10 ways to make your home cosy

Picture this... it's an autumnal evening and the rain's pitter-pattering on the windows. You're in a fresh pair of PJs with your toes snuggly and warm in your favourite fluffy slippers. Your legs are snuggled underneath a TK Maxx-special faux fur blanket and you've got a freshly-brewed tea in a pumpkin mug in one hand and your book in another. The air smells of pumpkin and cinnamon – thanks to your fancy-schmancy new triple wick candle you bagged in Homesense – and you're reading under the glow of a lamp and candlelight. Sounds like a cosy dream, right? Right.

There's no greater feeling in life than coming back to a cosy home and we won't hear otherwise. As homeware enthusiasts, we feel we're pretty well equipped to bring you our top ten ways to make your home cosy this autumn winter, so buckle up, we're about to take you on a whistle-stop tour of all things cosy. From lighting and home scents to the lowdown on all things bedding, paint and tablescapes, it's time to zhuzh up your space for the new season ahead.

Disclaimer: may make you never want to leave your home again...

1. Use soft lighting

The one rule of cosy lighting is… never ever use the big light. Ever. Now that’s cleared up, let’s talk about the epitome of cosy home lighting… lamps. Those beautiful little things responsible for creating the perfect evening ambience, come rain or shine. Whether you’re hunkering down for a cosy movie night or playing host with the most and laying on a homemade spread, lamps are key.

Want to know a cosy lighting tip? Harsh, white lighting has a cooling effect, while warm hues boost the cosy factor, so when shopping around for bulbs, always opt for warm white bulbs over the likes of bright white for the ultimate cosy ambience. Fancy another cosy lighting idea? If you must use the big light (we won't judge, promise), dimmer switches are best as you can control the cosy level in one twist. Feel like a space in your home is lacking that je ne sais quoi? It’s probably just missing a lamp…

2. Add warm furnishings

A cosy home and a cold home are each other's archnemesis. Lucky for you, having a cosy home doesn't mean having your heating on 24/7 throughout the winter months. It does however mean cushions and blankets galore. Now that's not such a bad thing, eh?

Although we all may joke about how many decorative cushions is too many cushions, the importance of textiles in creating a warm, inviting space should never be understimated. Soft furnishings are essential to creating a cosy living room. When autumn winter comes around, you'll want to swap out your summer cushion covers (linens, cottons etc.) for heavier duty fabrics like boucle, faux fur, rich velvet and wooly cable knit. The same goes for blankets. In summer, your throws and blankets are most likely used for decorative purposes only, but don't worry, they'll soon be in demand when winter comes back around. Swap out your decorative linen throws for hard-working materials that provide warmth and comfort like faux fur and cable knit.

Now for your feet. Sure, slippers work hard in autumn winter, but rugs work a hell of a lot harder. If you've got exposed wooden floors and the budget's not stretching to a huge living room rug, try layering smaller rugs or placing them in front of individual furniture pieces to add warmth and interest.

3. Focus on scent

Have you ever walked into someone else's home and it just has a smell? You can't pinpoint it, but it smells homey and cosy and inviting? That's the power of home fragrance. Whether it's an essential oil diffuser left on in the living room, a reed diffuser in the downstairs loo, or a candle left burning in the kitchen, scents can transport us to faraway places, triggering memories and evoking nostalgia.

As much as we praise lamps for their ambience magic, we'll always carry a torch for home decor candles. Cosy candles are the OG of ambient lighting that light up your home with not just light, but scent too, and are one of the most cost-effective ways to always guarantee a cosy home, whatever the season. Whether you want to lean into autumn and fill your home with the scent of pumpkin spice and all things nice, or you prefer a more neutral palette of oceanic scents and evergreen vanilla, scented candles for the home are a quick win when wanting to up the cosy factor.

4. Keep clutter at bay

Minimalism and cosiness don’t necessarily go hand in hand, however there’s a fine line between a cosy home and a home full of clutter, so we’re here to help you establish the difference. For example, 2-4 scatter cushions of a similar colour palette on your sofa = cosy. 12 scatter cushions of all different colours and patterns that you’ve just thrown on the sofa as you didn’t want to get rid of them = clutter. Curated cosiness is key, especially when creating the cosy living room of your dreams. Fancy some tips on how to keep clutter at bay? Keep reading...

