House warmers

Sort your insulation
Boring but important since, according to the Energy Saving Trust, a staggering 50 per cent of all household heat disappears through the roof and walls, while a further 20 per cent is lost to drafts. Fortunately, stopping this leakage is easy. We asked the EST for their top tips:

Lag your loft If you only do one thing, do this - it's cheap, reaps you instant rewards, and you don't need to call in a professional. The most common form of insulation is mineral wool, available by the roll at DIY stores. All you have to do is kit yourself out in a mask and gloves (it's itchy stuff) and fit it between the joists along the loft floor. Obviously the thicker the lagging, the warmer the house: current building regulations stipulate a minimum thickness of 170mm, but aim for 250mm for maximum benefits.

Fill those cavity walls Cavity-wall insulation involves filling the gap between the two skins of brickwork on an external house wall with some sort of insulation material. It's expensive, but it can reduce heat loss through the walls by up to 60 per cent, so you will save money in the long run. Contact the Energy Saving Trust (0800 512 012; www.energysavingtrust.org.uk) for a registered installer in your area.
Insulate the hot-water pipes and buy your hot-water tank a jacket This will not only keep your water hot but will also reduce energy wastage by around three-quarters.

Fit draft excluders To doors, windows and letterboxes and stop your precious warm air from escaping outside.

Double-glaze your windows An extra layer of glass not only cuts heat loss but also reduces noise and condensation. Contact the Glass and Glazing Federation on 0870 042 4255 (www.ggf.co.uk) for a recommended glazier in your area.

2 Reinstate your fireplace

You may not be able to see it, but if your house is more than 40 years old the chances are that it has a fireplace lurking somewhere behind a false wall. Opening it up is messy but straightforward. We asked Peter Healy, secretary of the National Fireplace Association (0845 643 1901; nfa.org.uk), how it's done.

Knock your knuckle on the area where the fireplace should be If it sounds hollow, then the fireplace is probably concealed behind a hardboard cover mounted on wooden battens. If it sounds solid, then your fireplace has probably been bricked up.

Conduct a smoke test This will tell you whether or not your chimney is in working condition. Hold a lit taper or snuffed-out match near the opening and look to see whether or not the smoke is drawn up through the chimney. If it isn't, then it may well need re-lining. Contact the National Association of Chimney Engineers (01526 322 555; www.nace.org.uk) to track down a specialist in your area.

Check for a hearth Most fires need a hearth, and solid-fuel fires also require a concrete sub-hearth. Traditional open fires also need a fireback to reflect heat out into the room and protect the brickwork.

3 Fit a stove

Pretty as an open fire is, if you're after a really effective way of heating the house then you can't beat a solid-fuel stove - a pound of fuel provides three times more heat when burned in a stove than it would on an open fire.

There are three main types of stove on the market: wood-only; multi-fuel, which are designed to burn coal as well as wood, and pellet. A newish arrival in Britain, pellet stoves burn small pieces of compressed sawdust which are automatically fed into the fire from a hopper at the top. Efficiency-wise they're comparable to standard wood versions, but thanks to hi-tech additions such as thermostats and timers, they're much easier to control.

Wood is the cheapest and greenest fuel - burning wood is carbon neutral, since the tree will have absorbed at least as much C02 during its life as it gives off when it's burned. But if you're really concerned about your carbon footprint, look for stoves featuring a smoke-less CleanBurn system in which the gases created when fuel is burnt are circulated back into the stove and burnt off. Check out Morso's 6100 series (01788 554 410; www.morsoe.co.uk).

Style-wise the choice is endless, but this year's hottest stoves are freestanding and come with big glass windows. Before you get carried away, however, you need to check the following:

Is your flue the right size for the stove? Stoves with heat outputs of up to 30kW, for example, need flues measuring at least 150mm in diameter. Ask your supplier for advice.

What heat output do you need? This will depend on the size of the room you want to heat and will determine both the size of stove you buy and the type of fuel you burn. Again, your supplier should be able to advise.

Which way does the prevailing wind blow? Wind direction will affect a stove's efficiency. If the wind blows in the same direction, then the smoke is pulled out of the chimney and the fire will burn more efficiently, whereas if the wind blows back down the chimney you'll get a poor fire and a smoky room. These problems can be solved by extending the height of the chimney or by fitting a vent to the top of the chimney. Do you live in a smoke-control area? To find out, go to www.uksmokecontrolareas.co.uk.

Three stoves we recommend

1 Morso 6140 Woodburning Stove, from £1,206 (01788 554 410; www.morsoe.co.uk
2 Solution 400 Woodburning Stove, from £1,330, Clearview Stoves (01588 650 123; www.clearviewstoves.com)
3 Nestor Martin FH33 wood/multi-fuel stove, from £2,093.85, Euroheat (01885 491 112; www.euroheat.co.uk

4 Warm up your floors...

With a wool carpet According to Lorna Haigh from Alternative Flooring, wool is the best option for people looking for maximum warmth and practicality since it insulates, feels soft underfoot and is easy to clean. Carpet folk talk of pile heights - basically, the higher the pile, the thicker and cosier the carpet. You can have high pile in heavy traffic areas, but in that case go for knobbly wool types rather than long, shaggy styles. We particularly like the Wool Tierra carpet, £37.95 per m/sq, from the Alternative Flooring Company (01264 335 111; www.alternativeflooring.com).

