Our homes in lockdown: how to create a cosy retreat in a corner of your home

Standard writers on the peaceful interiors spaces they’ve been creating to help them unwind in Lockdown 3. 
The 1.5-seater Rebel snuggler, snugsofa.com

Creating a cosy space to unwind in doesn't have to be a big project. Here's how we've been finding a moment of peace at home this winter. 

Make a reading nook

For weeks last year I deliberated: is it too frivolous and over-indulgent to buy yourself a chair? The answer is no. In fact, it's life-changing. I found a perfect nook-sized space by the bedroom window. Now it's home to my velvety, not-even-that-spenny armchair. 

For my lockdown 30th, my boyfriend generously added a bookshelf and some plants for me, and now it's the perfect cosy reading nook. I happily sit there for hours until my bum goes numb. It's bliss.  

Jessie Thompson, deputy Arts editor

Sink beneath a weighted blanket

Originally created by occupational therapists to help children with special needs, weighted blankets have become popular to help ease anxiety and a range of sleeping difficulties. Swayed by the hype, I went for a petrol blue one with a removable cover and, just over a week in, I'm a huge fan. 

It's the weight of your thickest winter blanket and then some - this one is 7kg - but with less of a sleepover-vibe than sitting on the sofa wrapped in a duvet. The only downside has been mustering the energy to crawl out from underneath it at the end of the evening. Weighted blanket, £100, at johnlewis.com  

Meghann Murdock, deputy Homes & Property editor

Star Anise lampshade, £83, at rosi-de-ruig.myshopify.com 

Dim the lights

Lighting is key to making me feel cosy at home during the long, dark British winter. I keep the glow going after the twinkling festivities of December are over with a total ban on ceiling lights. If a room is dim enough that my grandparents would worry that I'm straining my eyes to read, I'm happy. 

A favourite chair in a warm pool of lamp light, a dinner with so many candles it verges on a séance, a movie in bed lit only by the glow of the laptop screen. This is how I'm cushioning the passage to spring this year.  

Prudence Ivey, Homes & Property editor  

A trusty Lumie lamp clock, houseplants and soothing candles have transformed this bedside table
Ellie Davis

Get set for sleep

I know I'm not alone in saying that my sleep has suffered terribly during the pandemic. I've found a few simple changes in my bedroom and practising good sleep hygiene have helped. I read before bed instead of looking at my phone and burn a beautifully scented Baies candle from Diptyque. 

Also on my bedside table are a couple of houseplants and a print of David Hockney's Pool with Two Figures alongside my trusty Lumie lamp clock, which replicates sunset to encourage the body to increase melatonin levels naturally, then wakes me up gently next morning with a calming sunrise.  

Ellie Davis, Shopping editor

Interior designer Charlie Boardman at home in Kensal Green with her sons Lochie and Rafe
Juliet Murphy

How to create your own cosy corner

Interior designer Charlie Boardman's stress-free tips for a more peaceful home  

1. Forget about your friends  

No one is coming into your house so drop the idea that it needs to be this perfect showcase. Focus on creating comfort and joy for yourself, rather than impressing guests.  

2. Bin pre-conceived rules and ideas about your space  

Refresh your mindset about how rooms are used - if you have a couple of bedrooms, could the kids share so you could turn the other one into a separate living space or office?  

3. Zoning  

Group an armchair, footstool, rug, side table and lamp by a bedroom window or in the middle of a kitchen. It will feel like it belongs if you do it with confidence. I've just zoned part of my kitchen into a cosier and smaller TV area, using plants and reversing the sofa. It's created more space for my dining table, which is doubling as a work station for my seven-year-old son.  

Charlie’s transformed window seat with House of Hackney fabric and sofa.com blue velvet cushions
Chris Snook

4. Don't direct all your seating towards the TV  

You'll be far more likely to pick up the book you've been meaning to start. I created a window seat for myself in a bay window using fabric from a House of Hackney sample sale. I templated the bench seat and sent both fabric and template to my upholsterer who made the bench cushion (foam padding), Roman blinds and large cushions all in the House of Hackney artemis amaranth velvet. The blue velvet cushions are from sofa.com and the small astrological cushions are from Jonathan Adler.  

5. Greenery: fake it to make it  

Add chunky metal planters in a kitchen and softer, natural grass baskets in a bedroom. Have fun with coloured ceramic pots to brighten up desks and worktops. Fake It Flowers has realistic collections of plants such as ferns, which, beautiful as they are, can be difficult to keep alive in winter.  

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