How To Layer Your Interiors

Rugs to keep your toes warm

There is nothing more jarring than climbing out of a nice, warm bed, only for your feet to hit a cold, hard floor. Placing a rug under your bed ensuring it’s the first thing your toes come into contact with will start your day right; it also neatly anchors your bed to its own space within the room. The tip is to have a rug that lays where your feet will land, that is also under or just in front of your bedside tables. Don’t be too tempted to put the bulk of your rug at the foot of your bed, as although this may look pleasing to the eye, it will not serve as a thermal buffer you want in the middle of Winter. Aim for a rug that’s 1-1.2m wider than your bed so that it matches the width of your entire bed setting including your bedside tables. Lounge rooms and even dining rooms will also benefit from having both a visual anchor and a thermal buffer, so consider placing a round or rectangular rug into either to gain the same benefits. For these types of interiors use thick, luxurious wool rugs like Carpet Court’s Arabella, Lisbon and Makalu.

Cushions and throws to change up the couch 

Most of us tend to change up our interior décor items (such as soft furnishings) to suit the major seasons of Summer and Winter, however your couch is a fairly static object which does not tend to change often. To effectively break up a block of couch colour and inject some additional colour, texture and pattern, you can make use of cushions each season to achieve this. Have a play with shape and scale too for added visual interest. In the cooler months you can layer in different, cosier textures like wool knits and felted wools for example, as well as voluptuous throw rugs, whether knitted, faux fur or whatever takes your fancy. Lush and voluminous is the key to the theme at this time, so give yourself something that not only looks warm and inviting but can be functionally used to wrap yourself up in on those chilly mornings or evenings on the sofa.

An extra layer on your bed

Summer and spring beds are all about fresh colour, light and breezy textiles and a less is more approach to the actual coverings you have on top of your sheets. Autumn and Winter beds though, give you a brilliant chance to play with heavier fabrics, think flannel or jersey cotton or the versatile linen sheeting as it works as both a light, airy summer bedding and also feels warm and cosy like flannel in winter but with a little more panache. A quality quilt or bedcover and duvet – or double layered duvet if your climate calls for it – gives a cushiony softness you just do not desire in the warmer months. You can also layer in blankets and throw rugs, or faux fur runners, to give you that really lush and inviting winter bedding look.

Thicker drapes and heavier fabrics

Along with thickening the fabrics on your sofa and bed, you can look to the drapery in your home and assess whether a quick switch might serve you well. In Winter you’ll want more than a summer sheer, add some weight to your drapes, swapping them for a heavier velvet curtain or a backed cotton or wool drape to provide a substantial thermal barrier from the windows behind and let’s face it that ooze winter cosiness.

Firelight

There is something extremely primal about the comfort of being around an open flame of any form. When it’s cold most of us like to huddle around a firepit, an outdoor fire or an indoor fire. It might even be as simple as a few candles flickering away inside, however the addition of a beautifully placed, well contained and safe fire will add so much warmth both physically and visually to your space helping you get through the cooler months.