The Perfect Cosy Designs For Christmas

Everyone’s getting ready for Christmas. Everyone’s out buying presents, Christmas decorations, preparing for Christmas dinner, and generally getting excited for the festive season. But is your home prepared for the coming winter? Have you thought about preparing your home for the indoor times to come? Well, at Tye Architects, we’re here to help you with some ideas on how to make your home the perfect cosy winter retreat this Christmas. 

This winter, we’re focusing on warmth, comfort, protection from the cold and most importantly, the fireplace and a constant supply of hot tea. Get inspired by these amazing winter architecture ideas that will make your home a sanctuary from the cold, snowy outdoors.

Scandinavian Style

The countries of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland spend most of the year in the cold so they’re one of the best people to get ideas from when it comes to winter home designs and cold resistance. Scandinavian houses are designed for comfort while incorporating a minimalistically neat and tidy style. They make the most of warm lighting and colours, soft fabrics, fireplaces and structural closeness in the arrangement of furniture to provide a safe refuge feel. Scandinavian homes typically use light colours for all their materials, creating a more vibrant space and a more life-affirming atmosphere in contrast to the darkness of winter outside. 

As winter daylight sometimes only lasts for hours at a time, Scandinavians will try to make the most of their natural light with huge skylights and glass roofs/walls that not only provide a beautiful view of the snowy scenery but also give the home a stylish modern look. 

English Cottage Style

For a slightly different, alternative approach from Scandi architecture, we have the classic English cottage. Cottages are beautiful with their historic, fairy tale charm. There’s no wonder that countryside cottages are a defining feature of British culture. While they were once considered inferior homes for the less fortunate, now they have been renovated, upgraded and turned into stunning countryside retreats by those looking to escape the often dreary urban life. 

Cottages are also seen as the perfect Christmas setting for their rustic look. Making use of flagstone floors, stone walls, small cosy interiors and crackling fireplaces, cottages make warm, safe, homely shelters from the cold and wonderful places to relax with the family over a nice hot tea. You can use warm wood materials and farmtables in your kitchen for a bright and welcoming look, similarly to Scandinavian homes. And don’t forget to decorate your living room with armchairs, cushions and rugs. 

Outside, you can enhance the natural look of your cottage with trees and shrubs, giving your home an extra layer of protection as well as style. 

The Best Homely Features For A Winter Home

Fireplaces

The fireplace is the heart of your home, where the family huddles together to relax and hang out. Whether you prefer a traditional wood-burning hearth, a stone fireplace or a sleek modern gas heater, the fireplace is probably one of the most important aspects of your winter home to consider, responsible for warmth, comfort and lighting the room. Not only that but it has the functional role of protecting your chimney from the harsh weather. You can also decorate your fireplace with seasonal decor such as candles for added personal touch. 

Natural Materials

Bringing earthly materials such as stone, wood and leather to your home not only gives it an appealing rustic look perfect for Christmas but also provides natural insulation and warmth benefits. Stone cladding, timber beams and oak floors will really bring out the timeless glamour of your home. 

Some of the best woods you can use this winter include redwood, pine and cedar which can all resist rot and decay caused by the damp cold. Wood will also help insulate your walls to keep in the warmth so it really is the optimal choice.

Stone and brick both have their charms and both are fantastic options for insulation and unlike wood, these options are resistant to fire – something to think about when designing your fireplace. 

Roofing

For winter, the classic roof design is the gable roof, a triangular design with a peak in the middle and two slopes. Proven time and time again for centuries to provide the best protection for your home, your sturdy gable roof will banish all the snow, sleet, ice and pine needles from the top of your home with its steep slopes. Most debris will simply roll off, preventing damage. Metal or shingles are the best choices, each bringing a unique style to your roof. Metal has a smoother texture which is highly functional in preventing leaks while shingles are more rustic and versatile. At the end of the day, it’s your home and it’s your preferences that will make it yours. 

Cosy Kitchens

Light and bright colour palettes tend to be most popular during the winter seasons. All the warm, pale and neutral tones fit the season, whether it’s cream, forest green or wood ombres. Dining kitchens are certainly cosy – a classic movie image of the family sitting down to Christmas dinner in their kitchen. Wooden tables would be the way to go for a Christmasy look, decorated with candles, bowls of fruit or even mini Christmas trees! Don’t forget the coffee station because hot drinks will be in large demand throughout the holiday. 

Conclusion

In this blog, we have compared two different winter styles but it’s apparent that they both share many of the same aspects as each other. These gorgeous features just simply work, time and time again. Get your inspiration this Christmas from some of the most popular winter homes currently trending and create the winter abode of your dreams.