Cozy Winter Decor

It’s the week after Christmas, and it’s that weird time where you’re not sure if you should take down the Christmas tree, stockings, and lights or if you should leave them up just a few more days. You know, until at least the new year, right?

You love your Christmas decor, but that pillow you have specifically screams Christmas, and everything is red and green. You just want to put it all away until next year and start the new year off fresh – I totally get it.

However, wouldn’t it be nice if you could simply remove one, maybe 2 things that exemplify Christmas and the rest of your cozy winter decor could stay up well into the new year?

 

I finally learned this decor magic trick from a pro cozy minimalist, Myquillin Smith, aka The Nester. Last year, she was offering her decorating course, The Cozy Minimalist, and the winter session was open for purchase. I bought it the first week of December, and it changed the way I looked at decorating for the holidays (and seasons, really) forever.

Sign up for her course now and save $5! Use the code SAVE5 at checkout!

 

The Cozy Minimalist Mindset

Her mantra is “more style, less stuff.” After losing a spouse and moving half way across the country, I could completely relate to the less stuff part. After losing Kenny, and essentially the life we had built together, I felt such a strong urge to clean, declutter, and start fresh. The 1st Christmas after he had passed away, I realized how much Christmas decor I really had. And although I hadn’t taken the course yet, I knew I could go through it all and pair down my collection.

Fast-forward to moving all my possessions across the country later that next year, I was thankful for doing that mini-decluttering. However, I knew I could get rid of even more. After taking (really watching) The Nester’s course, I looked at my holiday, winter decor (not just Christmas) through a different lens. More through a “how do I want this space to feel” lens instead of “how do I want it to look.”

 

Winter Decor vs. Christmas Decor

I also stopped buying “Christmas” decor, and instead, started looking for winter decor. When you buy holiday-specific decor, it shortens the time you can have it out.

For me, I wanted our winter home to feel cozy and holiday-y that didn’t scream Christmas (aka red & green everywhere). So I decided on a new color palette this year – blushes, gold, creams, jewel tones. I also actually started this theme in the fall – add a pretty mustard gold pillow or 2 on the couch, and you have more of a fall, harvest vibe.

 

BLUSH VELVET PILLOW | POM THROW | WINE VELVET PILLOW | WICKER WALL HANGINGS (vintage, but similar HERE)

 

Cozy Textures

I also choose lush textures, like velvet, to give that cozy, holiday feeling. The throw pictured in our living room was less than $10! And now let’s talk pillows. I have a really hard time spending $25+ on a pillow. I’m thrifty, and $25 seems like A LOT for a pillow. So I constantly watched sales and coupons, and as soon as these blush velvet pillows went on sale, I snagged them up! I also love the exposed gold zipper on them – which also lends to changing out the pillow cover from season to season without having to buy a whole other pillow AND storing another pillow! Space and money-saver!

I did end up paying full price on the larger pillows. But I figured I had had my others for years, so it was time to re-invest in the space and buy the $30 oversized pillows. If I wanted, I could slip these into a different cover come spring. Or I could also just work this color into my spring palette or pull out my lighter colored ones too!

 

Cozy Winter Decor

Throughout the main living space, I added touched of winter – twinkle lights (battery-operated!), bottle brush trees, a couple white ceramic houses, garlands (one lighted and one real), wooden bead garland, my beloved canvas Santa, stockings.

 

To convert my “Christmas” decor back into cozy winter decor, all I need to do is remove the Christmas tree, stockings, and a couple of other items. Then, I would still have a fresh, but still cozy winter space for the next couple of months!