Cozy Minimalist Community Review
Let’s get real–while the Cozy Minimalist Community is truly one of my favorite places on the internet, it might not be the right fit for you. I’m here to help you decide!
First, my credentials: I’ve been a member since the community first opened back in 2018, and I’ve learned a TON about creating an intentional, beautiful, personal home. I would say that the Cozy Minimalist principles have changed how I decorate, use, and feel about my home.
I’ve loved learning the skill (and money/frustration-saving power) of decorating in the right order. (Did you know there was a right order?!)
And as someone who has always struggled with keeping a tidy house, I’ve also been so relieved to discover that I can embrace cozy without making my home feel cluttered, and minimal without making my home feel sterile–and that I get to decide what “minimal” means to me!
So, is it going to be a good fit for you?
In the past, I would have said 100% yes, no contest.
But with the recent price change to $18/month (or $150/year), I’ve changed my tune a little.
Want to learn more? Keep reading for my full review & all the details about the Cozy Minimalist Community.
What is the Cozy Minimalist Community?
The Cozy Minimalist Community is a trinity of home design resources that will help you learn to have “more style with less stuff.” It includes
- A 5 stage, self-paced home decorating class,
. - Live weekly videos on a myriad of home-related topics, and
. - Access to an incredibly positive, supportive community of like-minded cozy minimalists who share inspiration, give feedback, and just generally show up for each other.
The Cozy Minimalist Classes
The Cozy Minimalist classes will be your starting point–the place where you learn the 5 phases of decorating that our fearless leader, author Myquillyn Smith (a.k.a. “the Nester”), has pinpointed as the path to building a room that feels beautiful, useful, and you.
Myquillyn will walk you through each of the 5 phases:
- Phase 1: Decide & Create – Learn how to make an inspiration board & plan the purpose of your room before you move a single piece of furniture.
- Phase 2: Quiet & Arrange – Discover why and how to neutralize your room to create a “blank canvas,” and how to arrange your furniture to become the foundation of your room.
- Phase 3: The Homey Trinity – Learn how to choose and arrange the “trinity”–rugs, drapes, and lighting–and why you should wait until phase 3 to do it!
- Phase 4: Walls 3 Ways – Find out how to fill your walls (or when to leave space!) with art and features that feel like you.
- Phase 5: Accessorize – Learn how to add finishing touches to your room with the pretty little things we all want to buy at Homegoods. ๐
If you’ve ever tried to decorate a room and felt stuck, disappointed, or frustrated by the finished product, the skills you learn in these classes are the foundation you need to find your style and create a room that feels finished.
Live Weekly Classes
In addition to the foundational videos, every Tuesday Myquillyn shows up to give a live class in the Facebook group!
These live “Tuesday Teachings” are all about turning a house into a home. Topics cover everything from shopping second hand, to making a beautiful charcuterie board, to how to style pillows on a sofa!
As Cozy Community members, these live videos have also been a place where we’ve gotten to enjoy “behind the scenes” peeks into things like the process of recording the new class for Myquillyn’s latest book, House Rules.
The topics are new every week, and the way Myquillyn teaches is warm, fun, and inspiring. She really makes you feel like whatever it is you’re hoping to achieve with your home, you can do it!
Cozy Minimalist Facebook Community
The third part of your Cozy Minimalist Community subscription is access to a private Facebook group just for Cozies.
This group are some of the kindest, most supportive people on the internet (and one of the two groups I return to Facebook for!).
Here you can share trouble spots, questions, before and afters, and tiny (or large!) victories, and your new community of like-minded Cozies will show up to troubleshoot, share inspiration, and cheer you on!
Do I Have to Have “Cozy” or “Minimalist” style for the classes to apply to me?
Nope!
The decorating steps and community support will work for almost any style, whether you lean neutral and shabby chic, modern and brightly colored, or anywhere in between.
Who is Myquillyn Smith (“the Nester”?)
