45 Easy Winter Decorating Ideas for a Cozy Home After Christmas

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Ready to take down Christmas decor?  Try any of these 45 easy winter decorating ideas to make your home feel fresh and cozy after Christmas!  These simple winter decorating ideas are perfect for cozy spaces to ring in the New Year!

The holidays are over, the Christmas decor is coming down, and if you’re anything like me, there are mixed feelings of sadness that the festive season is over and equal anticipation of cozy winter decorating ideas around our home.

Even though we don’t have anything close to a winter wonderland here in South Florida, I still like to embrace the winter season and love adding simple winter decorating ideas that give fresh, cozy touches around our home.

Especially with the long evenings and more time at home in a less-busy time of year, I love having a cozy look of winter decorating ideas to the rooms throughout our home.

Today, I’ll share with you some non-Christmas, easy winter decorating ideas that you can easily incorporate into your cozy winter home!

tablescape done with a tray of oranges and orange slice touches to share winter decorating ideas

How to decorate for winter after Christmas?

Before I actually start implementing cozy winter decorating ideas, there are a few important things I like to do around our home.  These steps help me prepare to reset our home for the winter months while feeling like a true refresh for the new year!

  1. Remove all Christmas-specific decor.  This includes anything in Christmas-specific colors, ornaments, bows, and Christmas-themed figures like Santa.
  2. Gently pack and store all large Christmas trees.  (To me, this is anything over a few feet tall.)
  3. Declutter: as I am packing up Christmas decor, it’s a good time to clean out decor I didn’t use or don’t plan to use again.
  4. Completely clear the space, down to the bare minimum with undecorated, flat surfaces.  I often take out even the throw pillows and ALL decor so I have a truly clean slate to deep clean.  Plus, completely undecorated space can really help you start the new year with a blank canvas to create cozy vibes around your home for the cold months.
  5. Deep clean.  Goodness, does it feel good to give our entire home a really good cleaning to start the new year!  For me, spring cleaning happens the MOST during January!
  6. NOW I am ready to start adding back decor in soft neutrals with a lot of texture for cozy winter decorating ideas!
family room styled for winter with small winter trees hanging in baskets on a wall and a gallery wall with winter decor

How to decorate for winter but not Christmas?

​One of the best things about winter decorating ideas is that it is the perfect season for the most simple kinds of decor.  You can also draw from your Christmas decorations to help you get started with simple winter decorating ideas.

Winter decorating ideas don’t need to be expensive, over-the-top, or time-consuming.  In fact, I think cozy winter decor is actually the opposite of all of that!

I’ll show you some specific ways that I incorporate non-Christmas winter decorations throughout our home after the holiday season.  First, though, here is a list to get the creative wheels turning in your own brain!

white apothecary styled with a large corbel and winter trees and decor
large white scale with a small white pitcher with a winter tree inside and a warm, cozy candle

45 Easy Winter Decorating Ideas for a Cozy Home After Christmas

Non Christmas Winter Decorating Ideas with Winter Colors

What are the winter colors for decorating?

First of all, the best colors for your winter decorating ideas are whatever colors you love and want to sprinkle around your home!  However, if you are trying to decide what winter colors to incorporate into your home decor, you simply cannot go wrong with warm, earthy neutrals and metallic textures, such as brass and silver.

Shades of cream, winter white, and ivory are perfect to brighten up any room during the darker days and long nights of the winter season.

Tip:  If you are experiencing the winter blues with your home decor, try brightening up the room with lighter shades of earth tones, lots of candles, and add brass and silver accents!

If you want to add a pop of color, deep greens or shades of blue are timeless choices and great options to mix with an otherwise neutral color scheme.

Some years, I have added a touch of color with shades of rust, terracotta, and cinnamon.  Touches of these warm tones can really help a room to feel cozy without having to add a whole lot of the color around the space.

The little things really do make a big difference in any home decor and especially in winter decorating ideas!

 

Non Christmas Winter Decorating for the Front Door

How to decorate your porch in January?

This is the easiest spot for a quick refresh with some very simple winter decorations!  Plus, at some point, you will enjoy some fresh curb appeal too, after the busy Christmas season!  I keep my Christmas wreaths out and just remove any ribbon, red bows, ornaments, or Christmas lights.  The winter greenery is a perfect way to welcome friends and family in a simple, seasonally-appropriate way that still feels fresh.

