How to Make Contemporary Cosy

How to Make Contemporary Cosy

Despite contemporary homes drawing all sorts of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ and having heaps of wow factor, they can often lack a feeling of homeliness and warmth. Zespoke shows you how can you combine modern lines and design with a welcoming, cosy feel?

Make it Look Lived In

Sleek and sharp doesn’t mean there should be no evidence of the people who live there –  in fact this is key to creating a welcoming feel in a home. Choosing some more unusual pieces of furniture that say something about the occupants of the home, such as a funky coffee table or retro TV stand, a wall displaying a gallery of family photographs or a custom-made piece of furniture will do wonders for your home’s cosy-factor.

Take a look at the custom-made furniture from Zespoke — it can be as bright and bold or as subtle and sleek as you like and will definitely add an individual touch to your interiors.

Use Texture

Contemporary homes are often monochrome and whilst an all-white scheme is just fine, it can all end up seeming a little too clinical and cold.

A great way of avoiding a stark feel within a contemporary home is to use plenty of different textures within a single-colour scheme — so use accessories and soft furnishings to impart a touchy feely element into the home. Using furniture in the same way will go a long way towards a sense of life and warmth — be that through a glossy, shiny, yet all-white coffee table, a fluffy throw or a range of pierced or embellished home accessories.

Don’t forget wall finishes either — cladding or modern textured plaster finishes, not forgetting tactile fabric wallpapers, are all brilliant ways of breaking up flat surfaces.

Don’t Shy Away from colour

Contemporary interiors need not translate as all-white interiors — colour can work too. Even if you have your heart set on a predominantly white or neutral colour scheme on the walls – undoubtedly a fabulous way to highlight the clean, sharp lines of many a contemporary home –you can still add a burst of colour in order to add warmth and character to your home. Choose furniture such as a retro coffee table featuring a bright colour, or a radiator cover in a zingy shade (take a look at the range from Zespoke which will allow you to combine an eye-catching shade with a neutral within the same piece.)

Other ways of introducing colour include artwork, feature walls, soft furnishing and decorative accessories such as vases, glass bowls and ornaments.

Inject Some Character

One of the main ways in which period and traditional-style homes appeal is down to the character they exude — interestingly-placed and sized windows, open fires, beams, cosy alcoves being amongst the ways in which this type of home succeeds in creating interest and charm.

Rather than box-shaped rooms, use different floor and ceiling heights, split-level areas and introduce cosy corners and nooks, break up vast open spaces with partial walls and moveable room-dividers that double up as storage — these are all great ways to avoid contemporary spaces seeming like one big expanse of straight, soullessness.

Light it Well

Finally, minimalist interiors cry out for a good lighting scheme. Cold harsh lighting will do nothing for open spaces and clean lines. Use a variety of background, task and ambient lighting to ensure you can change the type of lighting according to the situation and highlight snug corners, stand-out artwork or your favourite coffee table.