If there is any time of the year to make your condo or loft cozy, it is during the winter.
While the brave souls among us may spend lots of time outdoors in the cold and snow, many of us spends lots of time in our homes.
There are several things you can do to give your condo or loft more of a winter feel, and save a little bit of money on heating costs.
Curtains Sheers and thin curtains may look great in your place during the summer months - giving it an airy feel - but heavy curtains make a lot more sense during the winter.
Thick, dark-colored curtains not only will give your place a sense of coziness and warmth, but they also will keep it warmer by trapping heat and radiating it.
If you want to go a step further, buy energy efficient curtains, which are designed specifically to capture the heat from the sun and can help warm up the room.
Decorate with pine cones and twigs Pine cones and twigs make great decorations and create a feeling of warmth that can lift your spirit on a cold winter day.
There are lots of ways to use them.
Take the flowers out of a clear glass vase, fill it with pine cones, and then stick a few twigs or sticks in there.
It looks great on a shelf or the mantle of your fireplace.
Or, fill a bowl with pine cones and use it as a centerpiece on your table.
Wreaths Nothing says winter like wreaths.
Many people use them outside, and, indeed, they do look great when hung on your front door.
But they can also make great interior décor.
Hanging a wreath above your fireplace will give the whole room a wintry feel.
Plastic-wrap your windows If you are like most of us, your windows are closed tight during the winter.
But that does not necessarily mean they are keeping all the cold air out of your condo or loft.
There are a variety of plastic-wrap systems you can hang on the frames of your windows that cover the windows and prevent cold air from getting in.
You can buy kits that have everything you need, except the hair dryer, which is used to heat the plastic and melt it into place.
Rug at the front door Given that you probably walked through snow, and maybe mud or sand or salt, on your way in, it is important to put a rug at your front door.
A rug is especially useful if you have carpet leading right up to your front door; that carpet will get dirty quick, even if you just step on it to take your shoes off.
And if you have hardwood at your door, you will spend a lot of time sweeping up the sand and other debris you drag in with you.
At least if you have a rug, most of the debris will be confined to a single spot.