Ways to make your home feel cosier in Winter
Find out how a few key elements can warm up your abode over the winter months. Anyone can make a home that is inviting and relaxing after a long cold day.
Choose a warm paint colour: Explore the colour wheel - Notice that yellows, oranges and reds are on the warm side so utilising those colours will simulate a cosier, warmer mood. Blue and purples are on the cool side so they will simulate the opposite mood.
Warm lighting: Group lighting by using task and ambience lighting and a mixture of table and floor lamps. Warm coloured bulbs throw out a softer light and give a room a cosy feel.
TIP: Having your lights on separate switches means you can control how bright/dim a space will be.
Add pot plants: Any living element contributes to a cosy and inviting feel. Plants in baskets are not only on-trend, but they also generate more oxygen inside your home too.
TIP: Group pots together using different shapes and heights to make a focal point.
Carpet, rugs and textiles: Tiles are great but can be chilly underfoot in the cooler months. Carpets insulate, soften and warm up a room and New Zealand wool carpets are environmentally friendly with a sustainable fibre, plus naturally flame retardant.
Don’t discount rugs even if you have carpets. Make sure you choose a rug that works with your existing carpet. Placing a rug between yourself and the floor instantly guarantees a warmer atmosphere. Rugs are also incredibly good at tying a space together.
TIP: Garage carpet reforms the space from a cold concrete feel to a soft warm space too!
Keep reading: www.curtainclean.co.nz...
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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