Warm your home with autumn colours

The weather’s getting colder but autumn colours are warm and inviting. If you're looking to redecorate, or simply refresh your existing decor, invite the colours of autumn into your home. Be inspired by candy-red maple trees, golden sunsets and russet brown leaves, and pair with natural textures for a cosy feel this winter.

Cool, white rooms are all very well during the summer heat but when the cold autumn mists curl around your ankles, it’s time to brighten up your home. Autumn offers a palette of colours from light yellow ochres through to deep rich reds. But don't go overboard – autumn colours are best used as highlights against a neutral backdrop or to contrast with darker colours such as forest green or teal.

This season, grey is the neutral colour of choice. Use a palette of tones inspired by the British weather; the opalescent light grey of the early morning mist that clings to the fields and the stormy dark greys of a November sky.

Create a cosy living room with textured blankets and throws. Faux-fur is the fabric to embrace this season. Wiggle your toes on a sheepskin rug and settle down in front of a roaring fire, wrapped in a soft, warm blanket. In the bedroom, it's time to ditch your duvet – the old-fashioned quilt is coming back.

Autumn is often a time when we want to escape the outside world. Instead of burying yourself in your smartphone or iPad, switch off from the digital world and create a tech-free sanctuary in your bedroom. Embrace the Danish approach to long nights and create your own hygge haven by lighting some scented candles and curling up with a good book.

Keep the home fires burning

As the nights draw in and the temperatures drop, there’s nothing more tempting than curling up in front of a crackling fire and escaping from the world. Autumn is the season for cosy nights in, comforting family meals and relaxed dinner parties with friends. Turn your home into a welcoming haven of laughter, light and warmth that no one wants to leave.

In autumn, the last thing you want is to come home to a freezing house. Inglenook fireplaces are a charming feature of old farmhouses and country homes. But while the thought of stacking up the dog grate with logs to create a blazing fire may be nostalgic, the reality is a draughty, smoky room.

A wood burning stove is a more practical, efficient solution. You can still curl up in front of a warm fire, but the smoke is drawn up out of the room. If you’re opening up a disused fireplace, you’ll need to get the flue checked out and it’s best to get an expert in to advise on your options for installing a stove. If you’re concerned about indoor air quality from fires, then an air quality monitor will help make sure you stay safe and warm.

Reducing draughts in your house will make your house feel warmer and reduce your heating bill, particularly in period homes. Cold spots to look out for are single-glazed windows, gaps between skirting boards and floorboards, loft hatches and under doors. Insulating the back of your loft hatch, draught-proofing windows and doors and sealing gaps in floorboards will help create a cosier home.

Check your heating is working properly before winter really kicks in. If you’re finding your radiators are warm at the top but cold at the bottom, you’ve probably got a case of radiator sludge. You can either manually flush individual radiators or get a professional to power flush the whole system.

If you’re looking for an eco-friendly alternative to gas or oil heating, then it’s worth considering a ground- or air-source heat pump. As they’re a low-temperature system, they work particularly well with underfloor heating. Banish cold feet forever! To get the best out of the system, make sure your home is well insulated and you’ve got rid of those pesky draughts.

Design your garden to make the most of the autumn colours

When you’re designing your garden, it’s tempting to focus on colourful spring and summer flowers. But this risks leaving you with a bare garden come autumn. By incorporating some evergreen shrubs, colourful trees and creepers, and late-flowering plants into your design, you can create a garden that looks good all year round.

Trees really come into their own in autumn. Beech trees are a native species that look spectacular in large gardens and estates. If you’re worried about roots affecting buildings, a beech hedge is an alternative way of adding warm, russet colours to your garden in autumn.

The Japanese Maple is easy to grow in gardens of any size and will brighten things up with shades of red, orange and yellow. The leaves of the Katsura Tree transform to fiery, golden hues in autumn with an accompanying fragrance of burnt sugar that’ll make you daydream of toffee apples.

Just because it's getting cold, doesn't mean you have to say goodbye to flowers. The Michaelmas Daisy is an essential autumn plant with different varieties providing a range of colours from bright blues and purples to rich oranges.

Winter flowering pansies will keep blooming until late spring and flowering heathers handle winter weather well and can flower through to March. Not all heathers are purple. Orange and gold varieties can create a warm autumn tapestry.

Climbing plants give your home a real English country house feel. A Virginia creeper (also known as Boston Ivy) will make your house stand out from the crowd at this time of year as the green star-shaped leaves turn to a rich fiery red. Make sure you keep it cut back at windows and gutters and watch it doesn’t damage the brickwork.

In the vegetable garden, there’s still time to plant winter vegetables to harvest next year. Onions and garlic have long growing seasons but will look after themselves once they’re in the ground. If you have a greenhouse, perpetual spinach and pak choi can be planted to harvest throughout the winter and carrots, broad beans and peas can be planted now for crops in spring.