9 Easy Neutral Christmas Decor Ideas for a Cozy Christmas

by | Holidays

You can create a cozy home decor look with neutral Christmas decor ideas. Get my favorite tips for styling neutrals for the coziest holiday!  

For this portion of my Christmas Home Tour, let’s chat about how to make neutral Christmas decor cozy and inviting in the living room!  

Come on in and keep reading to find out my Number One tip.  It might not be what you think!

Christmas decorating is just the best!  Who agrees?!  Part of the fun is sharing it with friends and family too!  Being a neutral decor loving kind of person, it is especially fun to share some neutral Christmas decor ideas with you.  Using these tips helped me create a super cozy and magical living room space for our family to enjoy together.

I shared our entryway, music room, and family room over on THIS POST.  Today, we are going to head into our living room for some neutral Christmas decor ideas and cozy family vibes.  Actually, this space is really part of a huge sunroom that we’ve divided up to make an extra living and dining space!

Grab a cup of coffee and take a cozy break with me in our Christmas living room!

What are neutral colors in home decor?

Before we jump into all of the fun neutral Christmas decor ideas, I think it’s important to make sure we are on the same page with what colors are included in neutral decor.  The four basic neutral colors are usually considered black, brown, white, and gray.

However, using many shades and combinations of these colors is what brings warmth to neutral living room.  Incorporating different textures in a variety of neutral shades provides interest.  Adding character with well-chosen pieces is the icing on the cake, so to speak, and really helps a neutral living room feel cozy and inviting.

Wood tones, aged patina, variety of materials (stone, metal, wood, textile), and interesting shapes can all contribute to creating a beautiful and cozy neutral living room.

When you’re ready to decorate for Christmas, apply these same principles of color, texture, and character to create the coziest Christmas spaces!

How do I add interest to a neutral living room?

Neutral decor used to kind of have a reputation for being a little blah or uninviting.  While I think the neutral trends of the past few years have changed that perspective, it isn’t all wrong.  Creating a neutral living room that is inviting and interesting requires some intentionality and curated decor choices.  When it comes to neutral Christmas decor ideas, the same is also true!

You all know I love my neutral colors, wood tones, and chippy white patinas.  One of the places where you can find that old patina that gives our neutral living room interest and character is in my back living room.  Over time, we have carefully curated pieces for this space that serve important function for us but also have loads of character.

Neutral Christmas decor doesn’t have to be boring or blah.  In fact, carefully curated neutrals can make a very peaceful, calm, and inviting space for you and your family!

Join me in our cozy, neutral Christmas living room!

Now that we understand how to define neutral colors and spaces, let’s head to the back living room.  Since that is where our little family gathers each morning in December for our Advent reading and gift boxes, it’s an extra special space to me!

9 Easy Neutral Christmas Decor Ideas for a Cozy Christmas

Texture, layers, and lots of character make this a favorite spot!

Our house is really all kind of mixed up, to be honest!  What should be the formal living room is now our music room.  Then, what would be the extra living room is our family room.  That is our favorite spot for movie nights!

Our actual “living room” is located at the back of our house and I love it here!  We have a unique  48′ by 12′ room that runs along the back of our house.  When we were renovating, we tried to carefully think about how we could best use the square footage.

It is solid windows and sliders around two sides and I love all the natural light.  We decided to make this our living room, intentionally free of a TV.  At the other end, we enjoy an extra dining space.  We love to eat there with all the sunlight coming through.

The living room side has become our favorite spot for games, puzzles, reading, and hanging out.  Each morning in December, we gather in this room for our Advent reading and to open the little gift boxes.

Our family Christmas tree is between this living and dining space.  This is where we will spend our Christmas morning, sharing memories and gifts.

All of that to say, this back living room is one of my favorite spaces in our home because it is a space where we intentionally create a lot of memories.  It is also a favorite room because even on a rainy day, it’s full of light.

How can I make my living room cozy for Christmas?

To make this space feel really cozy and inviting, I use lots of layers and textures with my neutral Christmas decor ideas.

