Cozy and Clean January Decorating Ideas

How I decorate for January to make my house feel like a cozy, clean winter sanctuary with just a few simple touches to add winter warmth! ⟹

“January Decorating” is not a term you hear very often.

It’s like the middle child in 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, right?

Just in case you were going to skip over January because you are so 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 made my house feel like a cozy, clean winter sanctuary for us to hunker down in and recharge with just a few touches of winter warmth here and there.

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I like to soak in what is 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 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.

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 a copper bowl full of snow dusted pinecones.

I filled the breakfast table dough bowl with a couple of faux Ikea rosemary plants and mini frosted pinecones.

I made the adjoining family room cozy with a few simple changes, ready to snug in and watch tv.

I used throw pillows with warm cuddly textures…cable-knit sweater, fur, and minky snow leopard.

And of course, a couple of throw blankets to snuggle under…

The flicker of candlelight and a fire in the fireplace add to the peaceful, warm mood…

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

I created this winter coffee table vignette by first gathering lots of ivory candles from my stash.

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

Tip: A stack of light, neutral books is a great element to include in any coffee table vignette. I painted the covers of this particular set for a clean look. You can see a DIY vintage version of unbound decorative books I made here that also 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 also got a bit of winter pine and some bleached pinecones after I took away all of the Santas from Christmas. This hutch of my mother-in-law’s is a favorite place to add seasonal touches because I can layer them over the white ironstone that stays in place all year.

You can see all of the reasons white dishes make the perfect decorating accessory here.

In the living room, the Christmas tree as well as the garland filling the mantel are gone, leaving more calming space.

But I miss the magic of the twinkle lights at night, so the winter vignette on the living room coffee table glows with some battery operated fairy lights under soft white snow.

This is my favorite room to read a book 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. I keep another furry throw here for me and my dog to cozy in under.

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.

The dining room sideboard is back to its French look…

You can see a peek of a January Winter Wonderland tablescape I’m working on, 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 Christmas.

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I hope this look around my house gives you some ideas about how to decorate your house in January so that you can appreciate all of the restorative joys of the winter season too!

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