How to create a winter home

Please enjoy part 3 of a this blog series from our in-house creative consultant, Raluca, on how to create a home this winter that serves your mind & soul.

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The materials you feel 

You can bring beautifully warm, soothing colours into your home through your soft furnishings. But to create a full sensory experience you shouldn’t stop at the visual aspect of your room, but also consider the tactile aspect.

When you sit down on your sofa, does it feel warm (a soft wool, bushed cotton or linen, a sumptuous velvet)? Or maybe it looks very chic in a vintage leather, but feels quite cold and rigid to touch? The winter season is the time to go for as many throws and cushions as your heart desires, so you don’t have to swap your leather sofa for a velvet one. And what about under your feet? Bare floorboards? Add a faux sheep skin rug to step on first thing when you get out of bed in the morning, or a thick Persian style rug for your sitting room. Don’t be afraid of adding a bit of texture to your walls and create a beautiful reading corner with a grasscloth wallpaper as a background. 

Most importantly, make sure all your seating furniture is very comfortable. You want to be able to lounge, wrapped in your warm rust coloured throw, not have to sit upright like you would in an office chair.

Finally, if you own a pet, hold on tight and doze off into your sea of warm throws and cushions. Purring cat recommended.

Smell, taste, and sound

I find there’s a particular smell in the air at wintertime – a crisp, fresh smell of the outdoors mixed with spices - and a homely taste of winter food and pastries. Smell and taste can have such a powerful impact on us. Think of Marcel Proust’s ‘A la recherche du temps perdu’, the passage where one taste of the sweet madeleine brings back childhood memories long forgotten, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Winter is the best time to bring some sweet, positive nostalgia into your life. Is there a certain smell that reminds you of a beautiful time in your childhood and you can bring that into your home? Cinnamon or vanilla from your grandmother’s pastry cooking or the smell of fresh linen out to dry in the winter sun? The taste of a Sunday roast you and your family can cook together, or chocolate cake and tea by the fireplace? Once you start thinking about this you will see there are so many positive, enveloping feelings that can be brought to the surface through taste and smell.

Sound is another key sensory element, and it works wonders in setting up a mood. Take a bit of time to create playlists that cater to the way you want to feel, and you won’t regret it – they will end up being the background to your daily routines and play an important role in how you (and those sharing a space with you) feel.

As we face the long winter days, my suggestion is to look forward, rather than dread them. Let’s use this opportunity to curate a space for ourselves, in our homes, that tells a story of calm and warmth, a space where we look forward to spending most of our time, because it brings us nothing but joy.

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To work with Raluca on making your space beautiful, please check out our colour consultancy and interior styling services or fill out our contact form.