How to Transition Your Home Decor from Christmas to Winter
When the holiday season wraps up and it’s time to pack away the twinkling lights, ornaments, and festive garlands, the house can feel a little bare. But transitioning from Christmas to winter decor doesn’t have to leave your home feeling empty. With a few thoughtful changes you can create a serene, cozy atmosphere that embraces the beauty of winter.
Here are some tips, tricks, and ideas to help you shift your decor seamlessly from Christmas to winter, including some examples from my own home. These changes will help usher in the winter season while keeping your space restful, inviting and cozy.
Tip #1: Start with a Clean Slate
The first step is to remove explicitly Christmas-themed decorations. That means packing away the Santa figurines, stockings, velvet ribbons, ornaments, Christmas Mugs … anything that jumps out to you as on-the-nose Christmas or Holiday.
While you’re putting things away, take the opportunity to deep clean the spaces that were previously occupied by your Holiday decor, especially when moving big pieces like Christmas trees. Vacuum corners, dust baseboards and side tables, and touch up any post-party problem spots on rugs or carpet.
I particularly like to use my Hoover CleanSlate Portable Carpet and Upholstery Spot Cleaner to deal with anything from wine spills to pet accidents and everything in between. High volume holiday foot traffic combined with fallout from parties like food and wine are bad enough… couple that with seasonally messy weather and the holidays can take quite a toll on my nice rugs. My CleanSlate has saved the day many times since I purchased it in January of 2023 and I highly recommend it as part of your post-holiday refresh routine!
Having a fresh, clean slate will help you visualize your winter decor with a renewed perspective.
[I just realized I recommended the CleanSlate in my “clean slate” section, ha!]Tip #2: Keep the Greenery
One of the best ways to transition is by holding onto some of the greenery from your Christmas decor. Pine garlands, faux or real, can stay and be softened to feel less festive and more wintry:
- Simplify the look: Remove any overtly Christmas elements, like bows, baubles, or gilded and glittery accents, and keep the greenery adorned with pinecones or soft neutral ribbons. For example, I like to keep my DIY pinecone picks in the garland but remove the gold “berry” picks and colorful seasonal ribbon.
- Add subtle accents: Incorporate winter elements like twigs, berries, and eucalyptus sprigs to enhance the natural feel. This is a great way to let foraged and natural elements take the stage, as they keep things interesting but are more subtle than the holiday accents.
For garlands and wreaths, keeping them plain with a dusting of faux snow or simple neutral embellishments can make them feel appropriate for the winter season. Discard any real greenery that has had its day and is too tired, otherwise these pieces can be enjoyed for a few more weeks.
Tip #3: Embrace a Winter Color Palette
Christmas decor often leans heavily on reds, greens, and sparkly silver and gold. For a wintery feel, shift to a more muted and softer color palette that reflects the outdoors while keeping a touch of warmth:
- Neutrals: Use whites, creams, soft grays, and taupes to create a calm and serene base. After the stimulation of lots of holiday decor, I always appreciate the feel of “downshifting” to calm comforting neutrals.
- Cool tones: Add in soft blues, various different greens, and subtle touches of silver for a suggestion of winter chill. An ice blue faux-fur blanket on an armchair, a mercury glass candle holder … these are ways I like to add winter color in without a cold feel.
- Warm accents: Incorporate subtle warm metallics like brass and copper or soft blush tones for a bit of contrast and coziness. Mercury glass is particularly useful for bridging this seasonal gap, as it’s “mercurial” (haha) … ok, changeable… and can be silver, or gold, or more elevated, or more relaxed…. it fits in with almost any decor style and looks beautiful as part of winter decor.
Mixing metals and choosing deeper golds, bronze, rose golds, and copper tones shifts the vibe more toward winter than Christmas. Not sure which to go with? Try adding mercury glass to your winter decor for a changeable warm metallic that works with every style.
Tip #4: Embrace Cozy Textures
Winter decorating is the time to focus on warmth and comfort, so bring in textures that make your home feel inviting:
- Throws and blankets: Drape chunky knit throws or faux fur blankets over sofas, chairs, or the foot of your bed. Make sure something cozy is within reach no matter where you or guests choose to sit!
Textures give us an automatic feeling of warmth and coziness. They also add visual interest without feeling loud or busy, so capitalize on that by using velvet, faux fur, and cuddly knits liberally!
- Pillows: Swap out holiday-themed pillows for something in a cozy texture like velvet, wool, faux fur, or cable-knit.
- Rugs: Lay down a plush area rug to create a warm foundation in living spaces or bedrooms. Already have one rug? Add another, maybe in a different texture, for an extra layer of cozy between your feet and cold winter floors. Bonus points for incorporating the winter palette colors (above) in your cozy seasonal rugs!
Tip #5: Layer in Seasonal Elements
There are so many beautiful winter elements you can add to your decor to make your home feel seasonal, not stark. Here are some ideas:
Candles
There is no more perfect season for candles than winter! Opt for unscented white, cream, or even green candles for a minimalist vibe, or choose subtle winter fragrances like pine, cedarwood, or vanilla. I love to burn something gourmand in winter, like cinnamon vanilla. A wood-wick candle is even better for ambiance!
Group candles together on mantels, dining tables, or your coffee table for a soft, inviting glow. Even without physically heating the room, I find that flickering candlelight, a crackling wood-wick, and a cozy fragrance makes the space feel so much warmer. And isn’t that what winter decor is all about?
