HOW TO CREATE A COSY LIVING ROOM

Although we're not ready to put our Christmas trees up quite just yet, the leaves are turning the beautiful rich orange and yellow they do when Autumn has arrived. Which can only mean three things. The need for tummy warming food such as slow cooked stew, finding a new winter coat to keep me nice and snug, and creating a cosy little hideaway for nights tucked away inside. 

Today I wanted to showcase some inspiration and give you some ideas for creating a cosy living room, ready to greet you when you return from the cold outside. 

The word cosy brings two things to mind in terms of interiors - lighting and textures. I know it's cliche to say but the lighting of a room can make or break how cosy it feels. Instead of turning the central light on, why not invest in two or three lamps, including one floor lamp, placed around the room to create a softer feel to the space. Homesense have a fantastic range of lamps, check out my brass lightbulb lamp seen in my sideboard styling post here.

Another idea is to buy some relatively cheap lanterns (George at Asda and The Range both do purse-friendly options), and light some candles as you snuggle on the sofa to watch a film. Although leather, in my opinion, is never a good option for a sofa in Summer, a leather design (such as the ones found here at Distinctive Chesterfields) can be great in the winter time with a chunky knit throw over the top and cushions aplenty.

I invested in chaise-longue sofa this year and I can't wait to lay out with a hot chocolate in hand and Friends on repeat. Texture really is at the heart of creating a comfortable surrounding so perhaps invest in a cheap sheepskin throw (Ikea are ideal for this) to place over an armchair, where you can curl up and read a book. Even add some wooden finishes to your room like rustic decorations on the fireplace, wire baskets filled with blankets for guests, wooden logs (you don't have to even have a fire for this, I think they can look great filling the hole in the fireplace where the fire used to be), and a splash of tartan perhaps for the real log cabin feeling. 

Although I love Spring time, Autumn is definitely my favourite time of year and although I don't necessarily decorate every season, there are always some bits you can add when the weather changes and you want a little update. Here's my pick of the best the high street has to offer. All that's left to do is dim the lights, wrap up warm and pick a great film...