Choosing the right mix of furniture pieces to use in this space helps it function so well for us.  At the same time, the furniture also adds a lot of character to create a base for a neutral and cozy Christmas.

Tip: When decorating with neutrals, find ways to add character through interesting pieces and finishes!

Easy neutral Christmas decor ideas #1: Add interesting pieces that tell a story.

Instead of a console table, we use this large, chippy cabinet behind the sofa.  I love that it holds a lot of extra home decor, while keeping it convenient.  At the same time, it also creates a natural break in the room, helping to define the spaces.

Since the decor here needs to look pretty from both sides, I like to find large pieces that have a lot of interest.  This vintage sled is one of my favorite Christmas decor pieces!  I found it at a local shop and I love that it looks pretty from either direction.

Easy neutral Christmas decor ideas #2: Mix finishes for variety.

Keeping with my neutral Christmas decor and theme of “Good Tidings”, I wanted the decor here to have a warm vintage look but also some sparkle.

I added lit tabletop trees (love that they are on a timer!) and faux winter greenery (you can find similar greenery here and here).  For wood tones and height variety, I added a wooden nutcracker, a vintage-inspired white nutcracker, and an extra tall nutcracker, both found at small shops.  The height of the nutcracker balances out the sled.

Since the two smaller nutcrackers are about the same height, I used vintage books  to give some variety in height.  The books also add a different texture while blending with the neutral Christmas decor ideas.

To finish off this cabinet decor and add some more sparkle, I used a garland made of vintage-inspired ribbon and mercury glass ornaments.  The mercury glass reflects the lights in such a pretty way and is really the icing on the cake for this cabinet styling!

Easy neutral Christmas decor ideas #3: Add one or two Christmas textiles.

News flash: you actually don’t need an entire sofa of Christmas pillows!  Actually, a huge benefit of investing in great neutral pieces is that overall, you spend less on season-specific decor.  At the same time, you don’t have as much to store either!

I love our white slipcovered furniture and we use it all throughout our home.  To make it feel cozy and inviting, I like to add a mix of pillows with varying shades of cream and white.  Adding some pillows made from vintage fabric really adds a lot of texture, as does a cozy throw blanket and floor cushions.

Then, you can simply add one or two pretty Christmas pieces to mix with your neural home decor.  If you are in the mood for some Christmas plaids or color, just add them to your neutrals!

I have actually had all of my textiles here for quite some time.  However, there are a lots of fun, new pieces available now.

Easy neutral Christmas decor ideas #4: Repeat color, pattern, and texture for a cohesive look.

What do you put on a coffee table for Christmas?

Tip: use repetition of style, color, pattern, or texture to help a room feel cohesive.  Even if the decor is neutral, you want a good mixture of all of the above.  You can find my go-to formula for styling coffee tables over on this post!

Our coffee table is really the centerpiece of this room.  We use a 6′ antique library table as our coffee table in this space.  As an easy DIY, we cut the legs down to make it a coffee table height.  The extra size makes it perfect for family games and puzzles.  At the same time, I still have a little space to decorate, too, without being in the way of all the fun.

Tip: Don’t be afraid to use large pieces in small spaces.  They can sometimes have better function for you and fill the space nicely, making it feel larger than it is!

What do you put on a table for Christmas?

I always leave most of the table clear of decor and just style up one end.  With my neutral Christmas decor ideas, I started with a vintage bread board as my base.

Next, I added an architectural salvage piece and small tabletop tree that I purchased on an after Christmas clearance sale a few years ago.  For more height variety, I added vintage books.  Then, two wooden nutcrackers finish up the Christmas coffee table vignette.  The books and nutcrackers help tie the coffee table decor together with the cabinet decor, even though they are styled a little differently.

Even though these pieces are all different shades of white, brown, and gray, the variety in the shades of color helps it not seem monotonous.  Incorporating different finishes, patinas, and textures adds some character to blend with our home’s vintage style.

Using these pieces also repeats color, texture, and pattern used on the cabinet, which helps the room feel cohesive.

