Turn Your New Home Into A Cozy Oasis With Tips From Your Favorite HGTV Stars

In a world that seems to get busier and faster-paced by the moment, our homes are the place where we can regenerate and recuperate. According to a study by Paramount Insights, 90% of respondents view their homes as sanctuaries, and 94% say it's the place where they can best recharge. But what if your space feels cold, chaotic, or flat? How can you counteract this and ramp up the coziness factor so your home feels like a haven?

Your favorite HGTV stars have the answers. Whether you're dealing with a sterile kitchen, a frigid living room, or a space that lacks character, HGTV's lineup of designers and home experts have more than a few tricks and tips to help you out. From making texture your friend to leveraging the right lighting sources (and much more), these nuggets of cozy design wisdom are the ingredients you need to transform your home into a welcoming oasis.

Lighting plays a starring role in creating a cozy ambiance, especially in spaces that lack soft elements, like kitchens and bathrooms. Jenn Todryk from HGTV's "No Demo Reno" has a super simple tip for increasing coziness in the kitchen. In an Instagram post, Todryk asked her followers, "Do you like under cabinet lighting? It's a must for me. Whether it's day or night, they are on." This sentiment makes total sense, given how effective cabinet lights are at transforming the mood of a kitchen. They add warmth and glow in a space that can feel cold and hard. You can use them in conjunction with your overhead lighting or switch everything else off for some ultimate ambiance in the evenings. Todryk says, "Right after the kiddos are tucked in bed, I come down and immediately turn off the overhead lighting. It's very symbolic."

Under cabinet lighting might look lux and high-end, but it doesn't have to be expensive. The HGTV star shared that her lights didn't break the bank, saying, "They aren't even fancy; they are LED strips, and you'd NEVER know." If you're renting or worried about having to run wiring, you can even look into battery-operated solutions like remote-controlled puck lights. Lighting up the interior of glass-fronted cabinets is another ambience-boosting, hygge-worthy hack. 

If you're after an Instagram-inspired interior, you might assume that everything in your home has to be in immaculate condition. But it turns out that small imperfections like cracked, creased leather could be the ideal ingredient for adding charm and creating cozy feels with a touch of history. In an Instagram post, HGTV's Nate Berkus shared a nugget of design wisdom, saying, "Using materials that are not 'perfect' can bring a lived-in element to a new space that makes it feel more like home." He showcased how this can play out by pairing his caption with dreamy images of an upholstered chair sporting a cracked black leather seat and a clearly well-loved leather ottoman. Instead of dragging down the feeling of the room, these more "worn" items add character. 

So the next time you think that an older item is definitely destined for the dump, take a step back. By thoughtfully pairing old and new items in your home, you can create balance and imbue your space with a relaxed undertone instead of having it feel like a showroom. If you don't happen to have a sexily distressed black leather sofa, don't fret. Old books, patinaed metal, vintage floor lamps, and worn cabinets can all be used to add charm. The trick is to pair these more well-traveled items side by side with starker, harder, and more obviously new elements.

Do certain rooms in your home feel blank, uncozy, or somehow unfinished, no matter how you furnish them? There are a few things you can do to the walls themselves that will instantly make the space feel more snug and cocooning. "Makeover By Monday" HGTV star Jenni Yolo is the queen of inviting, cozily eclectic transformations, and she has a time-tested tip. In an exclusive interview with House Digest, Yolo said that "adding crown molding or a chair rail or beadboard can totally transform a room and give it a lot of character." Today, things like chair rail molding and wainscoting are purely decorative elements, but in the past, they had practical purposes. Wainscoting was originally used to provide extra insulation and wall protection from furniture. In a modern home, you might not need to block cold seeping out from icy stone walls or protect soft plaster — but you can still harness the psychological effect of these wall treatments. They wrap the walls in texture, making the space feel less sterile or empty.

What's more, updating your walls doesn't have to be expensive or complicated. If you're keen for a small DIY project, you can easily accomplish an upgrade like this without having to spend major moolah. Yolo told House Digest, "A lot of the time, it doesn't cost a lot of money. Adding chair rail is a really inexpensive and great DIY project." Expect to pay between $1 to $3 per foot. Wainscoting will run you a little more — expect to pay between $1 to $40 per square foot, depending on the material and how intricate the design is.

