When working to bring the right ambiance to a room, comfort goes beyond a fuzzy blanket and a mug of apple cider (is that the smell of fall on the horizon?) — as much as those things certainly help. Some small changes can make a big difference, and below are just a few you can easily implement to make your space an extra-cozy one.

Think about lighting.

While stringed lights, or “fairy lights”, have become a mainstay of personal decor in the last decade, you don’t necessarily need to bust out the stringed Christmas lights to achieve ambient lighting. There’s plenty of creative and unique lamps, for instance, that can capture the right mood (and even potentially save electricity in the form of energy-efficient light sources like LEDs.) Using a color-changing light strip to border a bed frame or a wall can make switching the scenery as easy as the press of a button on a remote or app.

Use calming colors.

Softer colors, and particularly cooler colors like shades of blue, can give a room a sense of peacefulness and relaxation. Ultimately, what’s important is choosing the colors which personally make you feel happy and at ease, but it turns out that science may be on the side of using cool tones. Utilizing blues and greens in places such as curtains, throw pillows, and other decor can infuse a sense of calm into your space. There’s evidence to suggest that the less-saturated nature of pastel colors are particularly good at inspiring a sense of tranquility, even in the case of warmer colors; in fact, a soft shade of pink is often associated with calm feelings.

Look into cool gadgets that make coziness a top priority.

Are your warm drinks always getting cold too quickly? There are coasters and mug heaters that let you savor your coffee, hot cocoa, or tea however slowly you prefer to. Or maybe you find yourself indoors through the winter wishing for some sun, in which case a light therapy lamp can bring some (safe) UV rays from outside to inside. If you’re a fan of the smell of candles but less a fan of open flame, wax warmers or oil diffusers can serve as a happy medium. Technology has created some pretty interesting inventions in recent years, some of which may not always be necessary but can certainly serve as a fun way to make day-to-day tasks a little easier.

Set the scene with music.

While Bluetooth and streaming services make putting on your favorite background music an instantaneous affair, having a rotating cast of your favorite CDs or records can bring a tactile feel and old-school comfort to “putting on some music” (literally.) No matter how you play it, of course, there’s nothing quite like being able to sit back and relax with your favorite instrumental and low-key tunes. Here’s a list of 10 of the “most relaxing songs ever” for those curious, as the psychological effects of peaceful music have been well-documented for decades. As with color, of course, music is subjective– so if listening to some thrash metal while chilling out is your jam, then by all means go for it.