Winter is coming and we’re going to be spending more time indoors. Days get shorter, natural light becomes scarce and there aren’t as many hours to look out the windows. All the more reason to make inside colors appealing. Now’s the time to dress up your home with some new winter interior décor items, so all season long you’ll look around at your enhanced indoors and say, “I sure am glad I did that.”

What are the best winter color palettes this year?

That depends on who you ask, and there’s no shortage of opinions. Pantone, the world-wide authority on color trends, has listed four “core” colors and almost a dozen accents as 2019-20 winter choices. Their basics are a custard, a deep blue, an elegant gray and an enriched green, and their complements include a rainbow of eye-catching reds, browns, blues, grays, oranges and greens.

Teal has been a hot commodity all year, and as we move toward the end of the calendar, a cool winter color palette might include darker and more gem-like teal shades. Jewel tones such as flashy green, deep red or turquoise are worth considering as accents. For the background, or the room’s dominant color, gray is always classic, but some suggest the trend is moving toward earthy neutrals.

So do I have to change everything?

Of course not! Even if you’re intrigued with the diverse pronouncements on winter colors, you might not want to commit the time and expense to keeping up with the latest trends. Here’s a simpler way to enjoy a refreshed winter color palette: use the background or “core” color that’s in your room today, and pick a new accent shade or two to perk it up. Choose your complementing colors from some of the suggestions above, or go for some darker, richer or more jewel-like variations on what you already have. Or just pick a color you’ve seen and liked!

You don’t need to go all in on a remodel. Use your new choices on easy-to-change items such as area rugs, throw pillows, blankets, vases and other home décor pieces. Even wall art will coordinate with your chosen theme. With both wall art and patterned pillows, one or two of the colors can echo the shades elsewhere in the room. If you want to make a bolder statement, bring in an accent chair in your new coloration.

Consider the following tips:

• Stretch your imagination in placement of the colors. Even candles, balls of yarn, and artificial fruits and flowers can reflect your scheme.
• Use textures and patterns as well as colors to create that comfy winter feel. Throws of wool or cashmere, knitted items, as well as flannel and plaid blankets and bedding all enhance the environment when you’re cocooning from the cold weather. It’s hard to beat the comfort and luxe look of faux fur blankets and accent pillows. Also, cowhide rugs add a layer of winter warmth.
• Mirrors and metallics capture light and work brilliantly with bold accent colors.
• Balance your new accents on several items throughout the room. If you add some bright or patterned throw pillows, repeat their colors on an opposite wall or bookshelf.
• Blend in touches of the colors you’ll use during the holidays. For example, try some non-Christmas-y reds and greens but go to more seasonal shades as December rolls around.

Add some warmth to go with that color.

New colors, textures and patterns are a great way to create winter coziness, but if you want to take your reimagined indoor environment to a higher level, what about an electric fireplace? If you haven’t checked these out recently, you might be astonished at what you find. Modern electric fireplaces aren’t just awkward and clunky metal units. They’re sophisticated pieces of furniture that fit right in with a fashionable living room or den. They stand on their own even if you never flick on the fire. In addition to upping the heat level in your room, they are entertainment centers and TV stands, they can include wine racks, they shelve audio components and some even have built-in Bluetooth speakers. There are modern and traditional renditions. Some actually look like fireplaces, albeit it stylized and elegant ones.

In your home’s winter makeover, you can do as little or as much as you want. The object is to make you and yours more cheerful throughout the winter season, so choose colors that you gravitate towards and use a few or a lot of these ideas to make your cold-season home the place everybody wants to be.