Our fearless leader into the land of cozy minimalism is Myquillyn Smith, self-taught interior design expert, author, and all-around lovely, down-to-earth person.
Her inspiring real-life approach to style began on her blog, The Nesting Place, where she shares encouraging, doable ways for real women to create a beautiful home. From there, she got the nickname “the Nester,” and eventually authored four books:
- The Nesting Place,
- Cozy Minimalist Home,
- Welcome Home: A Cozy Minimalist Guide to Decorating and Hosting All Year Round, and
- House Rules: How to Decorate for Every Home, Style, and Budget
She calls herself our “bossy big sister”–she’s the one who helps us to believe in our own capacity to make a home, and pushes us to actually take the steps to do it!
What is included in the Cozy Minimalist Community?
The Cozy Minimalist Community includes:
- The “5 Phases of Decorating” Self Study Classes, the foundational home decorating classes that will help you make the right choices in the right order!
- Weekly LIVE online classes from Cozy Minimalist Home author, Myquillyn Smith (aka “The Nester”), where you’ll have a chance not only to learn from Myq, but also to ask live questions in the comments!
- A ton of mini-courses, including:
- The House Hushing Challenge
- Remember Your Resources, and
- Know Your Style
- Access to private Cozy Minimalist Facebook Group filled with other “Cozies” like you and me. Here we share and ask for input on our room progress, encourage each other, answer questions, and share our favorite products and sales. It’s a fun, safe community to grow together!
- A huge library of past live videos including:
- Styling bookshelves
- Shopping secondhand (successfully!)
- Temporary fixes (how to work with what you have)
- Outdoor spaces
- Cozy Kitchens
- Lamps & Rugs
- Styling Pillows Beds & Sofas
- Q&A’s
- Kids & Decluttering
- Holiday pep talks,
- Seasonal decorating,
- How to Make a Charcuterie board (one of my favs),
- And LOTS more!
Do I need to Read the book “Cozy Minimalist Home” before I join the Community?
Nope–but you might like it!
Myquillyn will teach you the steps found in her book, Cozy Minimalist Home, in the 5 Phases of Decorating classes, so you will get the Cozy Minimalist process without reading the book.
If you want a deeper dive into the process–like how to pick the perfect sofa–or if you want a book to refer back to as you work, you can get it here.
How much does the Cozy Minimalist Community cost?
If you’re just wanting to dip a toe in, you can get it for $18/month, and you can cancel any time.
Or you can choose an annual subscription for $150.
BONUS: If you go with the annual subscription, you’ll save over $60 AND get access to additional mini-courses: “Surface Styling School” and four Seasons & Celebrations masterclasses–one for each of the four seasons!
Will the Nester personally help me design my Room?
No… but a little bit yes?
While Myquillyn won’t be personally coaching you through your room live, there are opportunities to get her feedback on your space!
She makes time to do Q&A videos during some Tuesday Teachings, where you have the opportunity to submit specific questions. (Things like, “What should I do with this massive wall?” or “How can I make my sofa work until I can afford the one I really want?”)
Additionally, in the past she has occasionally offered Mockup Videos for some of her Tuesday Teaching live classes. You can upload photos of your room, share your pain points with it, and Myquillyn will do a mockup of changes you might want to make. She usually makes Photoshop-style tweaks to the photos you’ve sent, adding in curtains or objects to show you how she would approach that spot.
Between live videos, Myquillyn also pops in on the comments of posts in the community sometimes, but the group is large enough that she can’t get to every one.
Happily, your posts there will always be answered by LOTS of your fellow Cozies, many of whom (like me!) have been in the group since it started, and are very familiar with the process.
It’s a lot of fun to pitch in on each other’s rooms, see one another’s progress, and cheer each other on!
Will I need to buy all new furniture and things?
No!
Before we buy anything, Myquillyn always encourages us to “shop the house”–meaning look at what you have in other rooms!
