Hibernate this autumn: how to create a cosy bedroom sanctuary

As the weather turns colder, it’s time to get cosy, and what better place than your bedroom? Here, the experts at Casa Bella Furniture share some tips on how to turn your bedroom into a sanctuary.

As the autumn months come around, it’s time to make our homes cosier and warmer to come back to at the end of each day. Having a comfortable home can really make a difference when we come back from our workday, and make it feel much less inconvenient when the rain and wind keeps us inside reading a book or playing a boardgame.

Here are some tips for transforming your bedroom into a sanctuary that will welcome you all the way through the colder months. With the right decorations, bedding, and lighting, your room can be easily turned into the ultimate cosy retreat.

Bring out the winter bedding

You might not notice the change in the seasons at first, but it can turn chilly quickly, especially during the night. So, remember to get your winter bedding out early enough that you’ll be ready when the cold snaps start. If you’ve kept your winter duvet, sheets, and blankets in compression bags, then allow some time to air them out and let them return to their full thickness. You might also want to stock up on some extra winter bedding items to make your room really cosy. Wool is a great option because it’s both warm and breathable, comes in lots of patterns. Lambswool throws offer a luxury feel, while alpaca wool throws are some of the warmest you’ll find anywhere.

Warm colours and tones can also make a big difference, so try to include some autumnal oranges, reds, and ochres in your bedding to make it into the ultimate sanctuary in the cold weather. Or you might enjoy adding some plaid, herringbone and tartan throws for some classic style. A variety of wool textures can be a great addition to your colour palette and coordinate well with it too, so focus on layering for a really inviting look.

If you're shopping for new winter bedding, remember that the higher the tog rating, the thicker and warmer the duvet, so if you’re feeling chilly go for one that’s thicker and more insulated. You can also add an electric blanket and a mattress topper for the ultimate cosy experience throughout the colder nights.

Have a tech-free bedtime

When you’re settling down, it’s easy to scroll through your phone, but this season try to find some time to decompress away from a screen and see how much cosier it makes you feel. The blue light emitted by our devices can keep us awake and make it more difficult to relax after a long day at work, so try to put your phone, tablet, and laptop aside for an hour before bed.

You can also make this more tempting and enjoyable by placing some books by your bed that you’ve been meaning to read, or finding an activity to do before bed that’s screen-free. This might be drawing, listening to a podcast, or even doing some light yoga. Whatever you choose, leaving your phone off for an hour before bed can allow you to enjoy the cosiness of your new bedroom décor.

Add cosy lighting

Lighting can make such a difference to any space, and this is no different with our bedrooms. When we’re winding down in the evening or trying to get to sleep, it’s often helpful to have low, relaxing lighting in warm tones. Try installing a bedside lamp or lampshade that helps to diffuse and colour the light bulb to make it warmer and cosier, and look out for any light fixtures with gold tones that will complement the warm décor palette in your room.

Dim lighting can really help us sleep, as it helps our bodies release the hormones we need to drift off by telling us it’s night time. So, you might also want to have a dimmable light in your room that you can turn down when you’re settling in for the night.

Mix and match furniture

When thinking about décor, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to match your furniture pieces together, but it can often be much cosier to mix them up. Putting different designs and wood types together can create a cottage-type effect and make your space more welcoming. Plus, choosing individual pieces of furniture allows you to focus on what each one will bring to your room, and you can add chairs or a new bed frame as you go along to make your room more enjoyable to be in throughout the winter months.

If you do go for matching furniture sets, then try to use natural wood and warm tones to offset your choice of autumn colours. This will make it much more inviting, and these wood tones can also be brightened up in the summer with more colourful throws and other décor, so the versatility will come in handy later in the year.

Add natural decorations

Autumn is a great season for using the natural world as décor inspiration. The deep colours of the leaves and classic winter flowering plants are all great options for introducing some colour into your room, and you might even be able to use some twigs, leaves, and flowers from your own garden to spruce up your interiors.

Dried and fresh flowers are both great options. Hydrangeas, eucalyptus, and asters make wonderful cut flowers, and the hydrangeas will eventually dry out to become even more dramatic. You can also use honesty, lavender, and others as dried flowers. By drying them at the end of the summer and the beginning of autumn, you can turn them into features that will last all throughout the year.

If you want to spruce up your bedroom and turn it into your dream sanctuary throughout the autumn months, use these tips as a starting point. This season is the perfect one to embrace the range of colour and décor on offer and enjoy settling into your interiors with a good book.