Natural Accents
- Pinecones: Pinecones look beautiful displayed in bowls or glass cloches. Their warm earthy brown tones and interesting texture make them one of the most perfect decor pieces, especially for winter. Sometimes I display pinecones from autumn all the way through late winter, with only a little rearranging with each season to carry them through.
- Branches: Bare branches or twigs in vases add a striking, minimalist touch. Their interesting texture and calming earth tones add to the outside-brought-in vibe, and they are inexpensive – even free if you snip a few from your yard.
- Living plants: Sometimes I tuck houseplants away in a spare room during the busy holiday season and then pull them back out when it’s time to shift from Christmas to winter decor. Forced bulbs like amaryllis and paperwhites make a beautiful statement, especially pink and white varieties. I like to time their blooming window for post-Christmas color and arrange them with ferns, English ivy, or even softly trailing ivy geraniums like the pink ones I saved from my summer arrangements.
Winter Flowers
Wintery blooms like white roses, hydrangeas, or dried arrangements add beauty without looking too spring-like and bring a refreshing touch of greenery. Combining them with eucalyptus or baby’s breath adds a delicate, wintry look – but always keep pet and child safety in mind when choosing live or dried plants for your home. High quality faux flowers and greenery are a good investment you can use year on year, Christmas into winter.
Tip #6: Reimagine Your Space
The post-holiday cleanup often leaves some areas looking bare. Use this as an opportunity to refresh your layout and give your rooms a fresh look:
- Dining Room: Replace Christmas centerpieces with simple winter arrangements. Swap the festive table runners for one in soft textures or neutral tones. Velvet and linen work beautifully on winter dining tables and sideboards.
- Living Room: If you had a Christmas tree in the corner, consider moving a statement piece, like an etagere or an armchair, into that space. Add neutral accents like decorative snowflake plates or bird and winter tree figurines. Not sure what to put in that newly empty space? It’s ok to take some time to live with a blank wall or unoccupied corner for a short time instead of rushing to fill it.
- Mantels and Shelves: Replace stockings with simple garlands of greenery; swap Christmas figurines like Santas and Angels for a vase full of bare branches, or collections of candles and winter figurines. I keep my collection of wintery tree figurines displayed into the winter months, arranged like a serene winter forest complete with vintage brass deer. Removing the “snow” (a repurposed white faux-fur tree skirt) and sparkly greenery and swapping out the nativity for a white candle tucked into the trees adds a soft glow that says winter, not Christmas.
Reshuffling your furniture after removing large decorative elements is a nice opportunity to try a fresh layout and might spark a creative way to rearrange some pieces.
Tip #7: Create a Warm Ambiance
Winter days are short, and the evenings come early, so lighting plays a big role in setting the mood:
- String Lights: String lights provide a subtle sparkle all season. Leaving a plain lit garland in place or even a simple strand of warm white lights across a doorway or window keeps that cozy glow alive, a welcome comfort in the cold winter months.
- Lamps: Using table lamps with warm bulbs creates a cozy glow. I sometimes add more lamps to my decor post-Christmas, then store them back away during the summer months when they’re not needed. Consider adding a vintage torchiere, or maybe two! And don’t overlook the shade. Interesting prints and textures make an impact in the winter months they might not at other times.
- Fireplace: If you have a fireplace, make the most of it! Decorate the mantel with pared-down greenery and candles. Add a thick cozy rug to sit on, inviting chairs to pull up close to enjoy the crackling flames!
Tip #8: Focus on Functional Decor
Winter is a time for layering up and keeping warm, so why not make your decor functional as well as cozy?
- Baskets: Use vintage baskets to store blankets or firewood. I especially like baskets with lids for storing cozy throw blankets and extra pillows by the couch or a comfy chair. They’re also quite useful for corralling hats and gloves and scarves by the door. Baskets are a good way to make things both functional and aesthetically pleasing at the same time!
- Hooks: How is your entry way doing after the holiday rush? Clear out the coats you’re not using, toss anything in the wash that needs a refresh, and consider adding a basket to house hats gloves and scarves.
- Trays: Using decorative trays to organize hot cocoa supplies or display candles and pinecones is both beautiful and functional. Swapping a holiday tray for one that’s vintage silver or made of rustic wood will help shift your decor into winter and firmly away from Christmas.
Bonus: Kid- and Pet-Friendly Ideas
If you have little ones or fur-kids, make the space welcoming for them too. :
- Soft Play Areas: Use the open floor space left by your Christmas tree as a play zone for kids or pets. Lay down a soft rug and add cushions. Bring out larger toys that might have been tucked away to make room for big decor pieces and ecourage them to have a bit of a romp in the open space.
- Interactive Decor: Let kids arrange pinecones or twigs in vases, or create simple winter crafts to display.
Cats and dogs love open spaces, so keep the area clutter-free for a while to let them enjoy the room.
A Note on Planning Ahead
One of my favorite tips for making the Christmas-to-winter transition seamless is to think about it when you’re decorating for Christmas in the first place. Choose foundational pieces that work for both seasons, like neutral garlands, greenery, and simple ribbons when planning your Christmas displays. This way, when you’re ready to shift, you only need to remove the overtly festive items and can keep the rest in place.
Final Thoughts
Transitioning your decor from Christmas to winter doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By keeping a few key pieces, embracing natural elements, and focusing on textures and lighting, you can create a cozy, beautiful space that celebrates the serene beauty of the winter season.
What are your favorite ways to decorate for winter? Share your ideas in the comments below—I’d love to hear them! Happy winter decorating!
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