How to Create the Best Kind of Cozy Space: a Room That’s Like a Hug

On a cold winter day, there’s nothing better than a cozy room that invites you to sink into a comfortable chair and curl up with a fuzzy throw.

“No matter what type of home I’m working on, whether it skews more contemporary or more traditional, my goal is always to create something that’s cozy, warm and inviting,” said Shawn Henderson, an interior designer based in New York. “Most people seek that sense of comfort and security.”

David Jimenez, an American designer based in Paris, has different words for that feeling. “You can call it coziness,” he said, “but you can also call it making a space feel more layered, more comfortable, more casual. It all adds up to the same idea: You feel like you want to put your feet up.”

What’s the best way to create that cozy vibe? We asked designers to share some tips.

Wrap the Walls

When you walk into a cozy room, it should feel as if it’s giving you a hug.

“Coziness starts from feeling sort of surrounded, and like the walls are closing in a little bit instead of pushing out,” said Jenna Chused, of Chused & Co., a Brooklyn interior design firm. “Painting a room a rich, dark color or using wallpaper helps to create that sense.”

For a sitting room in her own townhouse, Ms. Chused wrapped walls with a scenic paper depicting trees and clouds in various tones of gray.