Hi, friends!

Ahh…winter! For us in upstate New York, we are accustom to dark mornings and braving the cold winds. After all, it does come with the territory, right? But what might not be widely talked about or embraced is how to set a home to complement these shorter days and chillier nights. Today, I am sharing some helpful and creative tips for styling your home for winter. Let’s jump in!

1. Embrace Layered Textures

Winter is the perfect time to introduce a variety of textures to make your space feel warm and inviting. Think plush throws, soft velvet cushions, and woven rugs. Layering these textures creates a sense of coziness that’s perfect for chilly weather.

• Living Room: Add a chunky knit throw to your sofa, and layer it with velvet or faux fur pillows for added warmth and comfort. A shaggy rug underfoot will also help ground the space and make it feel extra cozy.
• Dining Room: Consider a textured table runner or cloth in rich fabrics like linen or velvet. Incorporating placemats made of natural materials like rattan or woven fibers can also introduce warmth and texture to your winter dining experience.

Pillow Cover – Amazon

Chenille Cable Throw – Amazon

2. Warm Up with a Color Palette of Earthy Tones and Neutrals

For winter, soft, earthy tones create a serene and sophisticated atmosphere that’s both calming and cozy. Stick to a color palette that includes warm neutrals like beige, taupe, and soft gray, alongside deep, rich colors like forest green, navy, or burgundy.

• Living Room: If your walls are already neutral, switch up the look by adding accent colors in the form of pillows, throws, and curtains. Opt for deep jewel tones like emerald, sapphire, and amethyst for a touch of seasonal elegance.
• Dining Room: For a festive touch, consider incorporating gold, bronze, or brass accents in your tableware or light fixtures. These metallics add a sophisticated sparkle to the room without feeling too overpowering.

Set of Bowls – Amazon

Woven Table Runner – Amazon

https://amzn.to/4aewnUmt – Amazon

3. Create a Warm Focal Point with a Fireplace

A fireplace, real or otherwise, can be the heart of your living room during the colder months. If you’re lucky enough to have a fireplace, make it a focal point of your winter decor.

Photo Sourced from The Lily Pad Cottage

Photo Sourced from Hello Hayley Home Decor Blog

• Living Room: Use this area to showcase cozy winter elements, such as a collection of candles in varying heights, a stack of firewood, or a favorite poem or verse above the mantel. If you don’t have a real fire, electric fireplaces or even just a beautiful arrangement of candles can provide that same inviting warmth.
• Dining Room: If your dining area is near a fireplace, ensure the seating arrangement maximizes the ambiance. You could also add candles to the dining table or surrounding shelves to give the space a warm, inviting glow.

4. Incorporate Seasonal Greenery and Natural Elements

Winter is a wonderful time to bring nature indoors, whether it’s through greenery or natural materials. Adding a touch of winter flora can help your space feel fresh and seasonal.

• Living Room: Consider using evergreen branches, pinecones, or holly in vases or bowls. A simple vase of winterberry branches or a sprig of mistletoe can evoke the holiday season. Don’t forget about winter plants like poinsettias or an indoor pine tree for added festive cheer.
• Dining Room: A centerpiece made of natural elements such as birch logs, pinecones, and evergreen boughs is an elegant and low-maintenance way to bring winter beauty to your table. You could also incorporate small pots of herbs like rosemary, which not only add a fragrant touch but also stay vibrant through the season.

Branches

Rustic Finials – Amazon

Rustic Vase – Amazon

5. Bring in Winter-Inspired Artwork and Decor

Adding seasonal artwork or decor pieces is a simple way to change the vibe of your space without committing to major design changes.

• Living Room: Consider switching out any summery or neutral artwork for pieces that evoke the winter months. Landscapes featuring snow-covered trees or even abstract designs in deep blues and grays can set the perfect mood.
• Dining Room: Swap out your everyday art pieces for winter-inspired pieces, such as a mirror with a beaded frame. This will also help reflect light which we want to maximize during these winter months!

Winter Photo Collection – Amazon

Mirror – Amazon

I love sharing design ideas with you and hope that you feel more inspired for creating additional warmth and joy into your home this winter! With a little creativity and some helpful tips, your home will be ready to embrace the beauty of winter while keeping you and your guests comfortable and cozy!

Not sure how to give your home a new look?

We are here to help. Reach out to our team at FunCycled by contacting us today, or go ahead and schedule your 1 Hour Interior Design Appointment today. It would be a pleasure making your house feel just like your home!

Schedule a 1 Hour Design Consult

Thank you all for following along! If you’d like to get this blog in your email once a week, please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture at the top of this page. 

If you’ve enjoyed this post, please like FunCycled on  Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest if you don’t already. Keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We share fun tutorials, great before and after, and new design inspirations. 

We offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and repurposed furniture. Thank you for working with us and for taking the time to spread the word about what we do. 

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

Note some of the the links provided are affiliate links, and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from any qualifying purchases.

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Hi friends!

I hope you had a great weekend! The longer days of summer sometimes fool me into thinking that time stands still, but as I write this, I realize that the month of July is nearing conclusion. I love summer, from start to finish! And, technically speaking, we still have over 7 weeks of summer still to go! : ) Well, what on earth are we going to do with all that time? For me, I will do what I love to do most…keep designing spaces!