She’s also a big proponent of thrift and second-hand shopping (there’s a whole video on that!) and a great coach in making “temporary fixes,” so your house can feel homier even if you can’t change everything you’d like to right away.
Money is tight–should I still give the Cozy Minimalist Community a try?
It depends.
If $18 doesn’t sound like much to you, then absolutely yes–go sign up now! You will find so much value and joy in these resources–which is why I’ve been a member since the day the digital “doors” opened.
But I’ve also been in a place where $20 a month was ALL I had to spend on fun stuff, so if you’re there right now, here’s the advice I would give:
YES, go for it if you’re mentally ready to go all in and really focus on designing a room in your home.
The Nester is the queen of making do with what you have, and she has tons of great ideas about how to stretch your dollar.
One of the archived videos you’ll get access to is about “temporary fixes,” where Myquillyn showed us how to quickly & cheaply update all kinds of things that weren’t in the budget to buy.
That beat up sofa you can’t afford to replace? The ugly backsplash in your kitchen? Those hand-me-down dressers that have seen better days? All covered.
NO, wait a bit if you’re not ready to dive in and make the most of your time in the community. If your brain is scattered across a dozen places, I’d say wait until you are ready to get your dollar’s worth.
The community is a fantastic learning space, but when money is tight you’ll want to make sure you have other resources (like creativity, energy, and mental space) at the ready. Put it in your back pocket and come back to it when you’re ready to go all in.
Is the CoMi process renter friendly?
Yes, totally.
Myquillyn’s nesting story started in rentals–she even had her rental home featured in two Better Homes and Gardens magazines.
She gets it.
How Do I Know if the Cozy Minimalist Community Will Be a Good Fit?
There are only a couple reasons I can think of that might keep you from loving the Cozy Minimalist Community:
- You’re not on (or willing to join) Facebook. The heart of the “CoMi” community is in our Facebook group. It’s where all the live Tuesday videos happen, where we share our rooms with each other, and where we all connect.
. - You would rather pay someone to design your room than learn how to design. This community is all about learning to decorate in the right order, and to be brave with your design decisions.
.
Because we’re learning, we won’t always get it right–and we may have to repaint or make a return. If you’re looking for a one-and-done decorating experience, you might get frustrated. If you want to grow as a designer and get hands on with your home, come join us!
. - You’re not up for following the steps in order. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this process, it’s that the order really matters. If you skip around, you’ll end up scratching your head over why your room isn’t working. The order is important! ๐
. - You don’t have the mental energy to justify spending $18/month. If the price is making you itchy and you’re not ready to jump in to a design course and start making some changes around your house, you might want to wait until you’re raring to go. (But heads up–the community only opens a handful of times each year, so if you’re ready now, jump on the opportunity!)
If you’re in the CoMi mindset with these four things, I think you’ll really enjoy yourself!
Do You Have Any Cozy Minimalist Before and Afters to Show Me?
I’m so glad you asked! I’m so proud of the transformation in our primary bedroom, and I’d love to share it! (And you can see lots more “before & after” shots from other community members on the Cozy Minimalist page!)
When we moved into our house, we had no idea how we would fill our bedroom! But because of the easy-to-follow steps I learned as a Cozy Minimalist, I was able to pull together a room we truly loved. It was a respite from long days, a great place to hide away, and completely reflected my personal style.
So… Should You Join the Cozy Minimalist Community?
If you’re interested in giving it a try, I’d say YES!
I’ve been a member since the day it opened, and even after years of watching Myquillyn’s videos, I still find new inspiration and encouragement every time.
Plus, the support, inspiration, and friendship you’ll feel in the Facebook community is priceless. It’s a truly judgement-free zone, full of women in all stages of life with real-world budgets who really get it. It’s one of my favorite places on the internet.
Because the price is affordable and there’s no commitment, I think it’s an easy step with minimal risk that can result in big payoffs for your home.
So if you’re feeling ready, come join the Cozy Minimalist Community here, and I’ll see you there!
xo,
Jamie
