Forget Weather Stripping-This Layering Tip Will Keep Your Home Stylish & Warm

As we shift further into autumn and temperatures continue to dip, one of the most frustrating things to deal with is the persistent icy chill of a draft. Not only is that cold air unpleasant, but it forces your furnace to work overtime, which sends your monthly heating bill through the roof. Any home can have a draft (and here's how to easily check your windows and doors for drafts), the issue is most common in older homes, where original door and window casings have settled or even developed small (yet obviously significant) gaps over time. A basic draft extractor does the trick fine enough, but a stylish one can do wonders for your home's decor. Combine it with the insulating and decorative effects of a curtain, and you have an effective and beautiful layering technique to deal with drafts.

When it comes to the standard options for sealing drafty gaps, homeowners often reach for what's both affordable and readily available. Classic products like sticky, weather stripping tape, rigid plastic door sweeps, or basic foam tube draft stoppers work, but are naturally super drab and offer nothing as far as aesthetics go. And while it's always nice to have a solution, who says you have to accept the bland?

Ridding your home of icy drafts should not force anyone to choose between comfort and style. Design-minded homeowners know that the hardware and accessories we use throughout our house, even to regulate temperature, end up being just as much a part of the decor as furniture and lighting. You can definitely banish cold air and high power bills without subjecting your door frames to unattractive, utilitarian plastic or foam, and this starts by ditching the boring draft excluders for something warmer (literally and figuratively).

The easiest way to do this is simply by making or buying a draft excluder that's more visually appealing. There are tons of colorful, stylish options, and we recommend searching on sites like Etsy for fully completed excluders or simple, pre-made covers that need filling once they ship to you. There you can find options with terrific patterns (like herringbone, plaids, stripes, geometrics, and corduroy), bolder designs (like bees, dogs, plants, birds), and all types of colors, shapes, lengths, and materials. Alternatively, making a basic excluder yourself is a simple weekend DIY project that's perfect for using up old fabric you have lying around.

Once you have your chic excluder in place, the true magic happens when you layer it with a curtain. While weather stripping is a permanent eyesore on the door frame, a beautiful curtain hung over a drafty door (whether it's your front entrance, drafty French doors, or a back patio door) delivers a soft, thermal layer that absorbs the escaping cold air. The decorative excluder sits flush against the floor or window's bottom and complements the curtain hanging just above it, creating a single design feature that is cohesive and intentional. This pairing completely transforms a draft stopper into a piece of luxurious textile design that enhances, rather than detracts from, your home's character. Just remember to wash your draft stopper on occasion so it stays gorgeous. Ultimately, draft-proofing could feel like decorating, and this two-step combination is the smartest way to make your home stylish, warm, and energy efficient.