Part of my process as an interior designer is to keep learning new ideas and finding ways to inspire and encourage us as we create and design spaces we can call our own. Today, I am excited to share a new design style with you! This style is called the Biophilic Design Aesthetic. First, I love the word biophilic–it is soft yet intriguing. When I first heard it, I was drawn in and wanted to know more, and I am so excited to share all of this with you!

What is biophilic design?

In my digging, I learned that biophilic design is actually not a new idea or emerging concept. As a matter of fact, architects have been employing this design and approach as a means of creating building plans focused on connecting people to the natural world.

What are some examples?

Here are a couple of examples of Biophilic Architectural Designs. These photos are care of Render4Tomorrow Studio and are credited and linked below.

Jewel Changi Airport
Photo: Matteo Morando

The Bosco Verticale
Photo: Fred Romero

Another great example of this is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, the house designed for the famous Kauffman family of Pittsburgh in 1935. His design was considered “organic architecture,” but it falls within the vein of biophilic design.

Fallingwater c/o Columbus Monthly

Fallingwater c/o American Lifestyle Magazine

What does all of this have to do with designing your home?

The examples I have given above likely feel outside the scope of a typical project that you and I would be able to incorporate into our homes. But just because we may not see how to replicate something on that scale, doesn’t mean we can’t find ways to introduce some elements of biophilic design into our own spaces. And the best part is that right now, we are seeing design trends that embrace a biophilic approach and aesthetic into everyday home design, and the outcome is beautiful! Here are some inspirational pics, reflective of this trend, from Better Homes & Gardens. Photo credits linked below.

Photo: GABRIELA HERMAN c/o Better Homes & Gardens

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How can you incorporate this into your home?

I would like to share some ideas and tangible ways for you to add a biophilic touch (or even a few) to your home. But before I do that, here are some key elements of biophilic design that you should prioritize if you want to get this look: maximize light, feature plants, consider more organic shapes, and use natural materials. Check out the tips below along with product links to create this look for your home, too. Note some of the the links provided are affiliate links, and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from any qualifying purchases.

MAXIMIZE LIGHT

Be sure to allow as much light as possible. This might be totally forgoing anything on your windows, or maybe it’s really minimizing your window treatments. Rather than having full drapes, just use sheer linen panels like those shown below.

If you live in an apartment and would like to maximize the lighting in your environment but have limited natural light, select a glass lamp with a rattan shade, like this simple design below. Oh, and don’t forget to select a light bulb that is labeled “daylight.”

Amazon Sheer Panels

Amazon Lamp & Shade

MAKE PLANTS A FOCAL POINT

There are plenty of ways to add plants (or even the idea) of plants into your home. Here are some ideas to help you figure out the best way to add this element into a biophilic inspired design in your space.

Using live plants is the most ideal way of employing a biophilic approach, and an easy way of adding live plants indoors is to create a propagation station on a wall. Look at these fun examples below!

https://amzn.to/46mRylf Wooden Casing – Amazon

Glass Propagation Wall Vases – Amazon

If growing plants is just not quite your thing, or if you live in a place that makes growing live plants a challenge, why not “add” plants in another way. Add botanical wallpaper or enlist an oversized faux plant. Both can add that touch of nature even if it is not quite the real deal!

Botanical Wallpaper – Amazon

Faux Fiddle Fig Tree – Amazon

INCLUDE ORGANIC SHAPES

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut with the kind of shapes we have in our homes. We may be tempted to think squared off edges or perfect spherical finishes are the only options we have, but when embracing a biophlic design, you are freed up to let that go! If we are seeking to add some touches of nature into the home, the shapes we select should include soft and organic lines. I love these examples below.

Marble Ruffle Dish – Amazon

Organic Shaped Wooden Mirror – Amazon

EMBRACE NATURAL MATERIALS

Think wood, stone, linen, leather, etc….In keeping with a biophilic approach, being mindful of the materials we choose is essential not only to the look and feel of this type of design but it is also a way of actively choosing items that are more sustainable – an important consideration for us at FunCycled!

Leather & Wood MCM Bench – Amazon

Pillow Covers – Amazon

How does Funcycled Approach Biophilic Design?

Adding Biophilic touches to our designs is integrated into many of our projects. Check out some of our projects in this news article from Times Union.

Bringing Nature Indoors

I am so proud to share that our Biophilic focused designs have been featured in our local news, thanks to Shannon Fromma at the Times Union. Y’all get a big shout out from #funcycled!! Thanks for sharing about my passion for sustainable design! Read the article here: Bringing Nature Indoors

I hope you have found some new inspiration and have become more curious about biophilic design in reading this blog. I have really only scratched the surface here, so if you do a little digging yourself, I would love to hear from you, too. What other things did you learn? What ideas did you come up with?

Take the time to really consider some of these suggestions. I think you will find a good jumping point! Of course, if you aren’t sure where to begin, I would love to help you! You can check out more details about our Interior Design Services. 

Thank you all for following along! If you’d like to get this blog in your email once a week, please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture. 

If you’ve enjoyed this post, please like FunCycled on  Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest if you don’t already. Keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We share fun tutorials, great before and after, and new design inspirations. 

We offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and repurposed furniture. Thank you, again, for working with us and for taking the time to spread the word about what we do. 

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

Note some of the the links provided are affiliate links, and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from any qualifying purchases.