Everything you need for the cosiest living room ever

When winter hits, there's one rule: get cosy. Fill your home with your favourite scents and surround yourself with colours and textures that make you feel relaxed and happy. Wondering where to start? Read on for your cheat sheet.

Scented candles are a two-fold win for your senses. Flickering candlelight is calming and creates an atmosphere of warmth – especially if you don’t have the glow of a working fireplace to bathe in. If you do nothing else, invest in some scented candles – they’re such an effective way to get into a relaxed state of mind. 

Putting a deep colour or bold print on your walls can have a big impact on how characterful and cosy a living room feels. The trick? Pick colours, shades and patterns that you feel most drawn to and fill the walls with artwork that you love.

There’s nothing like a rug for pulling a space together and making it feel homely. Wooden floors look beautiful but they sometimes make a living room feel a little cold - thankfully a wool rug can really ramp up the cosy level. As well as feeling soft underfoot, it’ll absorb sound and reduce echo in a large room. A top tip? Do as interior designers do and opt for a big rug to anchor your furniture and pull a colour scheme together.

Being cosy involves all of the senses, and sound shouldn’t be overlooked because there's nothing  quite like hearing your favourite music. Invest in a compact, voice-controlled speaker for your living room so you don’t need to get up from the sofa to set the tone. Play some vintage jazz, mix a drink and pretend you’re in a New York lounge bar.

Soft lighting is known to make a room feel more relaxed, so switch off those overhead lights and invest in a couple of table lamps and floor lamps. A trick from Scandi interior design is to position your lamps only in the areas of the room where you need them, to create inviting, peaceful zones for reading and relaxing.

For movie nights at home, name a more iconic duo than the sofa and a soft wool or cashmere throw. They’ll keep you warm through a Netflix binge and when they’re not being used, throws earn their keep on the aesthetic front, too. Drape your blanket over the back or arm of a sofa – the extra layers of texture will look stylish, soften the look of your furniture and add a tactile vibe – plus, they're an easy way to add colour or pattern to a room, too. 

Artfully arranging your best coffee table books and displaying meaningful items will add colour and character to a minimalist living room. Adding shelves might not be the first thing that springs to mind when considering a snug space, but you can add them along empty walls and in fireplace alcoves to display houseplants, ornaments, travel mementos, candlesticks, framed photos and anything that you love. They’re the perfect way to fill a sparse living room with personality and happy memories – all conducive to a warm, contented feeling.

Cushions are the oldest cosy trick in the book and for good reason – they’re an underrated and impactful way to quickly change a space. Add a selection of cushions in varying sizes to your sofa or armchairs (with plump feather cushion pads) and get ready to dive in.

As a simple way to restyle a room and pull a scheme together, cushions also help to soften the angles of a sofa, making it look less formal and more irresistibly squishy. Choose tactile cushions in sheepskin and velvet for the most luxurious feel against your skin.

Accent furniture can influence overall ambience and the way you might use a space. By investing in natural tones and materials such as wood for your side and coffee tables, you’re adding another tactile element to your living room. Also, no one wants to discover that the reading lamp is six feet away or have to traverse a room to put down their wine glass, so allow space in your living room for side tables and a coffee table or upholstered footstool. 

Window furnishings can truly make or break the ambiance of a room, so it really pays to take the time over choosing the right colour, tone, material and style for your space. If you've got the room, there's nothing like a big and heavy curtain to add serious cosiness to your living room – or maybe a roman or a roller blind work better for your space? Whatever your style, we've got made-to-measure and ready-to-buy options that'll suit every home.