Winter is looming and it’s time to get your home ready for the colder months. From simple insulation ideas to stylish fireplaces, there are many ways to get your home cosy. Before the cold takes its seasonal hold, you can find relief from the winter chill with a few simple tweaks that will make your home a toasty winter wonderland.
Decorating and Bedding
Create a sense of warmth through your colour palette. For a chic, modern look, play around with high contrast colours that create a bit of drama. Having winter plants such as peace lilies or azaleas will also liven up your home with colour, clean air and gentle floral fragrances.
Keep cosy on cold winter nights by investing in proper bedding. Turn your bed into a hotel-like haven by layering up with sheets, blankets, duvets and high-thread-count linen. The trick is to insulate your bed from the mattress up. For extra warmth, add a knitted, flannel or fleece throw.
Fireplaces
Fireplaces come in all shapes and sizes making it convenient to choose the right style for your home. From wood-burning fireplaces and enclosed fireplaces to electric fireplaces and ventless built-in fireplaces, it is important to decide what suits your lifestyle and family environment best.
From traditional to electric fireplaces, they all need maintenance to remain in a good condition. Traditional fireplaces require a proper clean including the chimney. If you use your fireplace, have it cleaned by a chimney sweep. You should also check for any debris and cracks in the chimney. Beware of creosote build-up and debris such as leaves and bird nests as these could become a fire hazard.
Your electrical fireplace is much easier to clean as it does not require a chimney and does not have any debris from burning logs. A quick clean over with a damp cloth will do the trick for your electric fireplace.
Insulation
Efficient insulation is one of the most energy-efficient ways to keep your home warm in the winter. Insulation is a layer of material in your walls, ceiling, floor and roof that moderates the temperature inside your home. Heat flows naturally from warmer areas to cooler ones. During the winter, heat moves directly from warm spaces to unheated spaces and outdoors and in summer, it moves from the warm outdoors to the cooler interior of your home.
Insulation slows the movement of heat from a hot space to a cooler space, increasing the energy efficiency of your home by reducing the amount of heat that escapes. When installed properly, insulation can increase the comfort levels of your home by maintaining a consistent, uniform temperature from room to room.
