There are many challenges involved in moving from a warm, temperate climate to a colder, more extreme climate. Learning to drive on icy roads, shoveling snow and bundling up to head to the grocery store can all have steep learning curves. Those moving from the coasts or the South might also be confronted with how best to decorate their homes during harsh winters. In your first year away from a warm, sunny climate, you might be tempted to simply toss a plush rug on the floor and call it a day. Thankfully, there are a few additional ways to arrange furniture and add soft finishings to heat up the space without increasing your electricity bill or majorly overhauling your home. Follow below for five helpful tips for decorating your home in a cold climate.

5 Tips for Decorating Your Home in a Cold Climate

#1 Humidify Your Home

One of the most effective ways to make your whole home feel warmer without actually turning on the heat is to increase its relative humidity level. During the winter, colder climates see a significant drop in relative humidity levels, drying out the skin and mucous membranes of residents. This dryness of essential organs and membranes can make it easier to get sick and harder to recover. Increasing the relative humidity in your home will not only make you feel warmer and cozier, but might also improve your health. In his article “Humidity at Home: What You Need to Know this Winter,” Frank Landwehr recommends cold-climate homeowners keep the “indoor relative humidity low enough to prevent visible and invisible moisture problems and high enough to prevent excess static electricity or dry skin.” Landwehr writes that the ideal indoor relative humidity level is between 30 and 50%, but in some areas, RH can dip below 10%. Landwehr explains that maintaining appropriate RH levels is “important because the level of humidity in your home can impact your overall health and comfort.” Increase your home’s indoor relative humidity to avoid “catching a cold,” developing “dry and itchy skin,” or “damaging the wood [or] paint of your house.”

To humidify your home without investing in an expensive HVAC system, consider adding a diffuser and a few houseplants to each room. In her article “33 Interior Design Tips to Make Your Home Cozy for Winter” for BestLife, Sarah Crow recommends adding diffusers because they "offer natural aromatherapy and help humidify the space." Quoting interior designer Diana Weinstein from New Jersey, Sarah Crow encourages homeowners to choose diffusers with “‘soothing lavender, spicy cinnamon, or sweet vanilla to keep the space feeling cozy and warm.’" To add a bit of visual interest to your home’s decor while upping the relative humidity, Mick Telkamp of the DIY Network recommends including a few houseplants. In his article “6 Ways to Humidify Your House (Without a Humidifier),” Telkamp explains how houseplants contribute to indoor relative humidity. Telkamp writes that houseplants increase indoor relative humidity through “transpiration [which] is the process by which moisture evaporates from the leaves and stems of plants.” However, Telkamp notes, “a dry home can be tough on houseplants as the battle for humidity wages, so be sure to keep them well watered.”

#2 Toss Textiles Throughout

Rugs

Cozy blankets, fluffy accent pillows, insulated curtains and plush rugs can all heat your home without turning up your thermostat. In fact, keeping your home free of these elements can cause any heat added by your HVAC system to dissipate faster, hiking up your electricity bills. In his article “14 low-tech ways to keep your house warm over the winter” for the BBC, Tom Heyden recommends laying down area rugs and runners throughout rooms with hardwood, linoleum or ceramic tile floors. Referencing the National Energy Foundation (NEF), Heyden warns that “floors account for as much as 10% of heat loss if they're not insulated.” Heyden writes that rugs and blankets can help mitigate” heat loss, and “have the added bonus of keeping your feet warm.” Though carpeting can reduce heat loss significantly, if you notice “cracks or gaps in the flooring,” you should avoid simply tossing a rug over them. In these cases, Heyden suggests “squirt[ing] some filler into them.” For best results, Deirdre Sullivan of The Spruce recommends “handmade rugs with a high knot count.” Sullivan explains that “the higher the number, the denser the material, which is better for insulation than a plusher rug with a lower knot count.”

