4 Ways To Get Cosy In Your Living Room This Winter

There’s no better feeling during winter than unwinding in a warm and cosy home. Snuggling up on the sofa with the heating on is one of the perks of what can be a tricky season for many.

This year winter poses more challenges than usual. With the spiralling cost of gas and electricity, all of us are looking for ways to keep snug without touching the thermostat.

In this post we’ll share our ways to make your living room feel warm and cosy without turning the heating up. From blackout blinds to blanket boxes, read on to discover cosy practical tips anyone can put to good use.

Keeping Warmth In (And Cold Out)

Did you know that windows are one of the fastest routes by which heat can escape from a room? Putting the heating on becomes slightly pointless when all the heat goes out of the window - quite literally. Poorly sealed or single-glazed windows are the worst offenders. In fact, 10% of the heat in our homes is lost through windows.

While having a whole new set of windows installed could cost a small fortune, one of the simplest solutions for keeping heat in is often overlooked. Blinds are cheap, easy to install, and can complement your decor.

Blackout roller blinds are more closely associated with blocking the sun during the summer, but they also happen to be highly effective at keeping heat in during the winter. Cover each window with a set of these, and you’ll cut your heat loss dramatically.

Choose blinds that have a thick lining - the thicker the fabric, the more heat they’ll keep in. It’s also important to ensure a tight fit upon installation; the smaller the gap between your window frame and the blind, the less heat will be able to escape from your room, creating a toasty haven of wintertime warmth.  

A Blanket For Everyone

Curling up in a fluffy blanket is all part of the fun during winter. But a good blanket can also offer a drastically cheaper alternative to leaving the heating on for longer.

While every living room likely has a blanket or two, it’s worth investing in one for every member of your household. On the coldest nights everyone can get snug in front of the TV.

Electric blankets offer an even more effective way to keep warm without keeping the heating on. Estimates suggest most electric blankets cost around 5p an hour to run; dramatically less than your central heating system.

But once you’ve got a family fleet of blankets, where do you put them all? Instead of leaving blankets draped all over your sofa, a handy blanket box is the perfect place to keep them neat and tidy when they’re not in use.

Look and Feel

Creating cosiness isn’t just about generating and retaining heat. Making your living room feel cosy is just as important.

A cavernous room with whitewash walls, a leather sofa and a cold laminate floor will likely feel chilly even on a warm day in June! There's a reason that these interiors are so popular in the likes of Los Angeles and Florida, where temperatures stay warm all year round. So rethink your decor with warmth in mind.

Dive into a plush fabric sofa with big cushions, the perfect spot to snuggle up after a long day out in the cold. Cosiness isn’t only created by furniture you sit on either; make getting to your sofa a better experience with a fluffy rug underfoot. 

Warmth is also about your colour choices. Choose earthy shades, and grounded colours like reds, oranges and yellows. These obviously won’t generate heat, but they’ll provide the illusion of warmth, making your living room feel warmer.

Learn From The Danish With Hygge

Hygge is a Danish word that describes “a mood of cosiness and comfortable conviviality” - exactly what you're looking for when it gets dark before you get home.

Unlike the Chinese principles of feng shui, the Danish principles of hygge are far more abstract; it’s an overall ideal rather than a set of highly specific guidelines. Ultimately, the aim is to make your living space conjure up those feelings of cosiness and comfort.

Fill your living room with cushions, candles and everything that makes you feel comfortable. Make it a safe space you can retire to, and remove any reminders of day-to-day stresses and strains like work laptops and desks. For that reason, if you work from home, it’s best to keep your home office in another room, and if you have no other option, at least conceal those reminders of work with drawers and other storage options.

Hygge isn’t only about cosiness. Bring the outside in and usher some nature into the room with house plants. Their calming presence will help you feel more connected to the outdoors as you shelter indoors during the harshest months of winter. 

Time To Get Cosy

We hope these tips will soon have you on your way to creating a cosy living room relaxation destination. While energy bills start to pinch, and temperatures start to tumble, there’s plenty of simple and practical ways to increase your wintertime comfort without having to adjust the thermostat.

If you’re looking to overhaul your living room for more than cosiness, you’re in the right place. Explore our complete collection to discover affordable, practical and stylish living room furniture solutions.