When I designed my first home, I went all in on gray. Gray walls, white everything else, and a lot of cool blues mixed in. I loved it.
My guests didn't.
They'd come over and never really settle in. Nobody wanted to sit down. The room felt cold and a little awkward, and I couldn't figure out why, because on paper it was exactly the look I wanted.
The more I studied design, the more obvious it became. Warmth was one of the first things that changed for me, and it changed everything after it. Today I steer away from most grays, and I almost never use blue.
Here's what I've learned since, and what I'd tell you to do first if your home feels the same way mine did.
Why gray rooms feel cold
You can absolutely bring warmth into a gray room. I still use gray sometimes. But the warmth has to come from everything around it: the pillows, the styling, the lighting, the textures and fabrics. The size of the room matters too, because a bigger space needs more layers to keep from feeling empty.
Even then, cool tones hold on to a little bit of that cold edge. And that edge is what keeps people from settling in. Your home should be the one place that gives something back to you at the end of the day. If your living room doesn't let you exhale when you walk into it, the design isn't working, no matter how good it looks in a photo.
So if you love gray, go for a warmer gray. That one swap solves most of the problem before you change anything else.
Start with curtains
If you only do one thing, do this. Curtains make more difference than almost anything else in a room.
Hang them as close to the ceiling as you can, and let them run all the way to the floor. Then go much wider than the window itself. I often take them nearly the full width of the wall, depending on the window. Most people hang curtains right at the window frame and stop, and it makes the window look small and the room look shorter.
For fabric, I like a soft linen that lets light filter through. It has a gentle texture that reads warm and comforting, and it keeps the room bright instead of heavy. I go with a warmer color, but not too dark, because I still want the space to feel light and airy.
Done right, curtains make a room feel like a completely different room.
Add plants
Plants are the second thing I'd do, and you don't need many. A few around the space is enough.
They bring the outside in, and that bit of living greenery makes a room feel awake. A home can't feel alive unless something in it is actually living. It's hard to explain until you've done it, but a space with a few plants simply feels more like home.
Fix the lighting
Never rely on your overhead light to set the mood. It's harsh, it flattens everything, it doesn't photograph well, and it makes a room feel cold no matter what else you've done.
You want layers instead, and there are three kinds worth knowing:
- Ambient is your general glow. Table lamps, floor lamps, a fireplace.
- Task is light for doing something. I keep a small lamp on my piano for exactly this.
- Accent highlights a feature. I have sconces on either side of my TV to give that wall some life.
In my living room, I have the piano lamp, the sconces, a lamp next to the couch, and the fireplace. Several sources, all at different heights, none of them overhead. That mix is what makes a room feel like evening instead of an office.
Layer your textures
Texture is what keeps a warm room from feeling flat. In my living room I have jute, wood, a few different fabrics, and some metal. I have stone in the pottery, and those big chunky pieces feel grounding rather than cold.
A little coolness in the mix is a good thing. Metal and black tones read cooler, but they give your eye somewhere to land. If every single thing in a room matches, there's nothing interesting happening. You want some tension.
One more thing people miss: your couch. If it's stiff and clearly never been sat in, it makes the entire room feel cold. A sofa should look like someone has actually been comfortable on it.
What changes here in Colorado Springs
A few things about this place shape how I design.
The sun is stronger than you think
Colorado Springs sits at 6,035 feet. The World Health Organization puts the increase in UV at 10 to 12 percent for every 1,000 meters of elevation, which works out to roughly 18 to 22 percent more UV here than at sea level. Add about 243 sunny days a year and around 3,265 hours of sunshine, and fabrics fade fast. For anything in a sunny window or a bright south facing or west facing room, performance fabrics like Sunbrella are worth the money. They hold their color instead of going pale in a couple of years.
The winters are long, so lean into it
This is when a fireplace earns its keep. I pull out the big chunky blankets for the season and let the room get heavier and cozier, then lighten it again in spring.
Use the view as your contrast
Everything outside here already reads cold, especially in winter, with a lot of blue in the mountains and the snow. That's exactly why warm colors work so well indoors. Warm yellows, warm reds, wood tones. They play against the blue outside your window and make the inside feel that much cozier by comparison.
Where to start this weekend
- Curtains, hung high and wide, in a soft warm linen.
- A few plants scattered through the room.
- Lamps, and turn off the overhead light.
That's one afternoon and a small budget, and it's the difference between a room people walk through and a room people stay in.
If your own home feels the way mine did, send me a message and tell me which room isn't working.