My oldest daughter, Lainey, her husband, Mike, and their new baby boy, Eddie V, are staying with us for the holidays. They arrived at the beginning of November and return to Nashville at the beginning of January. 

They’re dreading leaving. Not just because they’re going to miss my home cooking or babysitting, they’re mostly going to miss our spectacular weather. We’ve got it so good in La Mesa/San Diego. 

We’re still playing pickleball in our shorts. Lunch is outside on the patio table. At night, we get away with a jacket and scarf – no heavy coats, gloves, or mittens. 

Lainey summed up winter in Nashville with this observation: “With the holidays over, all we get in January and February are icy cold, gray, bleak days,” 

Wanting to help her avoid the winter blahs, I devised ways to happify her home during the chilly months of January and February. Even though Southern California is blessed with enviable, mild weather, it can get cold and dreary here too. 

Below are tips to enjoy your home during the winter and to make it show better if you’re on the market. 

Bedrooms 

Bring out the cold weather linens and embrace the winter vibe. At the end of October, I swap flowery summer coverlets for heavy down comforters encased in woodsy-colored duvets—nothing like burrowing under a down comforter on chilly nights and mornings. 

Flannel sheets are also great for warming up beds. Want to amp up cozy, luxurious vibes? Light candles. Extraordinary scents for winter bedrooms are vanilla, pine, cedar, clove, cinnamon, and winterberry. 

When it’s beautiful and sunny out, we can feel guilty reading indoors, but cold, cloudy, or rainy days are the perfect time to dive into the latest Liane Moriarty or John Grisham novels. Décor tip: purchase hardcover books. They’re more comfortable to read than paperbacks and look great stacked on nightstands. 

Splurge: Scandinavian Sun Glo Fox Fur Bed Spread about $10,500.

Baños 

Candles work great in bathrooms, too. Instead of mood scents like you would have in a bedroom, go with cleaner fragrances such as citrus, eucalyptus, lavender, linen, fresh laundry, and ocean breeze. 

A large basket filled with thick rolled towels will make your bathroom look and feel like a spa. Enhance a warm bubble bath experience with a bathtub tray that holds candles, wine glasses, and bath salts. Beautiful ones, like ones made of maple, acacia, or teak, dress up bathrooms and show guests you take pampering seriously. 

Lastly, indulge in a heated floor mat. Bare feet on heated floors are very pleasant. Priced anywhere from $50-$200 on Amazon. Add a towel warmer, also on Amazon, for around $100. Some very attractive ones will make your bathroom feel like a winter retreat. 

Splurge: Steam shower. Costs vary from $1,500 for a prefab and up to $14,000+ for custom. 

Kitchen 

Summertime is salads and sandwiches; wintertime is soups and stews. My crockpot collects dust from May through October, but once fall hits, it comes out of storage and is front and center in my kitchen. Not only is food slow-cooked in a crockpot delicious, but the aroma of a beef stew, garlic chicken, or pot roast is tantalizing and makes a home feel cozy, warm, nurturing, and loving. 

If your home is on the market and you have an Open House that day or scheduled showings, a delicious meal simmering in the crockpot will appeal to potential buyers (a twist on the baking cookies trick!). 

To help dispel the winter grays, candles are great for kitchens, too. Suggested fragrances for candles in the kitchen would be pumpkin, cookie dough, vanilla cupcake, salted caramel, hot chocolate, sugar cookies, and spiced apple. 

If you’re lucky enough to have a fireplace in the kitchen, light it on cold or rainy days. 

Splurge: For coffee connoisseurs, it’s hard to beat the Williams Sonoma JURA GIGA 10 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine with Cold Brew (About $5,000). One of my clients has one and it’s the focal point of their designer kitchen.

Living Room 

Candles, again, create cozy, intimate vibes. Throw blankets keep one warm while lounging on the couch or loveseat, and stagers also use them to add style to living rooms. 

Light fires at night if you have a fireplace. If you do not have a fireplace but would like one, a great place to shop is La Mesa’s The Warm Hearth Fireside Patio Shop on La Mesa Boulevard. 

They sell wood-burning, gas, and electric fireplaces. Electric fireplaces are the most budget-friendly, give off heat, and offer crackling sounds. As the flames have become more realistic (check out Net Zero Fire), they have become more popular. 

Splurge: Net Zero Fire E-One Electric Fireplace ($8,000 – $11,000) 

Patio 

Winter or not, people need Vitamin D; the sun is the best natural source. Fresh, brisk air is refreshing and a natural energizer. Give each chair a wraparound blanket to make the most of outdoor (not enclosed) patio spaces (Mexican blankets work great, as do ponchos and shawls). 

Invest in an outdoor heater(s). In an uncovered space, expect a freestanding patio heater to warm a 20-foot diameter space. Freestanding patio heaters come in natural gas, propane, and electricity. They cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars. 

Splurge: Everlast Spas Grand Estate 90-Jet Acrylic Spa about $9,000. Aquatica Downtown Infinity Inground Spa is about $22,000. 

Miscellaneous 

If your house is too dark, investigate installing a skylight or two. 

Music is a critical component of ambiance. When I stayed at a boutique hotel in D.C. a couple of years ago, ethereal music floated through the atrium in the early morning, creating a floaty sensation. As morning turned into afternoon, the music became peppier and more energized. 

By Happy Hour, the music was dance in your chair boisterous. I play Pandora’s Beach Bar Lounge at all my Open Houses. 

Music can help chase away the winter blues.

– Reach eXp Realtor and La Mesa Councilwoman Laura Lothian at: [email protected].