Ways You Can Brighten Up Your Home’s Common Spaces This Winter
Winter calls for long periods spent indoors with family and warm beverages. This means that you should make sure right now that the common spaces in your home are warm and comfortable enough to host everyone and keep them cozy. Have a look below at six ways in which you can brighten up the common spaces in your home this winter.
Invest In New, Large Windows
Larger windows mean more light in the house during the day, and if you’re the kind that finds gray skies comforting, you should consider this upgrade. Something else to motivate you to take this path is the fact that new windows can bring your energy bills down. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that, depending on where you live, you can save up to $501 each year when you replace old, single-pane windows with new models approved by Energy Star.
Paint the Walls Soft, Neutral Colors
If it’s been a while since you painted your walls, consider doing it now. Soft, neutral colors will be better for long-term use, and they will keep your house in a great state if you decide to sell it at some point. This is because while bold colors may make a statement, they’re often trendy and will need to be painted over once the fad passes, which is any time from a year to five or 10 years. Give your indoors new life and make it last by taking advantage of the great weather in winter to paint right now.
Hang Light-Colored Curtains
Light-colored curtains will complement your neutral walls as well as the furniture in your house. They will also let any wall hangings you have stand out more by providing a neutral backdrop. Curtains help keep a home more private, especially when night falls and it’s darker outside than it is inside. For this reason, better security from improved privacy is something you need to invest in by hanging curtains or changing the ones you currently have.
Don’t Use Window Shades During the Day
During the day, don’t use window shades but keep them open to take advantage of natural lighting from outside. It’s been found that if you want excellent glare control you should use fabrics that block 94-96% of all visible light. These should also absorb some heat and keep it at the window, letting it slowly dissipate into the room. When you close the shades at night, you will keep this heat within and may end up using less power to warm the house up.
Purchase Soft and Light Blankets and Accessories
Because it will be cold, you want to make it easy for yourself and your family to keep warm and cozy. Get some soft, light blankets for this purpose and decorate the common spaces and couches with them. When someone needs some extra warmth, it will be easy for them to reach for a blanket that will be within reach and easy to keep clean because it’s light.
Add Plants to Your Living Space
Finally, some plants will literally breathe new life into your home’s common spaces. Shop for varieties that do well indoors and that produce a lot of oxygen and you will get more of it in your house this winter, keeping everyone healthy with the purified air. Since food crops compete with 10,000 species of insects that feed on plants, you can also add some herbs and more edible plants to your kitchen area.
Enjoy this season with your family in a clean, cozy environment by preparing your home for winter. Once you’ve made the adjustments, it will be an easy job maintaining them so you have a great space all through the year.
