If you are staying in and cooking a romantic meal this Valentine’s Day, there are a few simple things you can do to elevate the everyday and make your home ready for romance.

Say it with flowers

Styling your home with some beautiful flowers is the perfect way to create a romantic mood. Fresh flowers always make a house look more vibrant. Make a table centrepiece using a low bowl, style up your mantlepiece with posies in pretty vintage glass bottles or create an informal arrangement in your favourite vase. Local florists like Pulteney Bridge Flowers and Crescent Flowers are great for floral ideas – or use a letterbox service like Bloom & Wild who do a Valentine’s bouquet from £25.

Light some candles

Nothing illuminates a space with more drama or intimacy than candlelight. Candles are an easy and elegant way to set a mood and there are so many ways to style them in your home. I love to dot small candles around a room in pretty votives to create an all-over glow in a room. For a more striking look, put large pillar candles inside a hurricane lamp and put them either side of your fireplace.

Turn down the lights

Replace harsh and overly bright lighting needs with table lamps that produce a softer light and create a warm ambience. Lighting is having a moment in interior design and there is so much more choice at every price range. I love Pooky for good value statement bedside and table lamps which create a cosy atmosphere. Check out their cordless designer table lamp collection which can be moved around from room to room and have interchangeable lampshades by guest designers like Matthew Williamson and Liberty. 

Add sexy scent

Scented candles are one of my real passions and so I always have one lit in my sitting room or when I am having a bath. Dot candles all around the room to fill it with scent. Choose scents like rose, vanilla, jasmine or musk to create a romantic atmosphere. You get what you pay for with scented candles so don’t buy cheap – I love Diptique (Feu de Bois and Baies are best-sellers for a reason) but there are also lots of indie brands, like Planty Kate, producing gorgeous candles locally.

Create a spa-like bathroom

To create a spa-like bathroom, tidy everything away by using clear glass jars and wicker baskets and decant designer soaps and lotions into chic glass pumps bottles.  Fluffy white towels are often associated with spas or boutique hotels and they will work with any scheme. Add luxurious bathrobes to snuggle up in post romantic soak and finally, aromatherapy adds the final touch to your spa-like bathroom. Essential oils, scented soap and candles set the romantic mood. 

Set the table

Valentine’s Day is the time to spend time dressing your dining table to make it really special. Cover your table with a crisp linen tablecloth and get out your best placemats and napkins. I love to mix and match tableware for an eclectic look – colourful plates from Anthropologie are my favourites. Arrange plenty of candles on the table to create a lovely soft light.  Sharing platters are romantic ways to eat food on this special occasion. Canapes, tapas and sharing bites look wonderful on a large marble or slate board and rustic dishes can be served on wooden boards. Berdoulet sells wonderful oversized wooden boards in solid oak which are perfect as trays to serve food on as well as looking beautiful hung or propped against a wall.Add a beautiful display of flowers in the centre of the table for a romantic touch. If you don’t have time to buy a bouquet, forage for twisted twigs and greenery like ivy in the countryside.

Raise a glass

Create a bar area to serve cocktails and wine. Style up a bar cart or create an area in your living room for displaying and serving drinks. I like to find beautiful drinks bottles (try Independent Spirits in Bath for local botanical gins and fruit-based liqueurs) and pretty glasses. As well as buying glasses from shops like Rossiter’s, I also look in charity shops and TKMaxx (my last wine glasses were a great bargain!) as you’ll often find pretty vintage or bargain designer glasses.  Style up your drinks cabinet with pretty decanters, bar utensils and fruit and herbs like lemons, limes and mint. If you are serving champagne, put the bottle in a bucket to keep it cold and serve it in proper champagne flutes. A few simple touches will make it a special night!  

Create a romantic bedroom

A romantic bedroom is all about luxurious textures, soft colours and gentle lighting. It is well worth investing in some high-quality 100% Egyptian cotton or linen bedding, pile up the pillows and add texture with a luxury bedspread or quilt to texture to the room. Add a variety of cushions in contrasting colours and arrange them in size order and you will have a bed fit for boutique hotel room. For great cushions, try Graham & Green or the Always Sunday Store. Stick to soft neutrals like pretty pale blues, blush pinks and pale greys to create a romantic vibe.

Breathe in some air 

If you spent lockdown making your outside space a great place to hang out, don’t forget it can be wonderfully romantic to sit beneath the stars on Valentine’s Day. Get out the fire pit, string up some festoon lights and cosy up under the night sky.  

Making your home perfect for a romantic night in needn’t cost a fortune. It’s all about adding simple touches that show you care.