How Kerry Pieri Creates a Cosy Home for the Winter Months

Balancing trends and timelessness year-round.

In 2022, Writer and Creative Director Kerry Piery welcomed us into her Victorian home in Buffalo, New York for The Makers home tour series. We were enamoured by her elegant, neutral-toned home, so when we saw that she had done some bedroom restyling, we couldn’t wait to return.

As someone immersed in the world of fashion and aesthetics, Kerry has honed the art of striking a balance between luxury and liveable, classic and cool. Her family home is testament to this, with soft, homey touches nestled among a muted base and rounded off with chic statement pieces.

The idea to shake up the look of the primary bedroom sparked when she was approached by Moroccan rug brand Salam Hello to design her own piece. “You’ll notice from my original home tour, I'm not generally a huge colour person, but I was excited to try a little bit of colour in the bedroom, so I made this French blue rug that I thought was really beautiful.”

With the rug as the central feature, she integrated new wall art and furniture to tie the room together. “I still wanted to keep everything else really neutral, and I love the way that the Bed Threads bedding looks with [the rug], it gives the room a cleaner vibe. I've also been collecting art, and I found a landscape painting that had that blue in it as well, so that gave it an extra dimension.”

For Kerry, timelessness and staying true to her personal style is paramount, so while she’ll rarely make big changes, small décor updates keep her space looking and feeling fresh. “These enhancements shifted it from a super minimal room to having a little bit more depth and texture. I kept the same limewashed walls, but it was just these few little changes that really transformed it. I also have a vintage T-bar wooden chair that I put in there, that I try to not put clothes on!”

As someone who forecasts and explores trends for a living, Kerry knows how to detect a lasting movement. The key is having confidence in your taste, so that when new trends emerge, you know which to tap into and which is likely a flash in the pan.

“Trends are really interesting to watch because at their core, they're really speaking to where we are collectively as a style community, and what's happening in the world. So that's where a little bit of colour comes in, and where something like a French blue feels really safe to me. I’m not going to put bright orange in my room all of a sudden just because it’s a trend.

Living in a Victorian home, I’ve been drawn to more traditional elements, but I would never do an entirely traditional room because that doesn't feel like me. I love 70s Italian architectural pieces and I like the tension of mixing those styles, it’s a nice juxtaposition. There's always going to be trends that emerge and speak to your sensibilities anyway, so it's about keeping within the realm of your personal style, but also keeping up with what's happening.”

With Buffalo climbing to 85 degrees in summer and dropping below zero in winter, the space is dictated by the mood of the seasons. A versatile, toned-down color scheme lends itself to transeasonality, and Kerry makes subtle tweaks to adapt to the weather. As we settle into the depths of winter, embracing cosiness is the goal.

“I don't change a lot, but I bring out all the throws and blankets to create that comforting atmosphere. We also light more candles around this time of year which adds a feeling of warmth. It's really about having soft lighting at night because it gets dark so early, making sure that you still have a good mode going on. You don't want a bright overhead light when it's already dark out at five o'clock, but you don't want it to feel so dark that you’re ready for bed at that time either. It’s all about finding that nice equilibrium.”

Even though she’s created a cosy haven, Kerry is an advocate for leaving the house as much as possible once the chill has set in. This means appreciating and cherishing the time spent indoors while staving off winter-induced cabin fever. “Winter can make you want to hibernate for so long, so trying to still be active is tough. I think you need to A: be active, always take advantage of the weather when it’s decent out. Go for walks and try to socialise. And B: leave for periods of time if you can. Time trips away for winter and have little escapes.”

Just as the weather influences the temperament of the home, so too do the stars. Kerry’s Virgo tendencies play a key role in shaping the energy and stylistic choices throughout the space. Naturally, as the author of the children’s book Baby’s First Zodiac, she places credence in how astrology influences the home environment.

“I'm a Virgo, and we tend to be a little bit perfectionist. There’s a love of beauty that a lot of earth signs have as well. I'm also a cancer rising, which is all about being cosy, so since the pandemic, I've definitely leaned into that. Then, my Aries moon makes me a little more competitive and ready to take on the world, which is helpful for making decisions.

No matter your celestial sign, her advice for updating your living space is the same: don’t be afraid to take the plunge, but experiment before making significant changes. “Seek out those high impact moments that will really feel like a change without being too much of a commitment. If you’re feeling like you want to try colour, don't paint yet. Get a nice painting or get some new bedding in a green or blue which will totally change your room, but you can backtrack later. If you're really drawn to something, not because somebody else has it, but because it really speaks to you, it's probably speaking to you for a reason.

Everything that you invest in, doesn't necessarily need to be pricey, but it should feel special. We all know that visceral feeling you get when you see something that you love, and why deny yourself that?”