How to Cultivate Coziness in a New Construction Home

Whether you’re building a new house designed exactly to your specifications or moving into a fresh, never-lived-in spec house, you may find that the space itself can feel a bit spare and open, without the element of warmth older homes often have.

As the demand for homes continues to increase, new builds are popping up at a rapid rate. Moving into a house that has never been occupied has so many perks, but production or spec homes can also lack personality and need tweaking to feel more like you. If you’re trying to find ways to make your new home cozier and more comfortable for yourself and your family and align its design to your personal taste, architect and DIY pro Christine Nickerson, who has documented her experience personalizing her own new construction home, has some great tips to warm things up and make it your own.

"The process of building a home is one that is so exciting, but can also be overwhelming at times with the number of decisions that need to be made,” Christine says of the process. “When building a home, think about the items that are really important to you, the moments in a home that you think will bring you the most joy, and see if there’s a way to direct more of your budget into those areas, and less into areas and items that either aren’t as important to you or that can be easily changed in the future.

Upgrade your interior trim

Add character to your home by swapping out the builder grade trim with something that better represents your interior design preferences. “Choosing a unique and substantial molding goes a long way towards adding character to your home,” says Christine. “In our own home, we replaced the relatively thin, MDF colonial-style window and door trim (typical in new-build neighborhoods in our area) with a more substantial wood trim that still speaks to the ‘center-hall colonial’ style of our home.”

If you’re looking for even more impact, Christine also recommends adding wall treatments like crown molding, board and batten or beadboard. “The great thing about these elements is that they can be added into your home over time,” she says. “Incorporating an element like the transom windows, which you would more typically find in older homes, has really helped bring some more charm to our new-construction home.”

Add custom millwork if it’s an option

Giving a new build more personality and warmth is all about adding unique elements that suit your lifestyle. “Bookshelves, benches, and cabinets are not only practical but also bring so much character to a space,” says Christine. “You can build these elements into your home over time, but it’s helpful to start planning for it while building your home.” If you’re a big reader or love to style treasured items and family photos alongside books, plan for wall-to-wall bookshelves. If you know you’ll need extra storage, incorporate cabinets into your home design.

Find ways to close up an open floor plan

The open floor plan trend isn’t going anyway anytime soon. Even if you love being able to watch your kids play as you make dinner or clean up in the kitchen, it can sometimes feel a bit too open. To make the rooms feel cozier, consider creating a smaller room-inside-a-room, whether that’s with added walls or furniture. “Think about pockets of space you’d like to create in your home: maybe a small sitting room, a breakfast nook, or even just a window seat, like we added to our living room on either side of our fireplace, that will help break up the open space and create a cozy place to land,” Christine advises.

Bring in soft touches

Nothing says cozy like warm blankets in fabrics you want to snuggle up with, comfy pillows, and inviting textures. Add rugs, window treatments, and other soft touches to your home to encourage relaxing. “Layering patterns and textures, in both the softer elements as well as the built elements of the space, brings a unique character to your space,” Christine says. Adding plants and flowers to the room, even if they’re faux, is another great way to add personality and color to rooms that need a little pizzazz.

Add a fireplace — or two

With just the tap of a button, you can instantly infuse warmth and coziness into your home. “When building a home, think about where you would most enjoy a fireplace,” advises Christine. “Do you picture family and friends gathering around a fireplace in the living room on a typical evening or during the holidays? Do you want your primary bedroom to be a retreat, and so you incorporate a fireplace with cozy chairs into that space?” Perhaps your finished basement is your family’s main hang space, but it needs some warmth to make it more comfortable, or maybe you want an outdoor fireplace to enjoy on a crisp evening.

If you’re building your own home, incorporate a fireplace unit in the design before you get to building. “Planning for a fireplace during your build is likely easier and less expensive than adding it after the fact,” says Christine. “I would encourage those who are building a home to ask your builder or architect about different fireplace options and to look at them in person. There are so many great options other than the basic units that might come with a new construction home ‘package.’” If you have a showroom nearby, visit in person to see what you’re drawn to; Christine wanted a timeless style in her home, so she went for an all-brick interior option with high-definition logs to bring that classic fireplace vibe to life.

“We went with a SlimLine Series gas fireplace from Heat & Glo because we could stay within our budget, compared to the deeper fireplace boxes, while still having the items that were most important to me, like the brick, higher definition logs and a fan,” she says. Working with a local fireplace pro can also help you figure out size and scale for your space and the amount of heat each unit will give off.

“I’ve used our Heat & Glo fireplace more since we had it installed this past fall, than I used our other fireplace in probably the past couple of years combined,” Christine says. “It has such a beautiful glow that I find myself wanting to use it almost every day, even if it’s just turning it on for 30 minutes while the kids and I read books in the living room. It just makes me feel good, and it’s so important to incorporate things and spaces into your home that make you feel good and bring you joy and a sense of comfort, a sense of being at home.”