20+ Cosy Living Room Decor & Furniture Ideas

Wondering how to make your living room feel warm and cosy? We’ve put together our best advice for staying toasty and comfortable at home in 2023.

With energy bills shooting up and cold nights on the horizon, we can understand you wanting to snuggle up and hibernate on your own sofa! From blocking drafts and keeping in heat, to featuring inviting colours and huggable textures, here’s everything you need to create a hygge refuge from the winter blues.

1. Warm-coloured wall & floor coverings

What colours make a living room feel cosy? While grey isn’t going anywhere, using warm and rich colours will make your living room feel so much more homely. If you’re due to redecorate, warm things up with luxurious paint shades like gold or burgundy, or choose snuggly carpet instead of hard flooring.

2. Soften lighting with lamps or candles

Dimmable lights and soft lighting change the whole mood of a room, making it feel intimate and perfect for a winter nap. Forget the big light (unless you can dim it or add a diffusing lampshade), try a standing or table lamp with a warm-toned bulb. Or embrace your inner boho energy with fairy lights or candles

3. Turn up the heating on your thermostat

We’re all feeling the pinch with our energy bills this year, but keeping your living room warm is the key to feeling cosy. Invest in a thermometer – you should be aiming for around 18 degrees celsius minimum or a couple more to feel more comfortable. A smart metre can help you keep track of your heating bills.

4. Add texture & comfort with pillows & throws

There’s nothing like cosying up on the sofa surrounded by cushions. Warm or neutral-coloured soft furnishings add instant comfort to a living room area, and can also inject new life into tired-looking furniture. We’d recommend a thick and chunky wool throw, which can double up as a blanket for a quiet night in.

5. Choose a comfortable sofa & chairs

A well-made sofa is essential for feeling cosy in your living room. Choose a sofa with thick, overstuffed cushions and a style that allows you to really spread out, such as an L-shaped or corner sofa. Alternatively, an armchair has the advantage of being able to be moved to the warmest spot in the living room.

6. Keep in warmth with quality curtains

Curtains can help keep existing warmth in a room, alongside blocking out the sight of wind and rain. Heavy weave curtains like velvet and suede are ideal for stopping heat from escaping through windows or cold areas. And if you’ve got a drafty doorway, hanging a curtain rail across it can be an easy solution.

7. Use rugs to add cosiness underfoot

Want to be as snug as a bug? Define the space and avoid chilly toes with a woolly or chunky rug. Suitable for both hard flooring and layering over a carpet, rugs add instant character to a living room. There are thousands of different styles, and if you have a cold floor, they can actually help insulate the room too.

8. Close windows and doors to avoid drafts

As well as adding thick curtains, keep windows closed where possible. While some fresh air is needed to keep humidity levels healthy, a cool winter breeze isn’t ideal for a cosy vibe. Keeping internal and outer doors closed also helps keep the heat in – invest in a door stop if internal doors don’t close properly.

9. Add a fireplace or a space heater

For a warm, inviting ambience, a real fireplace is a top-tier idea. Cosy living room decor doesn’t compare to this powerhouse source of warmth, and it’s one of the first things that spring to mind when you think of wintertime relaxation. You don’t need a real log-burning stove, even just the illusion will do the job.

10. Let the winter sunshine inside

Do you have south-facing windows in your home? The UK isn’t known for its sunshine, but when it appears in cold seasons make the most of it. Direct sunlight can help to warm a room without turning up the thermostat, and opening and closing your curtains tactically can help trap valuable warmth.

11. Hideaway winter clothes in an ottoman

Nothing feels as cosy as cuddling up in your favourite woolly jumper or lounge clothes, so keep them handy in a storage ottoman. Thick, fleecy materials aren’t the most stylish for wearing in public, but they’re heaven for relaxing at home. You can even get heated hoodies to keep you warm through winter.

12. Display family photographs or art

Warm your heart with happy memories – adding family photographs makes any living room feel more intimate and lived-in. From strings of polaroids to traditional photo frames on a bookcase, to a massive canvas of your loved ones, seeing familiar faces is sure to put a smile on your face in winter.

13. Bring in seasonal flowers & plants

Flowers don’t just look pretty, they can make your living room feel more homely and lived-in. From red and orange blooms to cottage-inspired dried flowers, plants can bring a personal touch to your home. Or add some desert power with cacti and succulents, they’re easy to keep and look great in terracotta pots.

14. Serve a delicious home-cooked meal

With winter weather comes winter cooking, and serving up a delicious homemade casserole or soup is sure to help warm up you and your visitors. Enjoy the heat of the kitchen from cooking or baking, and serve up food to enjoy with a film. Alternatively, order a piping hot takeaway to enjoy together as a treat.

15. Insulate the room with weatherstripping

Tiny gaps around windows and doors can cause drafts and let out valuable warmth in your living room. There are various types of tape and strips to block drafts, made from materials including rubber, foam and plastic. Try out self-adhesive or push-in styles, or use caulking for gaps in stationary components.

16. Play a board or party game together

Even if it’s cold outside, doing a fun activity as a family or group of friends can help banish the winter blues. Extra points if you play something that gets you moving around the room and laughing like charades. A video game party can be just as good – just getting your pals together can take the chill off.

17. Spend a day in the great outdoors

You’ll appreciate a warm and cosy living room even more if you’ve spent the day out in the cold. Remember to dress for the weather if you’re braving a winter hike, and have a fluffy dressing gown ready for when you get back home. Moving around is a free source of warmth and you can hit your health goals too.

18. Snuggle up with your family pet

Pets are like little hot water bottles, and they love being warm as much as you do. Some would say a living room isn’t complete without a dog or cat relaxing on the rug! If you live alone, a furry friend is a fine companion for dark and wintry evenings and many shelter pets are looking for the perfect forever home.

19. Embrace natural materials

From wood panelling to earthy stone, natural materials help to avoid a clinical-looking living room. Even if you love a grey colour scheme, adding natural accents like a wooden coffee table or a plank feature wall instantly adds hygge chic. Look out for real wood items in antique shops for extra character.

20. A well-stocked bookshelf

Books give personality to a living room, and they can even add extra insulation. Covering your walls with books invites visitors to sit down and relax, plus you can instantly showcase your interests. From crime to romance, the coldest of winter weather is no match for relaxing with a novel and a hot cup of coffee.

Now you’ve read our warm and cosy living room ideas, get more inspiration from our living room furniture section! From comfortable seating to storage for cosy materials, there’s everything you need.