Very sparse spaces can struggle to feel cozy, but this doesn't mean you have to introduce clutter. On the contrary, clutter can give your home a chaotic feeling that's stressful to the subconscious. A 2010 study published in the "Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin" found that people who saw their homes as cluttered experienced heightened cortisol levels. Besides making your space a stressful, non-inviting zone, clutter can also detract from the special items you love and which make your house a home. But how do you know what to keep and what to get rid of? In an exclusive interview, Jeremiah Brent told House Digest, "We believe in two things: if it's not absolutely beautiful or absolutely functional, you don't need it. That sounds really simple, but in execution, it's really complicated."

Editing possessions is tough, even for the likes of HGTV's design stars, so don't be too hard on yourself. Take the process in stages, starting with easy purging decisions, and whittle away at the clutter. Evaluate how fewer, more special items can make your space feel like a tranquil oasis, and build your decluttering muscles over time. Keep in mind that you don't have to get rid of items right away. Stowing less cherished things out of sight in storage boxes can be a great start, especially if the idea of parting with them will turn you off the process entirely.

If you want to create a cozy atmosphere in your home, one of the easiest ways to accomplish this is through texture. It visually communicates what the sensory experience of a room's surfaces and materials will feel like. If you picture sheer, billowy white curtains or a soft wool rug, your fingers and toes can already anticipate how they feel. It's almost impossible for a space with lots of different textures to appear sterile or cold. 

Relying on tactile feel is also one of the safest ways to elevate your design. Unlike a loud rug that you might get tired of, a beautiful texture like a waffle weave is sure to stand the test of time. Thanks to the timelessness of texture, Jeremiah Brent's advice in his interview with House Digest is to "invest in great classics, a great, beautiful sofa with clean arms and a great textured pattern, and then have fun with the pieces around it."

By leveraging texture in big-ticket items, you can build a base that oozes sensorial comfort. From here, you can play around with bolder ideas that are cheaper to change and switch out. For instance, if you're wondering whether adding a touch of red to your space will make it feel warmer and cozier, maybe don't buy a crimson couch. Instead, hang a framed print that's full of warm tones, or toss in a few burgundy throw pillows. 

A lot of the time, fixing existing flaws is part of creating a home you love. But certain flaws can be a source of cozy charm and even inspire design creativity. According to "Good Bones" host Karen E Laine, "There are no flaws." When asked in an interview with House Digest how homeowners can embrace their spaces despite flaws, she said, "Those are charming idiosyncrasies, or quirks, or something. Look at what you think of as a flaw — perhaps your windows aren't centered on a wall — and we can create balance without symmetry by how we place furniture, art, floor lamps, or plants. You can create a room that feels like it has a good flow and is balanced." She also advises not to get too caught up with perfectionism — having a cozy home is more about embracing its unique charms rather than comparing it with the Joneses. "It's your house, it's your environment. Make it what you want it to be. If you're happy with it, that's all that matters."

Character is an important coziness factor. It's often what makes houses feel homey. So before you mortar in that weird recess or rip out the original tile, pause. With a little creativity, trial, and error, you could turn odd elements in your home into quaint features that help you harness extra hygge. 

Coffee tables can introduce a hard, angular element in a space where you probably want to double down on coziness. If you feel like your coffee table is stealing softness from your living room, Breegan Jane, host of HGTV's "Dream Home," has a helpful tip. In an Instagram post, the star said, "If you're someone who likes the look of a coffee table but you crave a different functionality, consider using an oversized ottoman to complete the look of your space. They bring in a different texture and profile. Plus, they can often offer hidden storage or additional seating when needed. It's a more modern take on an old faithful."

To successfully implement this idea, invest time into finding an ottoman that fits your specific lifestyle. For instance, if you need the space for placing drinks, you could look for an ottoman with a slider, or pair it with a large, stable tray. If you're worried about sticky messes, you can also consider leather-covered options. Finally, if an ottoman isn't a practical choice for your main living room surface, round coffee tables or designs with organic shapes can help to create a soft look while still offering a hardworking surface.

Do you have a fireplace in your home? If you're looking to turn up the cozy feels, you'll definitely want to hype this enviable living room feature for all its worth. It's safe to say that the Property Brothers know a thing or two about making homes more inviting, and Jonathan Scott has a hot take when it comes to hearths. Per an article published by the twins on Drew & Jonathan, "A well-designed fireplace immediately becomes the focal point of a welcoming gathering space. When planning a living room refresh, design your seating layout around access to your new attention-getter."

