Three Easy Ways to Transition from Holiday to Winter Decor

Inside: Three simple tips to bring a calm and cozy feeling into your home after the holidays!

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Happy New Year!! 🎉

If you haven’t already done it (like me), it’s time to start thinking about packing away all of the holiday decorations for another year. After living amongst so much seasonal decor since fall, you might feel stumped about what to put in its place. Well, I’m giving you permission to (mostly) not replace it at all!

Really, don’t overthink decorating for January and February. It’s as simple as cleaning, editing, and adding in a few items you already have around you.

So let’s talk about the three basic things I do to transition out of the holidays into the new year!

1. Think Clean and Fresh, Like the Start of a New Year.

After all of the festive and abundant Christmas decorations and the breakneck pace of decorating, shopping, wrapping, cooking, and celebrating, the vibe I am so ready for in January is making my home feel peaceful. Tranquil. Cozy. Fresh. And clean.

I welcome the slower pace, and love to sit on my sofa with a book and my dog snuggled under a blanket. It just feels like a big restorative “aaaaahhhhhhhhh“.

But the bareness can seem a little shocking while we adjust from the vibrance and fullness of the holidays in our rooms to less decor. Other than the summer months, January and February are the only time of year that I have minimal seasonal decorating. Where my home just pretty much has its basic decor with a few touches of the season. I actually embrace the more minimal feel after removing the extra holiday “stuff” of fall and winter.

The new year is all about a fresh start. A clean slate. This makes winter the perfect time to clean out. To make a peaceful space to reflect, rest and plan for the new year in. It’s also the best time to note any room plans and goals that I’d like to complete in the coming year.

Now that I have my rooms pretty much down to basics, I like to use this time to clear the visual clutter of my decorative spaces and use a fresh eye. Do I have things that scream, “I’m a trend from 10 years ago” that I can repurpose or remove? Have I mindlessly added too many little things?

SH&H Tip: Vignettes or sizable items always look better than several smaller ones just placed about and not tied together. See more tips for scale and proportion here.

2. Remove the Red and Think Warm and White.

In order to achieve that restful, tranquil, and cozy feeling I want in January, I think neutral colors and warmth. One of the first things I look forward to doing is removing all of the energizing red from the Christmas color scheme. Then I bring in the light that we crave in the dreary long winter months by adding in white and light-colored accessories.

I widely use white dishes as home decor. They offset the dark areas and brighten things up overall. And I love their simplicity this time of year after I take away any things I’ve layered with them that might speak more to fall and Christmas.

See my post all about decorating with white dishes here.

I also bring back my white flowers. My dining table and entry table feel so fresh that they can work from now all the way through spring!

Since this time of year is still cold, it’s important to balance out all of this lightness with some warmth. I do this with lots of texture. Cozy blankets and throw pillows do double-duty here as they bring in light color as well as add texture and warmth. There are sooooo many texture options for both. Fur, cableknit, tassels, poms, just to name a few!

Other textures that cozy things up in my rooms are warm wood tones and wicker.

Candle light adds warmth and peaceful mood to this table centerpiece:

And the warm glow from the fireplace makes the living room space feel inviting to curl up in.

3. Go Natural.

My cure for the starkness of the lack of holiday decor and the cloudy, cool winter season is to bring in touches of nature. January and February are a little early for too many flowers so greenery adds the cheer and life that a room needs!

I also use lots of pine cones as rustic, textural, and free winter decor. I have a bag of all sizes that are a go-to for decorating, fall through winter. Natural elements and textures also come in from burlap, twine, and rattan:

Some of the frosty greenery and topiaries from the holidays still feel appropriate for January and sometimes stay in place. And lemons are a great way to bring brightness and a fresh feeling into the kitchen.