1. EMBRACE TEXTURE
First thing's first, 'coziness is about texture, texture, texture,' says Celine Erlam of Indie & Co, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s not about buying the finest silks in the land, instead, you need to think carefully about layering the fabrics you already have, and mix and matching different pieces to create depth and that coveted feeling of warmth.
2. THINK ABOUT HOW YOUR CURTAINS IMPACT THE ROOM
'Living room curtain ideas are a great way to add warmth and softness,' says Celine. This might involve ditching short curtains and going for floor length, or making the switch and going for deep-colored, sumptuous curtains. It might be as simple as getting clever with how you bunch them either side, so you really emphasize the material. Buy yourself some cheap curtain holdbacks and when opening them up at the start of the day, pull the fabric loose so you really accentuate the texture.
3. USE COLOR IN A CLEVER WAY
Living room color is a huge factor in creating coziness and a lick of paint is a simple way to give a dramatic new look to your room and create a feeling of depth in the space. Cozy colors for a living room are mostly dark. Think rich plums, deep greens, dark greys and blues and browns in all its varying hues. If, understandably, you don't fancy repainting your entire living room, give a piece of wooden furniture a lick of dark paint, like this dark cabinet in a cozy charcoal-colored room, designed by Stelly Selway, or take the color up onto the ceiling and go monochromatic for extra sumptuousness.
4. CREATE A LOG FIRE LOOK
'I love autumn and winter. It's the perfect excuse to get cozy, light the fire and hunker down,' says Abigail Ahern. Whether you have an active fireplace with a log fire, an unused space in the chimney breast, or just a cozy alcove in need of some TLC, fill the space with logs, candles, pine cones and lanterns for a rustic living room look. It brings a feel of the outdoors in and alludes to the warmth so synonymous with a roaring fire at this time of the year.
5. REARRANGE YOUR LIGHTING
Lighting is so crucial to coziness. It can really make or break whether a room is warm and cozy. Where harsh, bright recessed lights can really jar, the right lighting can work wonders to transform your space, and this time of the year, we want our task and accent lighting to do the hard work. It’s all about layering lighting to get that cocooning ambiance, and it can so easily be done on the cheap.
6. ADD SOFTNESS BY LAYERING RUGS
Rugs provide real coziness to a room and are a key pillar in creating a snug retreat. Instead of floating a rug in the center of a living room under your coffee table like an island in a hard flooring sea, one popular living room rug idea is to overlap multiple rugs - maybe taken from other rooms where they might not be used - to cover the hard flooring and bring that texture and depth that is so crucial to a cozy scheme. Keep your shapes and sizes varied for the best results, and different patterns will keep things interesting and luxurious.
7. BRING THE GARDEN INDOORS
Bringing the outdoors in is a cheap trick and a great way to embrace the colder weather, but we don't mean spring-like floral displays or Christmas garlands of holly and ivy. Instead, for Abigail, is about donning your wellies and exploring what's going on in the garden this time of year. 'Upping the botanicals is the perfect way to reflect the beautiful autumnal landscape outside. Think mossy branches, seed heads, textural grasses. This adds a soft, natural vibe to the room, making your space feel all the more cocooning', she says.
8. CREATE A COZY LIBRARY LOOK
Lastly, it's about working with what you already have in the home to create cozy decor. Books are always associated with feelings of calm and downtime and I for one have a whole lot of books on my bookshelves. Use books to create a curated collection on mantelpieces to give that personal feel and lure you into curling up with a good read or flicking through a chunky coffee table book.