How to make your living room ready for the colder months

How to make your living room ready for the colder months

Getting your living room ready for the winter is an excellent idea if you want to feel comfortable, cosy, relaxed and safe during the colder months. It isn’t as simple as adding a throw or extra cushion to your living space if you want to enjoy ultimate warmth and cosiness. There’s more to it, which you can find out by reading the below.

If you want to improve your living room and make it ready for the colder months, here are some excellent tips.

Install a fireplace

There’s nothing cosier than a wood fireplace. Adding a fireplace to your living room is a great way to enhance the warmth in the space on cooler days. Switching on the fire when you and the family feel cold will allow you to leave the heating off yet enjoy ultimate comfort and snugness on those days when you daren’t venture outside.

Turning on the fire at the weekend when you have nothing else to do but relax is, of course, going to make you feel relaxed and comfortable in your space on the colder days.

Insulate the room

Another way to keep your home warm and the living room cosy this winter is to insulate the room. Insulation will help to maintain the warmth, which is ideal if you turn the central heating on for a few hours to heat the home up.

With insulation installed, you will ensure to keep the living space warm and comforting throughout the entire winter (even on the coldest days).

Add a rug

When the floor is warm, it helps your body remains warmer. Therefore, it makes sense to add a rug. Even if you already have carpet installed, adding a rug will further enhance the warmth of the floor.

Plus, the more soft furnishings you have in your living room, the warmer the room will remain. The soft furnishings maintain the heat, which is ideal when you want to keep the living room warm after turning off the central heating or lighting the fire.

More throws and blankets

Although throws and blankets alone won’t make your living room ready for winter, they will help alongside the other measures.

Again, these soft textiles will keep the warmth in the room. Plus, if you do get chilly while you’re in the living room, you can grab a throw and ensure to remain comfortable and warm. You should never feel cold or uncomfortable in your home, and having a blanket to keep you warm while the fire gets going will guarantee you’re as comfortable as possible.

Double-glazed windows

If your living room gets colder than normal in the winter, consider updating your windows. Double-glazing helps to regulate the temperature inside, which will help it feel warmer than it did previously.

It’s a good idea to install the double-glazed windows before the colder months hit so that you do not allow too much cold air into the home while they are being fitted.

Install smart heating

Smart heating is a great way to keep your home as comfortable and warm as possible without needing to be at home to switch the heating on. If you know your heating can take a while to warm the living room, it’s a good idea to install smart heating, so you can switch it on before coming home. Then, you can enjoy a warm living space when you arrive home and never have to worry about waiting to warm up.

A smart heating system can be controlled from your phone, meaning you can control it from anywhere. If it’s a particularly cold day, and you want to be warm when you walk in the door, switching it on an hour or so before you return home means the space will be inviting and ready for you.

Furthermore, it means that if you forget to turn it off, you’ll not waste energy as you can switch it off no matter where you are.

Using this guide, you can guarantee to find smart and efficient ways to make your living room ready for the colder months. When you know the winter is coming, that is time to prepare your space to ensure that you’re as comfortable, relaxed and warm as possible (even on those freezing cold days). Utilise as many of these tips as possible so that you can have the cosiest and most comforting space possible for those cold evenings and chilly winter weekends.

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Get yourself and your house ready for winter

Wintry streetcredit

There’s not much prep needed for summer – a few workouts, maybe a leg wax and a spray tan – the rest just takes care of itself. Winter, however, needs a bit of forethought and a lot of smarts if you want to avoid all the petty annoyances that the cold weather brings.

By following these clever tips, you can win at winter, hands down!

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Make a pebble boot and umbrella tray

This is genius – when you’re on your summer hols, select some attractive pebbles and carry them home. Get two or three cat litter trays and fill them with the pebbles, then use them to stick wet umbrellas and wellies in. The boots and brollies will drain without leaking all over your floor.

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Order your heating oil while it’s still summer

Yes, winter’s a long way away, but if there’s one way of getting cheap home heating oil it’s to order it while the sun is shining. That way, you’ll get a great deal and you’ll feel all secure once the first frosts appear!

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Buy some spare car mats to help you get out of deep snow

If you’re in an area that actually gets good old fashioned deep snow, you’ll be familiar with getting stuck in it! The lack of traction for your car wheels will have led to many a late start, so keep a couple of spare car mats in your boot and when you’re stuck, place them in front of your wheels to give them something to grip.

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Make instant (well, almost) snow tyres for your bike

Another genius hack here. Not many people use their bikes in the snow because it’s hard to grip. Wrap cable ties around the wheels at 3-4cm intervals for that all-important traction.

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Vacuum-pack your summer clothes

This space-saving trick works all year round, of course, but there’s something significant about getting out the winter woollies in anticipation of the cold weather. You feel armed, somehow.

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Use wine bottles to keep your boots upright

This might seem a bit obscure, but if your boots flop over while they’re drying (on your pebble trays), then once you haul them upright, they will start to develop cracks, which shortens their life and can let leaks in. Keep them standing proudly and they’ll last another winter.

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Switch to dog training mats for when it’s really cold

If you have a really small dog, or one who feels the cold, on some days even nipping out for a quick pee and poo is torture for them. Buy a few packs of puppy training mats for these occasions – you may need to remind them what they’re for – and you’ll have a happier dog.

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Think about ways to retain and add heat to your home

This could be using bubble wrap to insulate windows, or getting the kids to make some draught excluders over the summer holidays. There’s also handy tricks like leaving the oven door open after you’ve finished to let some heat into the kitchen.

What are some of your great ideas for staying warm and comfortable over winter?

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