Recent trends indicate that everyone seems to be increasingly drawn to the cosy aspects of life. Throughout architecture, design and lifestyle trends, it seems everyone is more ready than ever to hunker down at home. We explore whether we’re all a little bit obsessed with cosiness, try to understand why and what we can learn from our findings to benefit our own homes.
What do we mean when we say ‘cosy’?
When we describe something as cosy, we’re describing something that gives us a warm, comforting or relaxing feeling. There are a number of interpretations of what makes a home cosy but some strong themes prevail. Think soft throws, layered beige and cream colour palettes, scented candles burning throughout the day (thanks Hygge) and reading nooks.
Proud to be cosy
We recently conducted a survey that illuminated the correlation between how cosy and relaxed people feel at home and how proud they are of it. Considering that research by Denmark’s world-famous Happiness Research Institute indicates that pride is one of the most important factors towards our happiness, it’s a valuable insight into how our homes can impact how we feel in general. If we make our homes more cosy places to be, perhaps we’ll feel a greater sense of pride overall and gain a richer sense of wellbeing.
Cosiness is IN
Cosiness isn’t just tied to our wellbeing at home, it has become legitimately trendy. We’ve touched on some of the themes of cosiness but it’s worth a deep dive on what makes them feel cosy and to unpick why that feeling is so sought after in the home.
The list of non-essentials that we’re all spending more on is always expanding but some command the limelight for their sheer surprising revival: bath trays. Bath trays littered with books, candles and luxury soaps seem to have become a staple of Instagram feeds, promoting the kind of cosy lifestyle that someone with time to actually read in the bath has.
The images featuring bath trays are aspirational – relaxing, warm scenes that are free of mess and bathed in candlelight. Kathryn Jezer-Morton suggests that we’re yearning for a lifestyle akin to a curated Instagram account because we’re really craving the sense of order and quiet that they represent and that the current pace of our world, our news cycle and our environment can’t provide.
So what does it come down to? Is our obsession with cosiness, as argued by Lauren Geall in Stylist magazine, a stress response to the outside world? Has the world become so fast-paced that we’re more concerned with having somewhere to retreat to? The world has, collectively, been through an unsettling few years and the time we spend at home during the pandemic made many of us really take stock of our surroundings and assess what we really value in them.
So perhaps it’s a realisation that, in order to feel happy at home, we need them to cater to our needs in a way that does more to comfort than simply providing a place to rest our heads. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that making our homes feel cosy likely has a positive impact on us. Here are some ideas for how to design your home to contribute to your levels of comfort.
Broken-plan living
Open-plan house layouts seem to grab a lot of the headlines for their brightness and vast feeling of space – as well as the opportunity for creating connected spaces. However, if increasing your sense of cosiness at home is at the top of your priority list, you might be better served by choosing a broken-plan arrangement. The idea is that your space is split off into distinctive zones for different purposes. This provides a greater sense of privacy and the opportunity for smaller, more snug areas.
Golden bathroom uplights
If, like fans of the bath tray, you like to do your unwinding in the bath, uplights in your bathroom could be a fantastic option for you. Uplighting is when lights are fitted in the floor or lower levels of a room, facing upwards, to create a soft, glowy light. This type of lighting is a regular feature in spas for its atmospheric impact and could be a wonderful addition to your bathroom.
Choose a comforting palate
Opt for a selection of buttery, creamy, toasty colours and tones in a range of textiles for your soft furnishings and wall colours. Woman & Home identifies this trend as ‘Warm Neutrals’ and highlights the relaxing effect of these shades. If you’re hoping to craft a feeling of calm in your home, explore Elle Decoration for inspiration and consider speaking to an interior designer about how to bring your neutral haven to life.
Create a cosy reading nook
Taking the time to switch off away from our screens is more important than ever. Our improved knowledge of the benefits of choosing more wholesome habits has influenced reading nooks to become more popular in recent years. There’s no one singular way to create a reading nook but part of the magic is making one that suits your home perfectly. Whether you create a reading haven in a quiet corner of an open-plan space or dedicate an entire garden room to secure some privacy, it could be a calming, cosy addition to any home.
If you’re thinking about redesigning or renovating your home and you’d like an insider opinion on how to achieve your plans, book a free consultation with one of our experts today.
