Designer Tricks for a More Comfortable Home

From being able to kick back with an ottoman to keeping a throw in every room, we asked five decorators to share how they make a house feel more cozy.

Dining Room

1. Have Plush Dining Room Seating

In this L.A. dining room, designer Peter Dunham fashioned a sprawling yet comfy corner. "A deep banquette in a dining area is dressier and more relaxed than just chairs," he says. He brightened it with six pillows made from a vintage suzani from Design Utopia. Banquette not in the budget? Pull in an armchair from another room or try tossing a few pillows onto the seating.

See More: 20 Decorating Secrets Revealed

Ottoman

2. Kick Back with an Ottoman

"Putting your feet up is like lying in bed," says Dunham, who added a Caucasian carpet ottoman from Hollywood at Home to a slipcovered chair in the master bath.

Related: 11 Essential Organizing Tips for Small Spaces

Bedroom

3. Sleep on the Right Pillows

"When you're the parents of six children, you absolutely need a retreat," says designer Susan Zises Green, and the master bedroom of this Connecticut home, with its comfortable sitting area, its deft touches of sophisticated gilt, nicely fills the bill. Green's idea of comfort is having "Really comfortable pillows on every bed." The Harlow bench is from John Rosselli.

Related: 12 Romantic Bedrooms

Blankets

4. Place Extra Blankets in Easy Reach

"I'm always cold," says designer Susan Zises Green, "I love to have warm throws in every room." The sitting room has an English country house air with its chintz-covered sofa and 19th-century prints of hunting dogs. The upholstered ottoman is by Robert Kline.

Related: 55 Living Rooms You'll Love

Lighting

5. Install Soft, Diffused Lighting

Finding comfort in "the flicker of light," designers Gene Meyer and Frank De Biasi have two lanterns hanging in an archway of their Miami house. For perfect lighting, De Biasi also added a blue Noguchi-style paper shade to a brass Chinese lantern in the dining area.

See More: Conquer Your Fear of Color

Wrinkle

6. Accept a Wrinkle or Two

Neutral cotton bedding makes designer Ginger Barber comfortable. "I love a soft wrinkle on a bed," she says, such as the one in the master bedroom of this Houston home. Rose fabric from Bennison.

What makes your home comfortable?

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