Three companies we recommend

1 Wool Classics (020 7349 0090)
2 Craigie Stockwell (020 7224 8380; www.stockwellcarpets.com)
3 Crucial Trading (01562 743 747; www.crucial-trading.com)

With some wooden floorboards 'It's a myth that wooden floors are drafty,' says Steve Maltby, technical services manager at wooden-floor specialists Junckers. 'These days floorboards are all tongue and grooved so you don't get problems with air flow from below.' However, he does advise people living in old houses to put a layer of insulation below floating floors to prevent heat escaping down through the boards.

Colour-wise, avoid those blond, Scandinavian-style woods and go for something dark and brooding such as these beechwood boards in Spicy Pepper finish from Junckers' new Soul Collection (01376 534 700; www.junckers.com).

Three companies we recommend

1 Element 7 (020 7736 2366; www.element7.co.uk)
2 Listone Giordano (0808 234 6866; www.listonegiordano.com)
3 Ebony and Co (020 7259 0000; www.ebonyandco.com)

With a room-sized rug If you can't bear the idea of a fitted carpet, then go for a rug. 'Area rugs on a hard floor will give you islands of softness,' says flooring guru Roger Oates. He recommends creating a cocooning effect using textured rugs in rich colours. Fabulous, coloured rugs are available this season- for example, the Butterfly hand-tufted acrylic rug from Woven Ground, above (90x160cm), £125 (020 7033 3731; www.wovenground.com).

5 Sort your lighting

The right lighting can turn a cold room into a cosy haven. We asked Elizabeth Wilhide, author of Lighting, how to get it right.

Avoid central overhead lights, which cause glare and make a room feel chilly.

Increase the number of lights in a space and decrease the wattage in each one - the idea is to set up several warm pools of light rather than uniformly light the room.

Fit a dimmer switch.

Soften energy-efficient bulbs by teaming them with tinted lampshades. Karen Howes, of interior-design practice Taylor Howes Design, recommends gold-lined shades for maximum warmth.

High-street buys we recommend

1 Grande shade (D51xH36cm) with copper lining, £65, Habitat (08444 991 111; www.habitat.net
2 Glass Ball Table Lamp (H60xD30cm), £39.50, Marks & Spencer (0845 603 1603; www.marksandspencer.com)
3 Sven Floor Lamp (H162xD40cm), £100, John Lewis (08456 049 049; www.johnlewis.com)

6 Light some candles

This season, think forests of single candles (we love Toast's English beeswax numbers, from £5.95 for a pair of dinner candles, 0844 557 5200; www.toast.co.uk in chicly mismatched sticks - often to be found if you scour the junk shops.

Three ranges we recommend

1 Graham & Green (0845 130 6622; www.grahamandgreen.co.uk)
2 Sia (0118 922 7800; www.sia-homefashion.co.uk)
3 House of Fraser (020 7963 2000; www.houseoffraser.co.uk).

7 Be creative with fabric

'Upholster sofas and armchairs in flat wool or velvet,' advises interior designer John Stefanidis, 'and consider covering doors in fabric, too.' If you don't want to re-upholster (and it is only worth doing if the piece of furniture is in good condition), just buy some fabric, hem the edges and use it as a throw. Opt for luxurious materials such as cashmere, mohair or this season's must-have fabric, velvet. We love Zoffany's new Arundel Velvet collection, particularly in teal and chocolate, at £80 p/m (08708 300 350; www.zoffany.com).

8 Warm up your windows

'I layer silk and printed fabrics at the window for a sense of depth and texture,' says Tricia Guild of Designers Guild. And she's not alone. Jemima Locke, marketing manager of curtain and blind specialists Eclectics, says that combining roller or roman blinds with some sumptuous curtains (interlined, of course) is a growing trend. This season calls for textural fabrics, such as velvet, suede or flock, and curtains that just scrape the floor rather than form a pool on the ground.

Two curtains we recommend

1 Roller blind in Fioravanti flock fabric, from £137 for a blind measuring 60x80cm, Eclectics (01843 608 789; www.eclectics.co.uk)
2Chandelier-print fully lined curtains, from £70 for a pair measuring 168x137cm, Hobbs Home (0800 121 8259)

9 Invest in some warm-toned accessories

Painting the room red would obviously warm things up, but unless you have a room you don't use in summer (or you're prepared to re-decorate every season), then you're better off buying some hot-toned cushions and throws. Berry shades are strong for this winter and look great mixed with teal, coral and midnight blue.

Five accessories we recommend

1 Emperor's Garden jewelled cushion, £25, Bhs (0845 196 000; www.bhs.co.uk)
2 Fredensborg cyan flock-velvet cushion, £60, Designers Guild (020 7893 7400; www.designersguild.com)
3 Wave Velvet Design Cushion, £13, Next (0844 844 8000; www.next.co.uk)
4 Mega Dot quilt, from £81, by Hay Denmark, from SCP (020 7739 1869; www.scp.co.uk)
5 Two-toned cashmere throws (140x190cm), £525 to order from Suzy Hoodless (020 7221 8844; suzyhoodless.com)

10 Wear a jumper

T-shirts are for summer - put them away and dress for the season. According to Friends of the Earth, turning your central heating down by one degree can cut your heating bills by £30 a year.

By Charlotte Abrahams
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