Curtains

The Winter months should signal a change in your home from the light, breezy linens of Summer and Fall to heavier knits and other dense fabrics. In her article “How to keep your house warm in winter – insulate against the cold and block those drafts“ for Ideal Home, Amy Cutmore recommends swapping out your flax linen curtains for heavier sets as the weather cools down. Cutmore suggests investing in “thermal-lined curtains,” as they “can help you keep the cold out more effectively, especially if you have single-glazed windows.” If you prefer the look of lighter curtains, Cutmore notes that “at the very least, [you should] make sure your curtains are lined.” For an interior decor upgrade, follow Sarah Crow’s advice in her article “33 Interior Design Tips to Make Your Home Cozy for Winter” for BestLife. Crow recommends choosing “thick or lined drapes in complimentary deep tones [to] add instant physical and psychological warmth to any room.” For even more heat, Crow suggests placing pairs of curtains in a couple places you might not expect. Crow encourages homeowners to “try adding some warm curtains to your space to section off open doorways...with a tension rod and some heavy drapes.” This will help you “keep the warm air in and the cold out!”

#3 Fix Your Floorplan by Moving Furniture

Rearranging the furniture in your home during the Winter not only provides a much-needed refresh of your floor plan, but can also circulate and conserve heat more effectively. In her article “Here Are 5 Easy Ways To Make Your Home Warmer And Cozier For Winter” for My Move, Cynthia Bowman explains how to move your couch, armchairs and other furnishings to make your house cozier. For remote workers, Bowman recommends placing “your desk near a sunny window to take in the sun’s heat.”

In your living room, Bowman suggests moving “your sofa, armchair or bed away from a cold, drafty window or poorly insulated wall to keep yourself warmer and cozier.” The main takeaway, Bowman explains, is to move “larger pieces of furniture away from your heating ducts or radiators so the heat can flow freely in a room.” You can also move furniture around to create cozy vignettes, writes Sarah Crow in her article “33 Interior Design Tips to Make Your Home Cozy for Winter” for BestLife. Crow recommends sprucing “up an empty corner with a small-scale chair, a side-table, footstool, and floor lamp to create… a cozy haven to retreat to."

#4 Let Light in

Though scarce in some areas of the country during the winter, sunlight instantly warms a space no matter how cold it is outside. Exposing your home’s interior to rays of sun throughout the day will keep it warmer than it otherwise would be until the sun goes down. In her article “How to keep your house warm in winter – insulate against the cold and block those drafts“ for Ideal Home, Amy Cutmore recommends “keeping curtains open until 3 PM.” Cutmore writes that “while keeping your curtains closed will keep the heat in at night, keep[ing] them open during the day” will warm up your living or bedroom. This is especially true when your home’s interior is filled with darker furniture or flooring that will absorb the sun’s warmth and light. Cutmore notes that “any sunlight will naturally heat up the room, which will all help when you finally draw the curtains as the chilly night sets in.” Cutmore encourages homeowners to close the curtains around 4 PM, as this is the time by which the sun typically sets during the winter.

#5 Keep Heat from Rising

A final recommendation for keeping your home warm in the winter -- without using too much electricity -- is to prevent heat from rising up to the ceiling where it is of no use to inhabitants. This is especially important in single level homes, as the warm air will have no floor above to heat. In her article “11 Ways To Keep Your House Warmer That Don't Involve Turning Up The Heat“ for Romper, Shannon Fielder recommends screwing shelves into the wall above the radiator. Fielder writes that this trick “is great especially if you've got high ceilings” because “placing a shelf on the wall above the radiator will stop the heat from rising above the shelf.” Do the same around heating vents set into the lower wall or on the floor. Try this handy tip particularly in areas where you or your family commonly congregate -- e.g. near the couch, in a reading nook or in your home office. This will keep the hot air in the part of the room you inhabit instead of empty space.”

We hope these tips are useful for decorating your home in a cold climate. By keeping these five tips in mind, your home is sure to be cozy and warm this Winter!

5 Tips for Decorating Your Home in a Cold Climate