subject: A Winter Ready Home [print this page] Winter is as good a time as any to redecorate your home, and the right visual elements will have your interiors looking chic in the coldest months. Paint is the best starting point for redecorating your home, and you should begin with a neutral color like white, beige or very light blue. Any other color will be hard to work with should you decide to change your decor theme in the future.
You can use darker colors, winter's trademark hues through the fabrics such as beddings, cushions, drapes, curtains or window blinds, coverings and rugs. If possible, change the sofa's upholstery. The dark colors work best for this time of the year because they add warmth to a living space.
You won't be wrapping them around you anytime soon but rugs add even more coziness and warmth to your home for the winter months. Their natural heat and texture will be very nice to the touch when the temperature drops. When choosing rugs, go with colors that really pop against the rest of your color scheme. Do you have a room made mostly of dark woods? A white or cream rug should work quite nicely. A dark green or burgundy rug, meanwhile, should be perfect for a room that's done in neutral colors. Since rugs nowadays come in all shades and sizes, you should be able to find one regardless of what you're working with. Just make sure to get rugs with a non-slip bottom if you're installing them on smooth hardwood floors, which tend to get slippery.
Now is also the time to change the flimsy curtains for thicker ones. You will need as much warmth-generating sources as you can. Dark-colored fabrics suit the winter season best but if you want a touch of color, you can add accents of pastel or bright hues in the curtain's ribbon. Prints will also look nice amidst a dark or neutral- colored room.
Slipcovers let you quickly and effortlessly change the look of your home for winter. You literally just slip them on and your furniture will look like entirely different pieces. By installing dark slipcovers for neutral rooms or vice versa, you get an instant accent piece that is interesting and functional at the same time. Even better, they help keep your furniture looking new by absorbing some of the wear and tear.
Accessories add the final but all-important touches to your interiors for winter. Candles, for example, are particularly dramatic pieces in winter because they suggest light and warmth - two things that Mother Nature doesn't provide that time of year. Small plants and shrubs add color in life to an otherwise bleak and dreary season. Just because the weather outside is harsh and unforgiving doesn't mean that your home has to be the same for the winter season, too.
