Classic & Cozy: How to Decorate in January With Cozy Winter Decor
Do you ever struggle with creating a cozy home in the dreary winter months? When the Christmas decor comes down it can feel sterile and cold. But you don’t need cheeky snowmen or snowflakes dangling in windows to create cozy winter decor. Instead, use these simple tips to decorate your home in January and February so you never want to leave!
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The Key to Cozy Winter Decor
There are a few tried and true design principles that work for creating a cozy home that is still classic and polished.
Repeat Greenery In Main Living Spaces
After I’ve taken down all my overtly Christmas decor, I keep my best garlands, stems and wreaths to the side.
How to Use Garlands for Winter
I remove any item that has glitter or flocking on it, as that feels too holiday-ish. Then, I strategically re-hang garlands in a few spaces in my main living area. This doesn’t have to be elaborate. In fact, I personally prefer it to be more classic than the overt garland displays we tend to see for the holidays.
Try out a few of these areas in your home for a touch of garland greenery.
- Fireplace mantel
- Dining or living room hutch
- Kitchen shelves
- Bedroom Headboard
- Entryway door
You can even add a touch of greenery to your utilitarian spaces like a bathroom or laundry room for a little jolt of cozy cheer.
The Best Evergreen Stems for Winter
Next, add in some evergreen stems.
These can easily make a big impact in small spaces. They help to warm up a cozy corner with a touch of color. You can certainly use live greenery for this. However, if you want to avoid the mess and have them easily on hand year after year, these are my favorite, shown above.
They are extremely realistic and have long reaching branch arms. This “floppy” look feels most life-like to me.
A more budget friendly option can be found in my kitchen.
These stems are still thick and lush and come in a nice size set for a much more affordable price. They are also a bit more compact for smaller spaces.
Should Wreaths Stay Up For Winter?
The final type of greenery I like to use is wreaths.
Evergreen wreaths are perfect on your front door. But they work inside as well!
I like to use wreaths with pinecones for winter. They are a little more interesting than a plain evergreen wreath. But they don’t feel Christmasy. You can easily reuse your holiday wreaths by just removing any ribbon or bows as well.
SHOP GREENERY
Plus, if there are pine cones in your wreath, then it makes for an easy repeated element to place a bowl of pinecones in a different room. Or, add a pinecone tree. You can either buy one or make your own using foraged pine cones and a foam mold.
Cozy Winter Decor Using Lighting
There is nothing cozier than a fire. But if that isn’t an option, a lit candle, low lamplight, or cozy sconces are great substitutes.
So often people think this means a floor lamp, scented candles or tall tapers. But a petite lamp or tea light candle can go a long way. Especially if they have a metallic accent like copper or gold (warm tones) or polished silver (cool tone) to reflect the glow.
How to Use Your Everyday Decor for Winter
One mentality that I’d love to get away from is people feeling like they have to completely redo every surface in their home for every season.
Not only is that exhausting and expensive, it can also lead to too much mental load or even practical issues of storage.
So I like to use my everyday decor creatively in every season. The pot on my mantel holds tulips in the spring, a live plant in the summer, leaves in the fall, and a small pine in the winter.
I keep my pillows fairly season-less and add in one or two season specific colors through blankets or artwork.
My art TV has been a favorite addition because I can update my art for any occasion with the click of a button.
And if I want to really pull the space together, I add in a plaid pillow that ties my color scheme together from room to room.
If I’m going to swap larger items like area rugs, I go with darker moody colors. Not only does this add a cozy element, but it is also more practical for muddy winter messes. I love the addition of this gorgeous washable rug this year in my kitchen.
Why This Method Works In My Home
As you’ve seen in the mini home tour of cozy winter decor above, there are specific ways I’ve incorporated all these methods.
- I’ve repeated brown, dark grey, and burgundy in my living room, kitchen and dining room through the use of textiles.
- I’ve pulled pine cones into each room through a pinecone tree (kitchen), bowl of pinecones (dining), and wreath (living).
- I used the same type of greenery in multiple places and in subtle ways.
- I have floor lamps, mini lamps, and candles interspersed among my normal decor to add a cozy glow.
And, if I truly want to be more extravagant, I can easily add in some cheeky decor like a reindeer, snowmen, village houses, bells, or snowflakes.
I hope that these ideas for how to decorate for January and February are helpful as we brave the cold months of winter and seek to create a cozy home.
Make sure to browse the articles below for more winter decorating inspiration.
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~Sarah
