Birdie Fortescue On How To Make Your Home The Ultimate Winter Comfort

In our new column, Staying In With, we ask the experts of interior design to tell us about their ultimate night in. This month, we speak to Birdie Fortescue, interior designer and former antiques dealer, about her favourite space to curl up in come winter – and how she sets up the space to weather even the dreariest of days.

Staying In With Birdie Fortescue

Birdie Fortescue

Your favourite place to stay in?

Home is my absolute favourite place to be. A room – or, in this case, rooms – that feels comfortable, calm and personal, somewhere that reflects my love of colour and pattern and craftsmanship.

Is this a space you like to host guests in, or wind down in?

I think it’s important for your space to be multi-purpose. I like living in an environment that is aesthetically pleasing, and serves that dual purpose of hosting guests and creating a relaxing space that I can enjoy with my family.

What makes it the best setting for a night in?

My home is very much a mixture of antiques that have been either passed down over the years or collected by myself and my family, so it has that personal element that makes it feel lived in and loved.

The house itself has developed gradually, but everything has a meaning and a reason. The colour, the balance, the way it’s all put together – it’s all very considered, and this has helped give it an overall sense of calm.

You mentioned colour plays a big role in your home – which ones do you gravitate to? 

I love green – which, if you know our brand, is quite obvious. In homeware, it translates into such a calming colour. I equally love blues and greens together, and find that pinks and reds work very well combined too. 

Bringing together a tonal palette is also something I like to do. You can have a room that is just blue or green, but if you use the colour tonally you can broaden the visual depth of the space. It will seem like you have lots of colour in there, without it feeling overwhelming.

In my home, we have a blue bedroom. Blue is, on its own, a very cold colour, but we’ve mixed a single hue with other pale blues, aqua – which introduces more green tones – and denim. I find that, when you mix all of these tones together, you can arrive at some very interesting results.

Tell us about a ‘wow’ feature that you love to show off.

The main space in our house is open, so you’ve got the kitchen, then the dining area, and then a sitting area. And in the sitting area we have these incredibly high ceilings going up to the eaves. We wanted to highlight this space, so from there we hung two very, very large hanging lights. These feel dramatic enough for some wow factor.

What was your best buy for your space, and why?

Rather than stay in the habit of buying something new, we try to change things up by using what we already have. And one thing we tend to change around quite a bit is our art. My daughter is an artist. My husband is an artist. So, between us, we have quite a lot of options to change things up in the house.

What other swaps have you made recently? 

I always swap the cushions over with the seasons. For winter, I like to bring out something that’s beautifully tactile, with a slightly richer colour palette. Velvets – especially embroidered velvets – darker tones. You can create a very different look quite easily just by reworking your sofa styling.

There may also be a few more throws on the sofa, or a fresh lampshade that has been swapped to match the new colours on display. 

What does the space say about your personal design style?

I think it really reflects two of my greatest design loves: colour and calmness. There’s a playfulness, but even though you have a lot of colour and product and inner space, it’s all very balanced. 

How does your home change during winter? 

We try to prepare against the chill, mostly. I feel the cold quite badly – and thankfully my husband also likes a warm house, so the fire is definitely lit. I think a crackling fire really sets the tone, and instantly makes any space feel much cosier. That and lots of warm colours, soft rugs under foot – no bare floorboards – and lovely thick curtains. I just like to make my home feel like a sanctuary, a place of comfort and warmth.

Which room do you find yourself retreating to most?

The sitting room. A comfortable sofa, a roaring fire and a large television make this my go-to space at home during winter. But when I’m not in there, you can usually find me in the kitchen, where the hot cooker is.

What are your top three tips for lifting the winter blues at home?

1. 1. A lit fire: the heart of the home; I like to camp out in front of the fireplace on nights when the weather is bitterly cold. But if this isn’t an option for you, then scented candles offer that same level of comfort (and smell great too).
   2. A comfortable sofa: the design will be up to personal preference, but the important bit is how it feels; you want to be able to sink into its cushions and really relax in the space.
   3. Ambient lighting: avoid harsh light at all costs. Overhead lighting often casts a cool tone on the space, which doesn’t feed into that sense of comfort and calm. Instead, you’ll want to create ambience with floor and table lamps (just make sure they’re not all on the same level).

Do you prefer staying in or going out? 

I love staying in. In Norfolk, it’s particularly cold, so it can feel like a lot even just to go from the front door to your car – let alone traipsing through the countryside. It might not feel like such an ordeal in London, but from where I am I much prefer a winter day indoors.