So if you're torn between arranging your living room furniture around the TV or the fireplace, the latter wins hands down. Flanking the fireplace with two occasional chairs is a great way to call attention to it. A symmetrical layout with two sofas facing each other and a long coffee table pointing towards the hearth is another easy option. You can also make your fireplace pop by placing an impactful piece of art on the chimneypiece, styling your mantel like a pro, or even refreshing the front with a bold tile choice or contrasting paint color. If you love a light-toned color palette but have a dark brick fireplace, you can keep the brick look while lightening the color with a whitewash paint technique.

Sometimes knocking out a dividing wall can make all the difference, transforming your living area from cramped to expansive. But there are also situations when dividing walls can help create more cozy, intimate spaces. Jenn Todryk is the HGTV master when it comes to renovating homes without a ton of demo. In an Instagram post she said, "Walls aren't bad and separated smaller rooms can be super homey and cozy."

If you're torn between whether to tear down or keep a wall, here are a few factors to consider. Will removing it make the area feel like one big flat space without well-defined zones? List out the concrete benefits of demoing, such as more light and better flow. Are there other ways you could achieve this? For example, installing double doors with glass panels between a home office and a living space can increase natural light and visually open up the area while still creating distinct zones and giving you a space to work where you can shut the doors. 

You should also take a close look at the partition wall and sum up its value in terms of architectural detail. "Coziness and character are expensive to replicate in houses these days! The classic charm that comes with these decades; built-ins, stacked molding, paneling, little nooks — they are all on trend and they ain't cheap!" observes Todryk. If the wall has some great paneling, molding, or other cozy-fying elements, you may want to keep it.

If you want to inject more softness and visual warmth into a room, adding a rug is a must. Better yet, add two! Combining rugs has been on trend for a while, and it's the perfect way to incorporate an extra layer of snugness into your space. It also gives you a chance to play with different textures, colors, materials, and weaves. Leanne Ford is a big proponent of this design trick and has a specific combo she particularly likes. "I love the look of a larger sisal or jute rug with a cool Moroccan rug over top," she shares on the Leanne Ford blog.

When it comes to rug layering, the options are almost endless. According to Ford, "There really are no rules, a lot of it is playing with space and the furniture. Using rugs that fit your style and make you happy are most important — then, play with them in the space." If you want to save some serious cash on rug purchases, one easy hack is to buy a simpler, cheaper rug for the bottom and then go for a more expensive statement rug to put on top. Pairing a plain rug with a patterned one is usually easier to pull off, but if you love mixing prints, go for it. Two ways you can keep things cohesive are by varying the scale of the prints and sticking to similar colors. And don't forget, in the world of pattern play, stripes count as a neutral!

Feeling cozy is a very sensorial thing, and what better way to play on the senses than with scent? HGTV star and interior designer Jeremiah Brent shared via TikTok, "Something that's really important to me is scent. It's kind of a final layer to any home." This makes perfect sense, given that smells have a massive impact on emotions. A 2016 study published in "Scienta Pharmaceutica" showed that scents even have the power to influence brain states.

Brent likes to match his scents to the seasons, which is a genius way to increase the cozy factor when temperatures turn cold. Warm, comforting scents like cinnamon and vanilla are time-honored fall favorites. Pine, sandalwood, pumpkin spice, clove, cinnamon, and bergamot can carry you all the way from fall to winter, channeling feelings of warmth and comfort. Scented candles are an ideal way to bring these aromas into your home. You can also look into using a reed, candle, or electric diffuser, lighting incense, making your own room spray, or whipping up a stovetop potpourri.

Did you know that the view out of your windows, through the backdoor, and from the deck can be a make-or-break coziness factor? Cozy homes are ones that feel loved and cared for, and this extends to the exterior. During an interview, HGTV star Karen E Laine told House Digest, "Landscaping is the first thing that tells a potential buyer whether or not anyone cares about the house." It creates more than just curb appeal — it can also evoke emotions. "When you walk up to it, are you happy to see it?" she asked.

If you're answering no to any of these questions, it might be time to spruce up your yard, paying particular attention to areas you see a lot of from your main living spaces. Fortunately, Laine says that landscaping and curb appeal projects don't have to cost a lot, especially if you're just aiming for a quick cosmetic upgrade. Pruning back overgrown trees and shrubs that are stealing light and making your interior dim is something a lot of homeowners can do themselves. If your borders are looking tired, spreading a layer of fresh mulch and popping in a few new flowering plants can do wonders — especially if you can see those elements from indoors. Or maybe your home faces a busy road or an unsightly lot? Erecting some reed fencing (like this one from Amazon) can erase the eyesore and add privacy for under a hundred dollars.