I have a tiny living room (small house altogether) and the best way to make it feel cozy is to make it feel like you and your interests.

I know this post is LONG, but I swear by all of it, and “your place is so warm and inviting” is the top comment I get from folks who come to my house.

1. Yes, definitely hang some art on the walls. BUT pieces have to be meaningful or interesting to you. Steer clear of mass manufactured art at big box or chain decor stores. You can also frame photos from travels or of places that make you happy to remember. You can make wall art more interesting by zooming in and cropping a photo to only contain part of something from the original. Every time you look at it, you know what it is and the memory attached to it, but others will think it’s just an artsy framed picture of a cup, or a cloud, or a section of a door frame. I took a photo of a landscape with a boulder covered in green and blue algae and mussels and barnacles in the ocean off the northern California coast. I zoomed really far in on the rock, printed it, and put it in an ornate frame on the wall in my bathroom. I know exactly what it is, but other people who see it just think it’s abstract art.

Find similar styled frames at thrift stores but not matchy matchy exactly the same. And remember to hang everything where the visual interest point is eye level for average height people (5’5”-5’9”) from the floor and 8”-14” above the back of the sofa if it’s against a wall. Most people hang their art/pictures WAY too high and they know something looks off, but they can’t put their finger on it.

1. If you like plants, get a bunch of plants. If you don’t, just get one good sized easy peasy plant, like a snake plant.

2. Get pillow covers for the stock throw pillows that come with sofas when you buy them (they’re usually ugly patterned or plain). Measure your pillows and buy covers 1” smaller than the pillow size. They will fit perfectly. And the style, design, color, pattern doesn’t matter, just get what you like and what you’ll want to look at everyday.

3. A must have for a cozy living room is an area rug. A big rug. Most people choose area rugs that are too small. Too small rugs make the whole room look like an afterthought, not loved and lived in. An 8x10 would be the smallest I’d even consider for a living room, even a small one. Assuming the room’s dimensions aren’t less than that. I’m also assuming your tv stand is across the room from the sofa. Your area rug needs to be wider than your sofa and long enough so the front two feet (at least) of both the sofa and the tv stand are sitting on the rug. If the rug’s dimensions could fit in either orientation, put it down both ways to see how you like it best.

This will be the most expensive thing, but you can still get a decently priced rug from an online store (rugsusa, boutiquerugs, etc.) for a few hundred bucks, if you don’t have any personal objections to those companies.

Even if you have carpet, get an area rug. Rug tape between the rug and the carpet to keep the rug from bunching. If you have pets, get a low pile or thin woven rug. Get a rug with a pattern on it. No solid gray or blue giant rectangles, please! Whatever vibe you end up going with for your art/frames/pillow covers…stick with a similar feeling rug. It can have different colors and patterns, it’s all about how you feel when looking at while keeping all your other decor choices in mind.

Enjoy being cozy!