Warm Your Bedroom For Winter

One of the great pleasures of winter is retiring to a warm, cosy bedroom for the night. The lights are low, there’s a candle burning on the tallboy and your bed is layered with a thick quilt, velvet cushions and a couple of woollen throws.

Forget Sandi-style minimalism; this is the season to indulge in every cottage-core fantasy you’ve ever had.

“We’re seeing a lot of woodland shades this winter, which add a gorgeous natural feel to a bedroom – like being cocooned in a forest,” says Polite Society director Scott Cooke. “I love layering cushions and throws in tonal colours like sage and olive, perhaps with a pop of ochre, to create a really luxurious look.”

Here’s how to make your bedroom warm and inviting for winter.

Choose winter weight

As a natural, breathable fabric, linen is often regarded as a summer staple, but it makes a great base layer for winter, particularly if you or a partner are prone to overheating. Our Messina range in olive or taupe provides a suitably dramatic canvas for your winter bed.

Alternatively, jacquards add an instant burst of texture and pattern; ours are woven in Italy with 100 per cent Egyptian cotton for a luxurious feel. We love Bergamo’s warm oyster for its subtle sheen and elegant pattern.

Double down on your duvet

If you’re going to invest in one winter piece, make it your duvet. Feather and down quilts remain the best option for warmth and longevity. The higher the down content, the warmer the quilt – try the Ultimate Luxury Quilt with 70 per cent goose down if you’re a chilly sleeper.

A microfibre fill is perfect for anyone who suffers allergies or prefers a smoother look – our microfibre quilts are cassetted to prevent the fill from gathering at one end.

Embrace layering

You can apply the principles of winter dressing to your winter bed: simply layer. (If you live in Melbourne, this will be second nature.)

The key to successful layering lies in texture and colour. If you’ve opted for patterned jacquard, you might lie a luxurious cashmere blanket over the top – the pinnacle being our Lanerossi Geisha blanket, woven from superfine Mongolian cashmere (we love the caramel colourway). Draping a fine merino throw rug across the bed, such as the Ulisse throw, adds another layer of warmth and interest; add a pop of colour with the rust-orange Bruciato or moss-green Palude.

Consider your cushions

Cushions are most visually pleasing when they’re grouped in odd numbers, such as three or five (this applies to sofas as well as beds). Mixing shapes adds interest, so you might choose square cushions, like our gorgeous Maison de Vacances chenille cushions, paired with Iosis rectangular versions.

It’s also important to think about texture, and the sensory appeal of fabrics such as Jacquard and velvet. These velvet cushions feel delicious – and ruffling the surface with your fingertips makes the light reflect differently on the fabric.

Finally, don’t forget to give your cushions a quick karate chop each morning to create a smart indent in the centre of each one. This is a well-known trick of interior designers everywhere and makes a bed feel uniform and finished.

Light the mood

Yes, we know that lighting a candle is one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it works: if you want to create a cosy, romantic mood, there’s nothing better than burning a luxury candle and turning down the lights. Landenac’s hand-painted, skull-egg candles have a decidedly gothic feel, or else you could opt for the understated minimalism of Vila Hermanos’ black fig and neroli.

Diffusers and scented crystals create a similar effect without the burn – Ortigia’s best-loved fragrance, Fico d’India, comes in a stylish, black-and-gold diffuser with scents of orange and fig that add a subtle, late-summer scent to the room. Meanwhile, the brand’s Melograno crystals look as good as they smell, with beads of iridescent amber glowing in their silver box.