Hibernation stations: Best London homeware shops for hygge living
Stay warm in London with our top shops for cashmere throws, plush cushions and a toasty hot water bottle
Pick a material to wrap your world in and don't come out until Groundhog Day.
Velvet
Head straight to your nearest Oliver Bonas who've responded bravely to the trend for velvet everywhere with some very tactile velvet cushions. Buy the 'berry' shade- pink interiors are still massive for Autumn and into next year, as seen in the set design for the Roksanda Ilinca SS17 catwalk. Extra points given because these berry beauties are ombre too- impress your hombres for under £30.Seasonal warmth: a warm fuzzy feeling
Cool credentials: Ombre + velvet intersect at the apex of the graph of cool
Fabric
English-based studio Dead Good make home furnishings that live up to their name. They exhibited at designjunction 2016 with their own furnished secret garden and drew the crowds to their minimalist and tactile spaces. The Scafell modular seats, made in Thetford, England, ticks the rose-hued trend as well as being plush and comfortable. Look closely- the stitching makes it look like each seat is smiling at you. It's not an optical illusion, the 'smiling stitch' really is a thing. A warm welcome home.
Seasonal warmth: The sofa is smiling- that tickles us pink
Cool credentials: Made in Britain, discovered at designjunction
Cashmere
These Tronic Throws, a collaboration between ex-Dior creative Raf Simons and textile giant Kvadrat, return this year to Skandium stores in gentle graduating shades and the softest lambswool and cashmere. Great for draping over and snuggling under and with luxuriously long fringing.Seasonal warmth: Toasty
Cool credentials: Raf Simons, Kvadrat, Skandium: three great names to drop
Copper
The furniture store Moleta Munro was founded in 2007 on a passion for beautiful interiors with a Nordic edge. They supply many great Scandinavian brands, including Design House Stockholm. The Edinburgh showroom is a little far north but the online shop's a click away. Pick up the New Works table lamp for this season. It's been designed to evoke a campfire with the ember light of the filament bulb and a smoky glass housing on a base of raw copper.
Seasonal warmth: Autumnal campfire
Cool credentials: A filament bulb on a copper base- two trends that aren't going anywhere
Wool
We love Skandium- we must have mentioned before? Oh, wait, we have. For the last word in seasonal cosy, the Tomtes traditional trolls sold in store for Christmas look, at first, part huggable traffic cone, part soft new pet. But with a long history in Scandinavia folk tales and traditionally associated with the winter solstice, the Tomtes are more than they seem. Welcome one into your home and bring in the Christmas spriti.Seasonal warmth: Snuggly
Cool credentials: Well, beards are still in
Read more about the Skandium collection
Wax
After a summer of shiny things from gold fittings to mirrors, the next installment of the 'Objects' collection by Fritz Hansen has gone soft and warm for the start of the new season. Cecilie Manz's designs for the new collection draws on Japanese Stoneware for pieces like this candle holder. The lit taper casts light into the bowl below it, creating a flickering pool.
Seasonal warmth: Gentle glow
Cool credentials: Scandi cool
Click here to read more about the collection
Ceramic
Pop to the Marylebone High Street branch of Emma Bridgewater- the Autumn/Winter 2016 season is here- and the holly wreath half pint mug is just our cup of tea. As one reviewer put it, you can almost smell the spices. The rest of the collection is beautiful and seasonal and features charming traditional robins as well as the familiar black and white typography. Great for gifts or for a warm fuzzy feeling.
Seasonal warmth: Optimum brewing temperature
Cool credentials: Less down with the kids, more Downton Abbey
Prefer your ceramics edgier? Well, edgy ceramicist, we wouldn't want to come face to face with you on a rainy night in Stoke. Katharina Klug, exhibiting at MADE London this year, hand-throws her creations, then paints on the intricate birch forest patterning. The tapering shapes are inspired by ancient Korean pottery. Don't you just want to fill it with pine cones and serve a spiced tea?
Seasonal warmth: Hot pottery
Cool credentials: Birchin'
Spikes
Can't see the point of poinsettia? In the winter months dream of toasty hot sand between the toes with these cacti pots from geo-fleur. With a glazed finish and a thick, dripping rim, like nature itself, each pot is unique. They caught everyone's eye at designjunction and lit up their Instagram. You can choose whether the pot comes with plant or... deflowered.
Seasonal warmth: All fired up
Cool credentials: Like an oasis of cool
Rubber
Soho House is a private members club for people in creative industries, providing rooms for a stay in the city. With 17 clubs worldwide, all beautifully furnished, it tries to be a home away from home for its clientele. From this came Soho Home- the shop - so you can bring a bit of Soho House aesthetic to your own residence. They've come full circle. Soho Home sells bedding, furnishings, accessories- everything a private member might want. Starting with a 2 litre rubber hot water bottle in a cable knit pouch.
You might end up pre-ordering the new Soho House book. Titled Morning Noon Night, it's about how to live. So that's that problem forever solved.
Seasonal warmth: Soho hot right now
Cool credentials: Be part of the cool crowd
Chocolate
By Wintertide, any chocolate's good, so long as its hot. But for true indulgence, it doesn't come cosier than true Italian Alpine hot chocolate, cioccolata calda, so thick you can stand a spoon in it. The thickness comes from adding cornflour, not the most appealing of ingredients. Instead, for a proper chocolate tummy-muffler, head to Said. Founded in 1923, the Roman chocolatier makes its signature hot chocolates with real chocolate, not powder. And instead of a cold fog of whipped cream, have a drink that's hot all the way through- even on the lips- the rim of the cup drips chocolate, too.
Seasonal warmth: To melt the darkest of hearts
Cool credentials: Nope. It's hot all the way
Cinnamon
Earthy and round in flavour, with a gentle heat, cinnamon is the warmest of spices. Nordic Bakery, on Golden Square in Soho and two other London locations, is the place to go for Fika (a Swedish coffee date) with cinnamon buns. Fika isn't just a drink. Our source living in Northern Sweden reported that it has to involve a friend, coffee, cake, and a good talk lasting over three hours. Well, a tenth of that time will still afford you a crisp, flaky pastry.
Seasonal warmth: The spice is right
Cool credentials: Not a dying trend by any means: we'd pick Fika over Pikachu any day
