Cozy and Clean January Decorating Ideas
Inside: How to decorate for January to make your own home feel like a cozy, clean winter sanctuary with just a few simple touches to add warmth in the winter months!

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“January Decorating” is not a term you hear very often.
It’s like the middle child of the holiday and spring family that gets less attention than its siblings.
And after our homes are dressed up to the nines during the holidays, the rooms just kind of want to hang out in their PJs and relax this month.
Just in case you were going to skip over January because you are tired of decorating from the holidays, I’d like to make a case for what January decorating is really all about.
I’ll show you how I used just a few winter decorating ideas to make my house a cozy, clean winter sanctuary for us to hunker down in and recharge.

I like to soak in what’s special about each and every time of year, and January is no different. It’s finally cold outside, so our focus is spending more time inside staying warm, and recharging from the holiday busyness. I’ve finally gotten all of my holiday finery boxed up, and the house just feels more peaceful.
Instead of the abundant, colorful holiday explosion of Christmas decorations all around, January is a time for reflection and recharging. For comfort and coziness. And for calm and clean.

Simply removing all of the holiday decorations left lots of wonderfully empty and calming space. And somewhat of a blank slate.
January Decorating Ideas for the Kitchen.

In the kitchen, I left a lot of empty, clean counter space. I softened things up some with neutral greenery in this rustic white vase.

And added some warmth with copper with a bowl full of snow dusted pinecones.


I filled the breakfast table dough bowl with a couple of faux Ikea rosemary plants and frosted small pine cones.

January Decorating Ideas for the Family Room.
I made the adjoining family room cozy with a few simple changes, to make it inviting to snug in and watch TV.

One of the easiest ways to make the sofa ready for snuggling is with throw pillows in warm cuddly textures—cable-knit sweater, fur, and minky snow leopard.

And of course, a cozy throw or two to curl up under.

The flicker of candlelight and a fire in the fireplace are always a great way to set the peaceful, warm mood for winter in the family room.

I replaced the tray of sparkly Christmas baubles on the coffee table with this round wicker tray filled with warm texture.

I created the cozy look for this simple winter coffee table vignette by gathering lots of white candles from my stash—no candle holders required.

I filled the tray in with more frosty pinecones and warm wood chain link decor on top of a stack of books for even more cozy texture.

SH&H Tip: A stack of light, neutral books is a great element to include in any coffee table vignette. You can see the DIY unbound book bundles I made here that make excellent decorating tools!

I placed a simple woven basket of faux pine on the mantel, keeping it unfussy and mostly bare, with a small nod to winter.

The hutch switched to winter with a few natural elements. A added a little bit of winter pine and bleached pinecones after I stripped away all of the Santas from Christmas. Adding a touch of the season over the usual white dishes is one of my favorite ways to decorate this heirloom hutch for the holidays.

January Decorating Ideas for the Living Room.
In the living room, the Christmas tree as well as the garland filling the mantel are gone, immediately making our home feel cleaner and calmer.
And I added only two simple, cozy winter decorations in here.

I miss the magic of the twinkle lights at night, so a strand of battery-operated fairy lights in a simple winter coffee table vignette was an easy way to keep it going. I love its soft glow underneath the faux flake snow:

This is my favorite room to read in, and the lights and a fire in the fireplace really soothe my soul as I sit in here with a good book or a stack of decorating magazines. The only other winter decoration needed was this faux fur throw for me and my dog to cozy in under during the cold weather.

The garlands are gone from the banister, which for some reason is usually what feels the emptiest when I take them away, but I also welcome the cleaner look here! Since I add lots of warm whites for winter, I’ve gone ahead and put white flowers into the foyer urn that can stay through spring.

January Decorating Ideas for the Dining Room.
The dining room sideboard went back to this seasonless French look:

And I transitioned into a January Winter Wonderland tablescape, based on things I left in place from the red and white Christmas tablescape.

More winter pine and greens, and warm white berries replace the red roses from the holiday season.

I hope these winter decor ideas inspire you to make your own home cozy so that you can appreciate all of the restorative joys of this time of the year!

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Thank you for such great ideas for January decorating! After removing the Christmas decorations, combined with the great snow we had last night, our house look bleak. I’m going back to the attic and retrieving some greenery and electric candles. I still have some pine cones I picked up in the fall. I don’t have those beautiful finials, but I do have glass trees. I can’t wait to get started to decorate for my birthday month! Thanks again! You’re a genius!
The greenery and candles make a huge difference. Thank you for your sweet comment and Happy Birthday!!
Thanks for the winter tips. You have a beautiful home. I’m on fixed income and have modest home, but appreciate ideas. Keep up the BEAUTIFUL good work.
Thank you! I’m so glad you found them helpful Karen!!
Hi Kate- I love your home and your down home personality. It’s like I’m visiting with a friend. I too love my home when it’s decorated for Christmas, but am so excited and renewed when I take it down and have that clean sparser look for the rest of winter.
Awww thank you Kathy!! I love hearing from reader friends like you!💗
Thanks, Kate, for sharing ideas that we can all do, spruce up our homes and get rid of the January blahs.
You’re welcome Nancy!
Love how you transitioned your home from the holidays to winter. Beautiful!
Thank you my sweet friend!
Thank you for the January tips and pushing me into action. The house always looks so “flat” when the Christmas decorations are put into storage. My “flat” house has been screaming at me all these years to do something, but I only pushed forward into Valentine’s Day…..as if the calendar did not have the month of January. Well, duh!!! Wake up, Donna!
Love your work and imagination! I worked for many years in the legal field (my parents idea, not mine ). I always wanted something like interior decorating – something colorful and pretty. Retired in my late 80s now, still waking up those deep desires for beauty and organization.. Thank you for being a great teacher and mentor..
Happy New Year Donna! Your comments are always so encouraging and I truly appreciate them every time. I think decorating our homes is a wonderful creative outlet for those of us that can’t paint or draw! 😃
You have a gorgeous home and you have a sweet spirit about you.
You have a beautiful decorating style and I’m definitely going to incorporate your tips for January decorating.. I usually keep my “winter village” up until the end of January. There isn’t any red or green only neutral colors.
Thanks again for this post!
Thank you so much Laurie – your sweet words made my day!
Beautiful and inspirational! BTW – where did you get the wooden links displayed on your table? Fabulous!
Thank you Penny! Those links were a HomeGoods find a couple of years ago.
What a beautiful home you have.
The kitchen island is definitely my very favorite.
Thanks so much for the kind words Pati! I would have to say the island is one of my favorite things we added to this house when we bought it.
I just adore copper as well. Love your eye for detail. I pinned this as well.
Thanks so much Brooke!!
Love the decorative ‘January’ touches; it sure is inspirational!
Thank you Sara! It’s not much but seems appropriate for this in between time.