How to Create a Cozy Cabin Feel

Walls and Ceilings

• Give your interior walls a cozy cabin feel with earthy colors and warm wooden accents. Apply a soothing coat of sage green, creamy caramel or muted gold paint to the walls to increase the visual temperature in your home. Create a rustic architectural element that radiates a welcoming ambiance when you cover one or more interior walls with reclaimed wood. Or, affix faux logs or stacked stone in lieu of the reclaimed wood for a budget-friendly, outdoorsy accent. You can opt to conceal plain drywall with economical, but charming, white beadboard. Cover the beadboard with creamy ivory paint to keep the mood light but cozy. Install exposed wooden beams across the ceiling in a living, dining or bedroom area to add a cozy cabin look that conveys old-fashioned country charm with increased visual interest.

Windows

• Dress the windows with fabric to exude the warmth of a cozy cabin on a wintry night. Tapestry draperies in warm plaids, such as red, black and green, fashion a cocoon-like feel that shouts "traditional cabin coziness." Hang delicate lace curtains over bare windows for a vintage cabin feel with a feminine touch. Ramp up the privacy level when you generate a homey layered look by installing woven wood shades behind the lace curtains. Add wooden shutters in a rich brown tone over your interior windows to marry practical function with charming cabin character. Avoid using wooden shutters on wooden walls; too much of the same design element lessens its aesthetic impact.

Furniture

• Create the friendly feel of a laid-back cabin environment with inviting furniture pieces -- both old and new. Buttery soft leather sofas and armchairs constructed with plump, comfortable cushions enhance the cozy cabin feel with casual, but timeless, seating. Incorporate a variety of accommodating furniture pieces in assorted textures to facilitate an informal, laid-back mood. For example, in a living room with leather seating, add: wrought-iron accent tables with glass tops; an oversize wooden coffee table in a weathered finish; and a vintage wicker bookshelf. Mix leather upholstered sofas with textile-covered chairs depicting typical cabin-inspired motifs -- fish, moose, bear, pinecones, fir trees, canoes -- to intensify the quaint feel.

Fireplaces and Accessories

• Nothing implies "cozy cabin" better than the alluring visual warmth of a glowing fireplace. If you have an existing fireplace, give it a cabin-like feel by covering the exterior surround with stone or wood veneer, adding a weathered mantel and placing a set of antique fireplace tools on the hearth. Get the warm radiance of glowing firelight in any room when you add a portable electric fireplace with a rustic design. Decorate your shelves and tabletops with antique lanterns, old books, vintage clocks, tin dishware, white candles and your favorite black-and-white framed photographs. Deck the walls with tin signs featuring clever sayings, Native American woven rugs and wildlife or woodland prints encased in simple wooden frames. Add toss pillows and soft furniture throws with cabin-inspired prints to sofas, chairs and beds. Layer the beds with a variety of soft blankets, colorful quilts and plush comforters for an inviting sleeping space you can't resist. Add wrought-iron chandeliers, nature-inspired wall sconces and a natural wood table and floor lamps to enhance your cabin coziness.