When the evenings get shorter, we like to start with the places we spend the most time. In the living room, that might mean adding a wool throw to a favourite reading chair. In the dining room, a pair of taper candles can make even a weeknight supper feel a little more special.
Here are eight of our favourite ways to bring warmth home for fall and winter, from layering textiles to choosing a wreath that looks just as lovely in January as it did in October.
1. Bring in warm colours
The first and easiest way to bring a cozy winter into your home is through your decor colour choices. We’re currently loving browns, burgundy, plum, and deep greens. Bring in these colours through textiles, real or faux branches, artwork, and seasonal decor items.
Think through your winter colour palette for your home, and have fun with it. We suggest a 60:30:10 ratio:
60% dominant colour (most often your wall colour)
30% secondary colour (the main colour of your seasonal decor)
10% accent colour (to complement your dominant and secondary colours).
2. Decor for the front door
Create a great first impression by decorating your front door or porch for the season. Consider matching your porch colour scheme with your indoor themes.
Some people like to put seasonal wreaths and decor on their front doors. You can do a fall-themed door or wreath with branches and keep it up until you swap it for your holiday wreath. If you’re feeling extra crafty, make a wreath representing the seasonal occasions you celebrate or something special to your family. You can also pick up a handmade wreath from a winter farmer's market or Christmas market and support a local business or maker.
3. Lighting your home for the season
You may miss those long summer days that filled your home with natural light, and we do, too. But that also means now is the time to make sure your home is adequately lit for those shorter days. Look for areas of your home that need extra light and add tabletop or freestanding lamps.
If you haven’t already, add dimmers to the lights in the rooms you spend the most time in, like your living room and bedroom. It helps you set the mood and avoid harsh, overhead lights when you only need calming, subtle ambiance.
4. Decorate your mantle
Your mantle is the focal point of your living room. It’s also the perfect place to add cozy, luxurious decorations. Add your favourite seasonal decor to the mantle, or cover it with fresh branches and holly berries, a faux garland with plum-hued accents, greenery in a sculptural vase, a grouping of beautiful candlesticks at varying heights, or handmade pottery pieces.
Credit: Lark & Linen
5. Add a cozy rug
Keep your feet warm with a thicker-pile rug or shag rug in your living room and bedroom. It’s always a good idea to place a rug under or beside your bed so you wake up and never have to touch the cold floor. These are especially warming on wood or concrete floors, which tend to get chilly in winter.
A shag rug adds warmth and personality to a space. At our studio, we tend to lean more towards wool rugs, which are a great option as they are durable, soft, and resist moisture.
If you’re looking for a rug that you can throw in the machine, there are some great options on the market, companies like RugsUSA or Ruggable. Two of my favourite collaborations are with Annie Selke and Morris & Co. I love that they are practical and look good too.
6. Swap your bedding
It’s time to change your bedding. Good-quality bedding can help you stay warm without overheating on cold winter nights. Since linen and percale are best suited for summer, the warmest winter bed-sheet options are cotton, flannel, or silk. One of my favourite brushed cotton sets is from Parachute. I love their clover set colour. Alternatively, you can’t go wrong with their sateen sheet set. Their sateen is crafted from 100% premium, certified long-staple Egyptian cotton with a smooth and soft feel.
Add an extra throw or blanket on your bed made from alpaca or cashmere for extra warmth.
7. Decorate your dining table
An elegantly designed dining table works well, especially if you often entertain guests. Bring out your seasonal table linens and heirloom dinnerware, and make your table centrepiece memorable for your guests. Decorate your table in your style, perhaps with taper candle holders (add some whimsy with varied styles), and mix textured vases and coloured glass vessels with dried botanicals for a chic twist.
Credit: Amber Interiors
8. Get a heated towel rack (you won’t regret it)
A heated towel rack is a must for your West Coast home in the winter. It may seem like a luxury, but wrapping yourself in a warm towel after your soothing bath or shower makes a huge difference. No room on the wall to add a heated towel rack? No problem. You can get this clever portable bucket to warm up your towel and bathrobe in minutes.
The bathroom is another place to consider adding a rug. Wash bathroom rugs often, as they are susceptible to mould and mildew.
BONUS TIP
Your home’s smell affects its ambiance and warmth. When your home smells like fresh baking, it evokes feelings of warmth and family. If you’re not a regular baker, you can light a candle or non-toxic incense sticks to emulate the smells of the changing seasons. This time of year, we love the fragrances of cinnamon and vanilla.
If you’d like that feeling of warmth to last beyond the season, we can help you choose furniture, lighting and textiles that work with the pieces you already love. We’ll design around the way you use the room, from quiet evenings at home to dinners with a full table.