Green is the color of choice for 2022 and nothing says winter seasonal decor like evergreens!

After the holiday decor comes down the house can look a little sad and empty.  

I’m not good at living with minimalism…for one thing we have a lot of stuff that seems to multiply like rabbits! 

I’ve been madly editing my Christmas decor and assorted other stuff and re-homing it all via the Buy Nothing Facebook group.

The Buy Nothing FB groups are a lifesaver BTW!  They are local and are a great way to pass on things you no longer need or love to someone who does need them and will love them! If you don’t belong to one yet, I’d encourage you to check it out.  You can also use them to ask for things you are looking for - it is how I borrowed rollings racks during the great Dressing Room Do Over of 2021.

Today is a snow day here and we have all agreed it is a perfect day to put away Christmas…which we will start soon.  I’ve promised homemade hot chocolate laced with Baileys for the activity and it’s a little early yet to start day drinking!

While you are packing up your holiday decor is the perfect time to edit, purge and repair, and organize so that next season it is all ready to go!  We’ve just packed up the tree decor in separate boxes with one bin for the ornaments for each tree, and one bin for the sprigs, berries, and bows.  

Our faux trees are nice ones - both inherited from my parents, and both pre-lit…which is super convenient UNTIL the lights start to die and they inevitably do this long before the tree itself is at the end of its life.  You can always add lights, sure, and that is what we did this year when large swaths of the tree went dark, but then you still have all those non-working bulbs attached to the branches mocking you!  

In an act of selflessness, for which they want credit 😂, my kids spent several hours yesterday cutting all the built-in lights off the tree before we packed it up so we won’t have this same frustration next year.  It has gone to the attic to rest and recoup in its new wire-free unbound state.

I still have some poinsettias hanging on which I’m not sure what to do about.  I’ve usually killed them off by now.  They are white, so they’ll work for general winter decor until they expire, I guess. 

I KNOW you are supposed to be able to keep them and rehabilitate them next year with hours in and out of a closet etc.  Please don’t tell me about it. I don’t want to babysit my plants and I already feel guilty #badplantmom #lowpriority.  If you want to come rescue them, you are more than welcome to.

Hey, maybe I’ll see if there are any takers on the Buy Nothing group! Update: YES! they are going to a lovely home later!

So now that you have your Holiday Decor put away, it’s time to install some Winter Decor.

Please Note: this post contains affiliate links meaning I may make a small commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you.

Once all the holiday decor is packed up, there are 4 areas where I like to add winter decor

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The Console or Entry Table

Our console table holds our nativity set during the holiday season, but typically gets changed up the rest of the year depending on the available flowers and my mood. We did 5 different console table stylings in THIS post if you need some inspiration for your entry table.  

Many times, an entry table has a mirror above it - often an excellent idea.  This means whatever you put in front of the mirror is going to be reflected and multiplied so it is a great place to include seasonal flowers or greens.

The Coffee Table

I like to keep this surface fairly minimal as we use it a LOT.  This is what we gather around for cocktails or coffee with friends, casual suppers, and binge watching Netflix.  Styling your coffee table or cocktail ottoman mostly on a tray makes it easy to move anything out of the way when you need the surface for food or drinks…or feet!

Our favorite coffee table styling items are candles, books, and something organic.  For winter that could mean evergreens, berries, and pinecones.

Obviously, your table styling should go with the room.  

If you have a modern farmhouse aesthetic or a casual space, rough hewn textures of wood or distressed metal are appropriate.  Pretty, classic wooden board games like backgammon are a great styling item for family room spaces.  For more formal or classic spaces, china, silver, and gilded pieces might make an appropriate addition.  

The Dining Table

Like the coffee table, if the dining table gets used a lot, be mindful of creating something movable on a tray or in a container, or low enough that it can stay without creating a game of peek-a-boo for diners across the table from one another.

Scale the dining table centerpiece to the size and shape of the table and the scale of the room.  If you have a generous size room and glorious high ceilings, a large urn of simple mixed greenery, berries, and some twiggy branches would be smashing.

A collection of candlesticks in similar materials but of varying heights and shapes in a balanced but asymmetrical arrangement can be fun.  Tuck some faux greenery and pine cones in amongst them.  For more on dining table centerpieces, check this post.

Or try a row of evergreen topiaries marching down the center, or a pair of hurricane globes filled with moss balls flanking a low decorative bowl - you could even add floating snowflake candles to the bowl.

A simple oblong dough bowl or planter filled with something green could be all you need, or a tiered server with cascading greenery.

The Fireplace Mantel.

Oh how I WISH my living room had a fireplace.  If you are lucky enough to have a fireplace in a primary living area, you are OBLIGATED to decorate it well.  Post holiday winter decor for here is similar to that for console tables. 

Winter greenery and candles or lanterns are obvious, but what you put on a mantel is limited by the depth of the space available.  If you have an anemic mantel, consider upsizing it this year by adding a layer to the mantel shelf to build it up, or in the case of stone and brick, covering the current mantel shelf entirely with a new, beefier one (or adding one if there is none at all). We often design these for clients - a surprising number of mantel shelves are undersized for the scale of the fireplace or the scale of the room.

For mantels, there are symmetrical and asymmetrical options.  Symmetry is more formal and static, asymmetrical is more dynamic and a little more casual.  I’ve shared 6 easy mantel styling ideas HERE . 

In short, winter decor is all about the greenery and nature of the season.  Keep it simple, use greens, pinecones, and berries, vary the textures, add some snow references with flocked greens or snowflake candles, and have fun with it!

We’ve assembled some decor with shoppable links for you (click on image for link to purchase):

Happy Decorating!