Experts Reveal: How to Cosy Up Your Home in Winter

by Carlisle Homes

Amp up your winter style this season. This guide will show you how.

With the temperature dropping, there’s no better time to dial up the cosiness factor in your home. If your interior leans towards the summery, with cool colours and lightweight fabrics, don’t despair. Here, our expert interior designers reveal some easy ways you can ‘winterise’ your home – and amp up the style factor in the process.

Ground the space with a wintry rug

A great rug can be a game-changer in a room, grounding your furniture and providing irresistible softness underfoot. To add a cosy feel in a lounge or family room, seek out a plush or richly textured rug and lay it under your coffee table and the front legs of your sofa. In a bedroom, select a similarly plush style in a size that fits under at least a third of the bed, with the remaining two thirds extending outwards into the room. Discover what’s hot underfoot right now here.

Layer up cosy textures

Sumptuous textures are an instant and affordable way to dial up the warmth factor. To create a lush, layered feel in a room, introduce cushions and throws in a mix of different materials, such as wool knits, cashmere, faux fur and velvet. Pile cushions high on your sofas and drape throws over the end of a sofa or bed, or across the back of an armchair or dining chair.

Introduce cocooning colours

For big impact with minimal time and outlay, paint is hard to beat. Warm colours drawn from nature are big news in 2021 – think caramel, beige, earthy greens, rust, and oceanic blues. Nourish, one of Dulux’s three trending palettes for 2021, works a treat for cosy winter styling – read about it in our story here.

Create a feature wall in your bedroom by painting the wall behind the bed, or step things up a notch by adding colour to two, three or four walls in a room. For a more low-key introduction of colour, paint the back of shelves or upcycle a bedside table, side table or lamp base with a new hue.

To ensure the room has a curated and intentional feel, pick up your paint colour or colours elsewhere in the room, such as artwork, rugs and soft furnishings.

Re-think your lighting

Lighting can have a huge impact on the look and feel of a room. For a homey vibe, swap out cool, blue-tinged bulbs for warm white bulbs that emit a cosy light. Add a selection of lamps at different heights around the room with fabric lamp shades or frosted glass that emit a warm glow. And consider connecting your lighting to a dimmer so you can alter lighting levels and the mood of the room in an instant.

Add a feature wall

Introducing texture to your walls is a clever way to add warmth and depth to a room, and it works particularly well in rooms where you want to relax, such as the lounge or bedroom. Add a textural, linen-look wallpaper in this season’s rich, earth-drawn hues to your bedroom or living area, a whimsical printed wallpaper on a chimney breast or in a study nook, or a soft-toned animal print paper in your entry.

Swap out summery curtains or dress bare windows

Leaving windows uncovered can leak a whopping 40 per cent of your home’s heat in the winter months. Blockout blinds are always a great choice if you want to cut your heating bills. For added luxe factor introduce sheer blinds to the space or up the cosiness factor with thicker curtains in an insulating fabric. Ensure your curtains are hung right to the floor, with no gaps around the edges.

Create a snug spot

The winter months are all about slowing down and enjoying time indoors. Set up a cosy little corner that you can escape to with a good read and a mug of hot chocolate any time you fancy. Position an armchair by the fireplace or in the corner of your bedroom with a comfortable cushion and throw, a floor or desk lamp and somewhere to pop a book. Winter blues begone! More on designer fireplaces here.

Cosy up your outdoor room

There’s no rule that says outdoor entertaining season has to end with summer! Enjoy time alfresco with friends and family all year round by adding in a cosy outdoor gas fireplace, a portable heater or two, and layering your outdoor sofas and armchairs with snuggly throws and blankets. For added ambience, bring in twinkling outdoor lighting in the form of table lamps, fairy lights and candles (never leave a burning candle unattended). Discover this year’s outdoor living trends here.