 

Easy neutral Christmas decor ideas #5: Create a focal point.

The focal point of our back living room is really this vintage postal sorter.  I love this piece from Dreamy White Lifestyles.  Maria brings over the most amazing pieces from France and I love that this unique piece made its way into our home.

During the Christmas season, we use this postal sorter as our Advent calendar. You can read more about how we celebrate Advent, along with some simple suggestions over on  this Advent post.

It is definitely one of my very favorite things that we do for Christmas and it was some of the first decor we set out.  My kids count down the days until our Advent can begin!

If you want to create your own DIY Advent, this little cabinet is another great option!  It is so cute and you could decorate it in whatever way that coordinates with your decor.  Actually, I love the natural, raw finish too!

Easy neutral Christmas decor ideas #6: Resist the temptation to “over do it.”

Since the postal sorter is white, it works perfectly with the rest of our furniture.  I love that it has just the right amount of rusty, worn patina to give all the great vintage vibes to this space.  When it is not the Christmas season, I like to put vintage books, old bottles, or seasonal elements into the cubbies.

During the Christmas season, it is a perfect opportunity to feature it with our special Advent calendar.

However, when you’re styling your own shelves and cubbies, remember that just a few accessories gives enough seasonal accent.  Choose pieces that fit the scale and style of your furniture.  Then, make sure you leave space for the eye to rest too.

Tip: When styling cubbies or shelves, you don’t have to fill every space!  When it’s not being used for our Advent calendar, about half of the cubbies are left empty!  It leaves some places for the eye to rest and doesn’t over-clutter the decor.

Since this piece is vintage, I can’t link it, but I did find a gorgeous wooden postal sorter online for a steal of a deal with free shipping too!  I’ll link it here for whomever is lucky enough to grab it first.

Easy neutral Christmas decor ideas #7: Use vintage vessels.

Pro Tip: you can use these same vessels all year long to hold different seasonal items!

I love all the furniture pieces throughout this space.  However, the smaller accessory pieces really pull it all together.  For Christmas, I added this 6 1/2 foot tree in a vintage crate.  Whether it’s small crocks or ironstone pots, I love using vintage vessels to hold my trees.

Ironstone pots, buckets, or chippy planters are perfect for tabletop trees. Large baskets and crates for work great for large trees.  I think it adds a lot of character!

Awhile back, I found this vintage French basket online and fell in love!  It would be perfect to hold a tree and then be a small side table or coffee table for the rest of the year!

Easy neutral Christmas decor ideas #8: Move furniture intentionally.

Many of us probably have to shuffle around at least some small furniture pieces in order to fit in the big trees, right?  I used this as an opportunity to stack (and unstack) some smaller pieces and create a simple vignette moment.

Instead of a traditional side table, I use a similar vintage wicker trunk on the other end of the sofa.  Actually, I usually have a crate stacked with it for height.  To use the crate for the tree, I just unstacked them and ended up loving it. They add even more texture and interest to the room.  It also adds a touch of the wood tones, but in a light and soft way.

I love that I have invested in pieces that I can mix and match, stack or unstack, and move around to different places!  Plus, it makes the decorating fun and easy to refresh.

A stack of vintage grain sacks and hemp blankets soften this corner and add another texture as well.

Tip: Make neutral decor cozy by adding a variety of textures.  Since they are all neutral, the colors will work together and create layers of goodness!  You could add simple color or Christmas style by adding a red striped grain sack or placing a couple of Christmas packages on top.  Keep it simple!

Easy neutral Christmas decor ideas #9: Keep it simple and functional.

With all the details put together, this room is one of the coziest spaces in our home.  I think the one thing that makes it the most cozy is that it’s a space we all enjoy together.

My number one tip for Christmas decor is to keep it livable and functional for everyone in your family.  All the gorgeous decor is nothing if it keeps my family from enjoying our home!

I hope this gives you some inspiration for making your spaces cozy and giving some life and interest to those neutral Christmas decor themes!

I’d love for you to follow me on social media!  You can find my home decor inspiration on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!  

Blessings,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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