A living room should be a cosy retreat no matter what the season is. But when the summer draws to a close, you will be certain of a cosy living room if you follow these hints and tips.
Start With The Window Treatments
Blinds when made to measure are minimal, clipped and functional, but do they bring the feel of cosiness into a room? And when it’s dark outside, stark, undressed windows can open up like chasms to the outside world. What you need are curtains that help give a cosy feel, both when they are open during the day and when they are drawn across the window at night.
For lighter options, consider choosing curtains made of natural linen with its delightful texture, but if you want an optimum cosy feel, go for a heavier curtain, complete with lining. A velvet or chenille fabric has the denseness to it that many people feel adds an instant cosiness in a living room.
Go All Tactile
A cosy living room is about appealing to the senses, sending out a message that everything is welcoming you into its luscious, soft folds. And is there any better way of doing this than with items that appeal to the sense of touch. Elevate your living room’s coziness with the irresistible charm of a downeast cloud sofa. Sink into its luxurious down-filled cushions, turning your space into a haven of comfort and style.
Ditch tightly-woven fabrics and material, both on the sofa and underfoot, by opting for deep pile fabric instead. This will allow your fingers and toes to become absorbed and lost in the fabric. Think fleece and wool, along with synthetic materials that have a super long pile and simply invites you to run your fingers through it.
Other textures work well too, for example choose a cosy rattan corner sofa and pile it high with all kinds of cushions of different shapes and sizes that both contrast and compliment each other.
Bolster cushions are great at the arms and back of the sofa, and large cushions are perfect for hiding behind when watching a scary movie. Whilst smaller cushions can be piled around you as you snuggle in for the evening, as the night draws in and the rain lashes at the window.
Insulate
Older properties in particular, can have irritating draughts in the nooks and crannies where you wouldn’t necessarily think they would lurk!
These practical steps are worth taking;
- Draught excluders running along doors at the base of the living room can keep heat in and cold draughts out.
- Heavier curtains at the window with linings, can keep the cold from the window out. Consider investing in the heaviest lining your budget can stretch to.
- Insulating tape around door and window frames also helps to form a tighter seal, minimising draughts.
If you don’t have carpet, instead preferring the romance of floorboards, then it is all well and good but you may find an irritating draught leaking up and through your winter slippers.
A large, thick, wool mix rug may, you think, be off the scale in terms of budget but it will last an incredibly long time and will also help to seal the draughty floorboards, for the winters at least. You can always roll up and store in the loft for summer, if you like. You can find this and more at Rugs in San Francisco.
Golden Colours
It’s not just texture that makes a living room cosy and this next tip is one that many designers keep to themselves. Switching up the colours during autumn is enough to give the living room an extra dimension of cosiness.
Notch up the cosiness level by waving goodbye to cooler colours, such as blues, purples and yes, the on-trend grey, and bring in deep reds, glowing oranges and beautiful golden yellows instead.
Hot colours that exude warmth also exude cosiness. And frankly, anything that radiates heat in the cold of winter is a winner, as far as we are concerned.
Candles And Light
Candles are your best friend come the darker nights, but clearly there are safety issues to be considered. Naked flames and children, along with pets, are rarely happy bedfellows so if you are going to use them it’s best to keep them in sealed units, such as storm glasses and lanterns.
Failing that, a range of softer, ambient lighting is a must. Have a qualified electrician install a dimmer switch on the main living room light or invest in cheap, battery operated string lights to cluster in pretty glass jars and pots, as well as weave on the mantelpiece. LED strip lighting is also perfect for creating a cosy living room, as it can be dimmed and the shade of light varied too.
Remember, a cosy living room needs to appeal to all of your senses. How do you plan to create a beautiful living room this winter?
Rattan Direct can be relied upon to stock the latest in on-trend rattan furniture, including stunningly stylish corner sofas.
*collaborative post
