It is finally time…I’m in the “Christmas stays up until Epiphany (at least)” camp and this past week marked the time to put things away.
After the holiday decor comes down the house can look a little sad and empty.
I do leave the window candles up for a REALLY long time even after the magi have returned to the western reaches of the attic and the rest of the Christmas decor is tucked away for another year. Candles equals cozy in my mind and we NEED cozy to survive the cold dark days for the nextt few months.
But the clean sweep - quite literally, since there is always some debris from the decor…renegade sparkles and flocking etc - is an opportunity for a fresh look.
organizing the holiday decor to be packed away
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 - this year we had the new addition of a prelit flocked tree from King of Christmas and it was a beauty! It came with its own body bag, which is a kinder, gentler way to store faux trees rather than stuffing them back in the box!
I also got a beautiful new prelit garland this year and I’ve begun to embrace the whole prelit phenomenon…hopefully these last a good bit longer than my inexpensive versions which had a shelf life of about 2 years before I wanted to murder them.
And now that Christmas is safely tucked away, it’s time to transition to 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 (we considered keeping one of the camels out for a year round conversation starter lol), 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.
console table styling #consoletable #entrytable #tablestyling
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
Style a cocktail table with a tray
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. Or even the promise of spring with some cut flowers from the grocery store!
NOTE: these diva hydrangeas wilted in a day but were revived by our nearly foolproof method (described here).
Pewter pitcher with faux evergreens, berries, and flocked boxwood for a snowy effect
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.
Our coffee table has a hand painted design so minimal styling is plenty to add some layers and texture
Our favorite new coffee table book topped with a wintery snowflake votive holder
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.
We styled this formal 20 foot dining table in classic style with antique silver. An epergne on a tray holds fruit, nuts, and roses in the center of the table and is flanked by a pair of candelabra
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.
Our winter dining table centerpiece arrangement this year. The long, low arrangement suits the table shape and is low enough for diners to see over. Since it is in a container, it is also easy to move when adding a tablecloth or if the space is needed for serving dishes.
We’ve repurposed the faux greens from our Christmas decor and added some gold leaves and white hydrangeas and arranged it all in our bronze oblong gold handled trough.
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 favorite bronze oblong planter with gold handles holds fresh cut greens, gilded pinecones, and silver berries
A simple oblong dough bowl or planter filled with something green could be all you need, or a tiered server with cascading greenery.
Or a two tier pedestal makes a nice and easy-to-move table centerpiece like this wood one with winter greens and a smattering of acorn ornaments.
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).
The before/after transformation of the fireplace below is really incredible.
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.
We added the mantle in this very formal dining room and styled it simply with a painting flanked by antique Imari plates and a pair of ivy filled urns. The addition of greenery adds an organic element to an otherwise very staid symmetrical arrangement. The symmetry continues with a pair of pier cabinets and carved mirrors on either side of the fireplace
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):
