Let’s face it, as much as we can try to make the effort to brave the elements and carry on with our activities outside the home, the Irish winter ultimately means spending more time indoors keeping warm and dry.

Luckily, it doesn’t take much to transform your home from a regular indoor space, to a wonderful, cosy haven, full of atmosphere and warmth.

Here, we share five tips which are so easy to do, yet make all the difference in making the winter home extra cosy.

1. Cushions

Scatter cushions can transform a room in so many ways. Use them to add a splash of colour to a neutral toned room or go for specifically patterned cushions to completely change the theme of the room. Have a great bookcase in the living room? Play off that and create a classy literature based theme with these French script cushions.

2. Blankets

We’ve all experienced those particularly wintery nights where no matter how long you’ve had the heat on, you just can’t shift that cold from your bones. A great living room blanket or throw is guaranteed to warm you up immediately.

A blanket is also a great way to transform an old couch that’s seen one too many spills. Simply cover and tuck the blanket around the couch or armchair and you have a brand new furniture piece.

This can be a particularly good idea for a leather sofa, which can feel quite cold in winter.

You can watch how these ladies experiment with cushions and blankets to give one sofa, five looks.

3. Candles

Is there anything as effective at making a room instantly cosy as candles? Candles are cheap, can be bought anywhere and are a must for any night in.

Having a party? A candle or two lighting in the bathroom is a lovely touch and keeps the party atmosphere constant around the whole house.

Believe it or not, candles are also effective at adding some extra heat to a room. So light some candles and add some extra warmth, both in a design sense and in a literal sense.

4. Lamps

Lighting is so important for creating a warm, relaxed atmosphere.

Many people make the mistake in thinking that the entire room has to be lit and get an overly bright overhead light. Placing lamps around the room creates a much softer light yet, it still allows everyone to see what they’re doing.

Try a mixture of table lamps and free standing lamps. There’s plenty of scope to have some fun too.

5. Pouffe

The final piece to complete your luxuriously cosy room this winter is a simple pouffe. Great to pop your feet up when relaxing after a long day. But they are also so handy as they can double up as extra seating places when you have visitors around to the house.

If you would like any more help and advice on choosing the right pieces of furniture for your home, please contact us.