5. Upgrade your bedding

We spend a third of our lives in bed, so it's a fair assumption to make that our bedroom is the most important room in the house to nail 'cosy'. After all, your bedroom is where you return to every single evening to wind down and relax, so it's no surprise that a calm, cosy bedroom is essential to your wellbeing. When it comes to how to make a bedroom cosy, there's many ways to achieve it, starting with the pièce de résistance... your bed. That amazing sleep you had in that hotel bed that you still remember? It's all down to the bedding. Invest in good-quality bed sheets with a high thread count and opt for feather-filled pillows over polyester. The same goes for your duvet! Opt for down where you can and when it comes to the colder months, for the ultimate cosy bedroom ambience, you're going to want to layer throws or bed blankets at the foot of your bed for an added splash of cosy luxury. Now, let's talk duvet togs...

6. Add unique home accessories

Furniture isn't what makes a home cosy. It's all the knick-knacks and decorative pieces you collect and curate over the years that make your house a home. From the photo frames full of special memories to the vases, cushions and books you collect, a home is nothing without all the cosy home decor inside it. It's down to the unique home accessories you display that tell a visitor what your home and the people inside it are about, so don't be afraid to exsperiment. Buy what you love with confidence (not what you think you should love) and the rest will follow. Here are our cosy home non-negotiables ...

7. Use soft, warm colours

Although cosy home decor can be woven into your home anywhere, any time, cosy starts from the initial decorating stage. Neutral though they may be, stark white walls aren't exactly famous for their calming, cosy properties, so if you're not quite brave enough to colour drench your walls in navy (we get it), you can still weave in some colour with muted warm hues like beige, taupe or soft pastels. These tones create the perfect base for a cosy home and mean that deeper, darker tones of a similar colour palette can be woven in through decorative items such as throws, frames and rugs as you go along.

8. Create intimate spaces

You know when we were kids and we’d create mini dens on the weekend “just because”? Well, we say it’s time to bring it back! If you want to (TK)Maxximise the cosiness of your home this season, throw it back to your childhood and create a cosy reading nook out of furniture and cosy home decor you already have hanging about in your home. There may not be mum’s bed sheets and fairy lights in this den – just fancy-schamncy candles and earl grey tea – but as far as adult dens go, a cuppa, your comfies, a fluffy blanket and hours of uninterrupted cosy reading time sounds just as fun, right?

9. Add soft touches in the bathroom

When taking steps towards a cosy home, it’s important not to forget the practical rooms too. Sure, your bathroom needs a loo, a sink and a shower/bath, but the devil’s in the detail when it comes to creating a cosy bathroom. Whether you’re working with a small or large floorspace, there’s always cosy magic to be made in the form of decorative accessories and home scent.

From some bathroom-friendly plants on a hanging shelf to diffusers and candles dotted about to create a cosy bathroom ambience, there’s plenty of cosy bathroom ideas out there — no matter what space you’re working with. Simply swapping out your seen-better-days bath mat and mismatched towels for matching plush bath sheets, hand towels and bath mat will elevate your bathroom into a cosy sanctuary you look forward to stepping into every evening.

10. Create a cosy tablescape

When you're on a journey of turning your home into the most cosiest home of all, there's so much joy to be found in elevating the mundane. From mealtime to bathtime, when it comes to creating a cosy home, nothing is overlooked round here – including hosting. Whether you're a cooking pro or a nervous novice, it's important to remember that guests aren't coming to your home to critique your food. They're coming to see you. Nine times out of ten, your guests won't even remember what they ate if you ask them in a few weeks time. What they will remember however, is the feeling they felt when in your home. They'll remember the homeliness, atmosphere and warmth they felt when sat around the table with you all, so that's why setting the scene is oh-so important.

And what better place to start than with a tablescape? Don't panic. We're not talking about forking out a load on fancy candlesticks and centrepieces. At TK, we're all about reusing and repurposing so stick with us as we explain how to create a cosy tablescape for your next dinner party...