The beginning of a season is always met with gleeful anticipation – especially winter. The holidays, the lights, the decorations and the snow. If you live in an area that has a full-blown winter with the cold, ice, sleet, and snow – you know that a few days cooped up inside after a storm can cause even the best individual to succumb to cabin fever.
One of the best ways to avoid cabin fever is to make sure you have some projects on standby that you can work on to keep you occupied and busy indoors even if you can’t get outdoors.
Insulate Your Home
We all know that heat rises and just as your body heat escapes through the top of your head, the heat in your home escapes through the top of its head too – the roof. Make sure your attic space and roofing is insulated
Another area that you need to make sure is well insulated are your pipes. Did you know that you lose heat as the hot air moves through the ducts to the vents in your home? The better these ducts are insulated, the less heat you lose and the less you’ll pay to heat your home. Make sure your pipes are insulated as well to keep them from freezing. As someone who has been there – damages from frozen pipes in the winter is not something you want to deal with and is extremely costly to repair.
Check Those Window Seals
We just recently moved from our apartment to a home and the first thing that I did was ensure that all the windows had good seals around them, no cracks or gaps visible. Another thing you can do to help keep heat from escaping through your windows is to ensure that all screens are up and storm windows down. If you have single pane windows, you may want to consider replacing them with double pane windows as they are more energy-efficient. If that is something outside the budget, insulated curtains
Alternative Heat Sources
Our new home has a beautiful, working fireplace that I would love to utilize. Unfortunately, it has not been inspected and/or cleaned this year and having grown up in homes with fireplaces, I know all too well the damage that can be caused by a creosote
We’ve also gone from electric heat to natural gas heat which I hear is a cheaper method of heating a home. We shall see next month when the bill arrives. I have noticed that keeping the heat on 70 degrees is plenty warm enough for us but when we lived in the apartment, we needed the heat on 73 or 74 degrees to remain comfortable – and that was with wearing extra layers inside. I’m sure being on the first floor with a steel door and a concrete floor did not help matters any with regards to keeping the apartment warm.
Interior Designs for Winter
Let’s face it – there is nothing more inviting than coming home to a cozy living room after a hard day at work. A fire crackling, lots of cozy throws and blankets available, and soft, comfortable furniture to sink into with a good book or a favorite holiday show on television. Here are a few tips to make that picture perfect image a reality.
Furnishings
If you have decided on a remodel project this winter, be sure that you are using materials that will allow your home to “breathe” if you will to keep your home feeling fresh all season long. Materials such as exposed brick walls, concrete, and natural wood (not varnished wood) are all good bets to keep your home fresh no matter the season.
Jute rugs are all the rage this season. Thicker than conventional rugs, they are relatively maintenance free. They are made from natural fibers such as hemp or flax and are sometimes blended with other materials like chenille to make them softer for an area rug in your child’s room. They are not good choices for an area with moisture (such as an outdoor mat or in the bathroom) as they are extremely absorbent and could cause mold and mildew issues if they are in an area where they would absorb a lot of moisture.
Bring Nature Inside
Bring elements from Mother Nature in for your winter interior design. No, we aren’t talking about plastic plants. Go get you some live plants
Reduce Your Furniture
Remember the saying “less is more” when adding furniture to your living spaces. Your home will smell fresher and feel more welcoming with less furniture to navigate around and less furniture for smells and odors to cling to. The minimalist movement isn’t happening for nothing!
Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans
Check Your Insurance Coverages
Since we moved from our apartment to a home, it is time to re-evaluate our insurance coverage. We need to ensure that we are covered for any type of damage that could occur to our home from the weather or forces beyond our control (like a house fire or a flood). If you are looking to re-evaluate your insurance coverage, consider check out the home insurance from Chill Insurance as an option. There are a variety of insurance coverages available so be sure you know all of the options available to you and what you need before signing with a carrier.
You can also pick up this beautiful FREE PDF entitled Winter Interior Designs for more great tips and advice on creating the perfect winter space for you and your family to enjoy.
How do you stave off cabin fever at your house? Let us know in the comments below!
