Even on the days when we’re blessed with a bit of sunshine, there’s no avoiding the fact that winter days and cold weather are upon us. So, it’s time to make our homes cosier. There are lots of ways to make your space more homey, apart from adding decorations. A fresh coat of paint is a popular way to warm up your home, with 35% of homeowners planning to repaint their kitchens in 2020 and 26% looking to repaint their living rooms, according to The Rated People Home Improvement Trends Report: 2020.
Here are our favourite ways to get a snug feel.
Pick colour that warms
Colour has the power to transform the atmosphere in a room, so use it to your advantage. Berry shades, golden leaf tones and pumpkin oranges all have natural warmth and seasonal appeal, so introduce them to a room that needs a cosier note. There’s no need to change the colour of all four walls when time’s short, but if you’re handy with a brush, try painting the chimney breast or a feature wall in a rich shade. After a speedier remedy to an interior that’s making you feel like putting on an extra cardie? Add a rug featuring a warm colour, or choose cushions or a throw to add your chosen accent.
Looking for a painter and decorator? Find a qualified, vetted and recommended professional by posting your job on Rated People.
Think materials and textures
Prefer to stick to pale shades in your rooms? Cosiness can still be yours without straying from the palette that suits. Natural materials have an appealing warmth that the man made lacks. On your must-have list put wicker, wood with an organic look rather than a polished finish, chunky wool knits, deep pile rugs… Choose accessories that pick up the theme, too. Look out for wooden mirror and picture frames and table and floor lamps with wood bases together with textural ceramics.
Work the layout
Turning a fresh eye to the position of your living room furniture can transform the room’s ambience so it’s right for the season. If you have a fireplace, it’s vital to make sure this is the focal point around which your seating is grouped – the TV just doesn’t cut it in the cosiness stakes. A pair of sofas, an armchair and sofa combination or a corner design should all be positioned facing or at a right angle to the stove or fire.
Without a fireplace, it’s still possible to place your seating in a grouping that feels cosy. Use the warm-coloured feature wall you created as the focal point instead, or lay a rug around which the seating can be positioned. Make sure the floor covering’s not too large, though. The goal is an intimate arrangement not far-away formality.
Light the night
When cosiness is the vibe you’re after, neither a lonely single pendant or a grid of ceiling spotlights will be your helpers. However, a group of pendants that illuminates just the dining table and surrounding seating after dark will look appealing, as will floor lamps that throw a gentle glow over an armchair, or a pair of table lamps positioned on a sideboard or console.
It’s worth checking the colour temperature of the lights you select as well. There are warmer whites, and bluer colder versions, and it’s definitely the former that will up the cosiness level in living spaces and bedrooms. Stick to the latter for working spaces like kitchens instead.
Looking for an electrician? Find a vetted professional by posting your job on Rated People.
Layer it up
‘Wear layers’ isn’t just good advice when you’re out for the day in unpredictable conditions – it’s an equally valid strategy for creating cosiness in the bedroom. For a snug feel, dress the bed with throws and cushions in touchy-feely textures – a lonely cotton duvet cover just doesn’t have the same charm. And even if you have fitted carpet, but especially if you chose hard flooring for your bedroom, layer the floor as well. What could be cosier than stepping on to a soft rug when you get up each day?
Make your home cosier this winter with our simple adjustments. Post your job on Rated People today.
