Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's tips to make a living room cosy – the colour that ALWAYS does the trick

Particularly to create cosiness in a generous room with cold, tiled floors

Laurence Llewelyn Bowen, the 'King of Interiors' appeared on This Morning to offer his expert advice. The flamboyant interior designer was on hand to help as callers detailed their decor dilemmas.

Caller Bal needed help with her plain white living room, a blank canvas. Explaining how she's recently renovated so the room is nice and big, but she's struggling to make it 'cosy'.

Being the expert he is Laurence knew immediately what was missing, to make the space feel more inviting and cosy!

More expert advice: Kelly Hoppen's genius idea for painting narrow hallways – to make the space feel bigger

Laurence Llewelyn Bowen's tips to make a living room cosy

1. Insulate with curtains

living room with wooden flooring and white marble fireplace

(Image credit: TBC)

'The big thing, in spaces like that' he begins, talking about the large modern living room with shiny tiled floors, bare white walls and very little else – 'is that you need something like curtains'.

'Curtains are absolutely the way forward in terms of being able to deaden the noise' suggesting that an empty room with no furnishings is not ideal acoustically. 'But also they're a green issue these days' he explains.

'Decently-made, properly lined curtains will save so much of your central heating from escaping' immediately making the space warmer. He adds, 'They are literally one of the most practical solutions for looking after that' he sats, addressing the cosiness.

2. Add rich accent colours

living room with marble fireplace

(Image credit: Rachel Whiting/Country Homes & Interiors)

He goes on to say adding a dark accent colour will do the trick to instantly add warmth to an all-white colour scheme.

'You need a sense of richness' he says. 'Think shades of aubergine. Aubergine is marvellous; a dark, rich, warm colour that takes to so many different textures perfectly'. Going on to suggest, 'It can be shiny, it can be velvety, it can be chenille'. Layer the colour in different textures for best effect.

3. Layer with textured rugs

living room with sofaset with cushions

(Image credit: TBC)

While the trend for tiling large open-plan living rooms is huge, Laurence is quick to point out a big design flaw. 'The shiny floor is reflecting an enormous amount of light back' first saying in praise. 'But it's also acoustically, I bet, pretty challenging in there'. His resolution is to add a 'big fluffy rug.' The feel of such texture underfoot will help to break up the floor and add an instant feeling of warmth – to ensure even cold tiles feel more cosy.

He concludes by saying that all those key elements combined will make the space feel much more accommodating and welcoming – and above all else cosy!

Related: How to keep your house warm in winter – insulate against the cold and block those drafts

Does your stark white space need a touch of warm cosiness for this season?

Contributor

Tamara was Ideal Home's Digital Editor before joining the Woman & Home team in 2022. She has spent the last 15 years working with the style teams at Country Homes & Interiors and Ideal Home, both now at Future PLC. It’s with these award wining interiors teams that she's honed her skills and passion for shopping, styling and writing. Tamara is always ahead of the curve when it comes to interiors trends – and is great at seeking out designer dupes on the high street.