's house almost two years ago, and I do feel I have to decorate it in an older/more traditional style.

My advice is not to rush it; I'm still doing things now but glad I didn't run out and buy the first things I saw.

Enjoy!

All the nicest decorated split levels I know work because they keep it simple. Plain walls, hardwood floors, some furniture and good quality crown moulding. Then make it your own with art, rugs, cushions, etc.

Look at younghouselove.com for some ideas. Their first and second homes were both ranches, which have similar problems as a split level for decorating.

That should read simple furniture, not some furniture!

Heh, Zee, yep, we do have some furniture!

Just looking at the gallery for YHL's first house - gah, they tore out that divider! I'd KILL for something like that in our place!

To make it cozy rather than cluttered you can put pictures on t he wall and use book shelves with a mix of books and ornaments.

Def go for neutrals in the decorating. You will find Americans often change their cushions/pillows for each season, and you may want to change colors every so often. I have a small number of things like cushions and some decorations which I change around, but with plain neutrals door wall and floor.

This is more Mad Men to me. YHL is too cluttery imv 60s had simple ornaments eg 1 large coloured glass vase (but would have one wall wallpaper in the same shade).

Actually that has too much in the way of ornaments too. Imv (being old enough to remember it) 50/60s was a reaction to the clutter of ornaments on the mantelpiece or sideboard of previous generations so big and bold but bare.