My sister lives in one of those New York apartments where the heat is preset for the entire building and every winter she pulls out the tank tops and shorts to avoid heat stroke. I, on the other hand, live in a DC townhouse, where the top floors are boiling and the lower floors frigid. And this is after installing a new $6,000 boiler and energy-efficient thermostat. So instead of blasting the heat at ever increasing levels, I have resorted to smaller, more cost-effective means of staying warm.
What tricks, apart from staying in bed all day, do you have for getting cozy in the cold?
FIRST ROW
• 1 How cute is this? The coffee keeps you warm and this keeps the coffee in the French press warm. Handmade cosy made from Harris Tweed on Etsy at FieldyTweed. $26.50.
• 2 The English are big hot water bottle users. It's probably because it always feels so cold and damp in British homes! They don't need Canadian-style central heating systems but English weather isn't exactly balmy. So Brits use hot water bottles, light fires and imbibe vast quantities of warm tea. I love this hot water bottle cover on Etsy, made from 100% Scottish wool. A Crooked Sixpence.
• 3 I wear these rather cheesy but incredibly cozy UGG slippers. But these Sorel slippers look pretty good, too. Sorel Nakiska Slipper. Suede upper and wool-acrylic blend lining. A natural rubber outsole offers indoor/outdoor traction. About $50.
• 4 Even weather-stripping won't keep out every icy draft. We have 4 different "door draft snakes" but none as cute as this from Shakerville on Etsy. $20
• 5 A few years ago we invested in a panel wall heater for our small basement play room. The pros of these wall panels are that they take up no space and can be painted to blend in with your wall! The heat is also very effective and is low enough to be left on overnight. The downside is that the first two we installed cracked and had to be returned. But the third was a charm and we still recommend these panel heaters to our friends. Econo-Heat
SECOND ROW
• 6 It seems most everyone in Commonwealth countries has an electric tea kettle because there is something about having a queen that makes people want to drink a lot of tea. When I returned from two years in Melbourne, Australia, one of my first purchases was this Breville electric teakettle. It turns off automatically, is silent, and is cordless (super convenient). It also looks pretty cool. $79.95.
• 7 Everyone loves a cozy throw blanket. These are on my wish list this year. Hand knitted alpaca throws from Amenity Home. $287.
• 8 This inexpensive Ludde sheepskin rug from IKEA ($39.99) is the ultimate in insta-coziness.
• 9 You can also drape a sheepskin on your furniture as seen in Desire to Inspire for extra warmth on a cold bottom.
• 10 Sherpa throw from Bliss Living ($135) is beautifully textured faux fur backed in cotton velvet.
Images: as linked above
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I love my Breville electric teakettle it boils water in half the time as stove top kettle. I don't buy a lot of kitchen gadgets but this gets used several times a day. The auto shut off is a great feature.
The french press cozy is way too cute!
#7 is crochet not knit
One of my favorite gifts to give at weddings and baby showers is a good blanket. Typically, crocheted by me, and machine washable. It's a lot of fun to do.
Also, I especially love the line, "It seems most everyone in Commonwealth countries has an electric tea kettle because there is something about having a queen that makes people want to drink a lot of tea." Just love it.
---www.bymaggie.com---
I'll take the french press cosy, please. :-)
#1 is adorable! The water bottle cover is lovely but seems impractical, since it would be against my skin. I have been looking forever for an electric kettle that isn't made in China without luck, Breville is made in China and even the U.K. seems to have sold out to the the East.
Good ideas here, thanks for the post.
The other stuff is cute... but let me tell you that Breville water heater is the best thing ever. I have had a ton of electric kettles and this one is by far the best and also the most attractive so I was happy to see it on your list. What I love is that it is all stainless steel and there are no crappy plastic parts where the water is heated.
the slippers...! Oh my gosh! The best!!!
Regarding #1, I've always read that you should pour out the whole coffee pot once it's done brewing, as leaving the coffee in there will make it become bitter.
great ideas. We moved into an old house with the world's worst addition. It is a raised addition, and before we moved in we learned that the floors weren't insulated at all--just subflooring and beams and then...air! We quickly fixed that problem, but now after 2 cold winters we wonder if they forgot the insulation in the walls as well. Its a major energy drain. We've resorted to many of these fixes but I'm going to try the rest of them.
I think $27 for the cosy is a little on the ridiculous side.
its true you should pour the coffee out once done brewing, but the cozy is good to keep the heat in while brewing, no? i wrap my bodum in a towel to keep heat from escaping during brew time.
I bought some leather/sheepskin slippers by Tamarac on Amazon for $19.95. The Jupiter style. They are not fashionable but soooo cozy and warm. Also, they have been very durable.