How to make your home cosy for Winter

I use a LOT of candles and lighting around my home to create a warm and cosy feel in Winter

As the nights draw in and the weather gets a bit crisper, I like to make my home super cosy. I discovered it's quite difficult to photograph candles and lights (as you can see above) but you get the idea. I use a LOT of candles and fairy lights around my home. A mixture of real candles and battery operated ones are ideal.

And I don't care if my husband refers to the place as looking like a church, which he does, most days. I don't even care that it takes me about 25 minutes to switch everything off every night before I go to bed. It's cosy and that suits me.

It doesn't suit my 7 year old son however, who I found stripped down to his pants earlier today as he was 'melting' apparently. Okay, maybe I need to reign in the cosiness just a little bit.


If you're looking for ways to make your home more cosy this Christmas, here are some of the tricks of the trade that I use:

Textured soft furnishings
By using lots of different textures in your soft furnishings, it creates a cosy feel. Think fluffy, furry, velvet, knitted, all look great together and add warmth. And you can never have too many cushions and throws.

All from Matalan available here

 Quilted Velvet Throw from IDYLL HOME LTD

Low lighting

Lights are key to a cosy atmosphere. Low lighting like lamps and my favourite, fairy lights. Remember, fairy lights are not just for Christmas.

Fairy lights from QVS

Plush shaggy rugs
Rugs like the one pictured below are simply gorgeous. How welcoming does that look? I can imagine a nice romantic scene, a roaring log fire, all snuggled up on the rug. Until you realise the sofa is actually more comfortable than the floor, unless you're 4.

Plush shaggy rugs from therugseller.co.uk

Candles
Scented, non-scented it doesn't really matter. Candles come into their own in the run up to Christmas. And there's no better way to create a cosy home. So long as it's not too cosy, they are quite a fire hazard after all and particularly dangerous with young children around, so another option is battery operated candles. I have loads of these and I love them. The ones I have flicker and glow, just like real candles, I got them from Dunelm Mill for next to nothing.

‘Winter’ candles from The White Company

So before you reach for the dial on your thermostat this year, it's always worth seeing where else you can add some warmth to your home. You'll save some money in the long run.

Do you use any other tricks to make your home cosy?