Looking after your wellbeing in winter is easier when your home is warm, well lit and comfortable to rest in. Shorter days and colder rooms affect energy levels and sleep, but most of the useful changes are small ones that cost little and take an hour or two. Working through the house one room at a time, beginning with the draughty corners and finishing in the bedroom, gives the jobs a sensible order.
Layering Warmth Into Every Room
Thick curtains, rugs over bare floorboards and doors kept closed to unused rooms hold heat where you actually sit, which matters most in the rooms you use every evening. Adding a wool throw to the sofa and a heavier duvet on the bed helps rooms feel warmer at the same thermostat setting, which also keeps the heating bill easier to live with. Thermal-lined curtains are worth hanging on north-facing windows, and drawing them as the light fades keeps the day’s warmth in the room for longer.
Keeping Rooms Warm and Quiet
Closing the gaps around door frames, letterboxes and window seals with brush strips or self-adhesive foam is an inexpensive way to keep warmth in the room. For rooms facing a busy road, new sealed units in better frames keep more heat in and more traffic noise out, and Mainstream double glazing Birmingham is one local option for that kind of replacement. Quieter, warmer evenings make a living room far easier to relax in after the clocks change, and a heavy curtain on the same wall adds a little extra insulation if new frames have to wait.
Making the Most of Winter Daylight
Winter days in the UK bring about seven hours of sunlight, so it pays to put desks and reading chairs close to the glass and open curtains as soon as you’re up. Light-coloured walls and a mirror placed opposite a window bounce more of that light around the room. In the evening, switch to warm-white bulbs and lamps at different heights, which feel softer than a single ceiling light and make a sofa corner feel like somewhere to settle with a book.
Setting Up a Restful Bedroom
Keep the bedroom cooler than the living area, add blankets rather than turning up the radiator, and remember that temperature can affect sleep more than noise. Blackout lining or a good blind keeps early light and street lamps out, and removing standby lights from chargers and televisions makes the room darker still. A bedside lamp with a warm bulb is gentler for reading before sleep than an overhead light, and keeping phones and laptops out of the bed leaves the room feeling like a place for rest.
Small Habits for the Weeks Ahead
Pick one job for this weekend, such as fitting draught strips or moving a chair to the window, and add another each week until the whole house feels easier to live in. Small changes tend to hold better than a big overhaul, and by the time the coldest weeks arrive each room will already be doing its job.