I also remove all holiday decorations from my porch and entryway areas before adding winter decorating ideas.  To replace them I add very simple outdoor pillows in neutral colors and outdoor lanterns.  I do love to keep a lot of outdoor flameless candles for a welcoming, cozy glow on our front porch for the winter months!  

My winter theme for the front door and porch is simple!  A cozy space with a touch of winter greenery and the glow of candles on winter nights!

If you like to bring in some snow elements with your winter decorating ideas, a cute snowman or snowflake pillow would be perfect for a bench or rocking chair.  Since we are definitely NOT getting snow here, I tend to leave the snow scene decor for my northern friends.  However, I do love when I see it used in cold weather settings!

view of a cozy winter kitchen and living room

Non Christmas Winter Decorating Ideas in the Living Room

The focal point in our family room is the long gallery wall over the thrifted mantel behind our sofa.  Living in sunny South Florida, we don’t have a fireplace.  However, the mantel is still the main centerpiece of this room.  I love decorating it for the seasons and holidays!

Over the years, I have enjoyed different kinds of winter decorating ideas in this space.  No matter what, though, I always incorporate my favorite budget-friendly tip for winter decorating ideas.

To add a cozy feel to any room and repurpose some Christmas decor (so you don’t have to spend a dime!), I bring winter natural materials into this space with my favorite realistic winter/Christmas greenery.  I’ve linked my favorites HERE for you!

The first step I follow is to remove all of the Christmas elements from this space: ornaments, bells, stockings, and French horns.  I guess a French horn isn’t necessarily just for Christmas, of course, but they are definitely a staple in my Christmas collection now.

For a less-Christmasy look with my winter decorating ideas, I remove them to pack up with Christmas decor.  However, I often leave all of the greenery just like I had it for Christmas for a budget-friendly way (and a time-friendly way!) to decorate with cozy winter decor ideas!

This particular year, I added empty frames, mirrors, and old violins next.  They are so simple but I love how they bring a cozy touch to the space with pretty wood tones and interesting shape and texture.

Then, I added some neutral colored vintage books to give height variation.  Lastly, I added quite a few brass candlesticks and flameless candles.  Just because the holiday season is past doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy a cozy glow during the long, winter evenings!

As a matter of fact, these elements are a great opportunity for more budget-friendly winter decorating ideas.  Almost all of these pieces came from either a thrift store, vintage market, flea market, or antique mall!  Most of my favorite pieces are thrifted, after all!

Tip: Watch at thrift stores for pretty frames that can be easily incorporated into winter decorating ideas.  

You can “frame” natural materials, such a sprigs of evergreen, art prints of winter foliage, or winter nature scenes, on the wall for a curated style.

Collections also make beautiful wall decor, like I’ve done with vintage mirrors, old antlers, vintage prints, or even clocks for winter decorating ideas.  Just as a tray corrals a winter vignette on a coffee table or side table, a big frame can offer clean lines to style a collection on a gallery wall.

Even though this focal point of this particular wall arrangement is really simple, I love the statement piece it is for our winter decor.  The mirrors reflect the cozy candlelight and the old violins feel like they add interest without being season or holiday-specific.  At the same time, the neutral color palette feels peaceful and calming to all of my senses!

view of a gallery wall featuring vintage violins and frames

Non Christmas Winter Decorating Ideas in the Dining Room

Winter decor is a great time to bring in more natural materials and elements.  Last year, I repurposed several seasonal decor items from Christmas to use in our dining room for winter decorating ideas.  Keeping a really neutral color palette was an excellent way to have some fun with the dried oranges we used during the Christmas holidays.  Next, a fun art piece gives a fresh look to the whole room without being too strong.  Also, it ties in with the dried orange slices in the adjoining kitchen for a cohesive decor style and accent.

Then, I used the white lantern houses (similar here) from my Christmas decor.  Since there is nothing Christmas-specific on the houses, I mixed them with vintage gold and silver vintage pieces and added small flameless candles inside of them.  I love how the soft candlelight reflects against the metallic finishes of the vintage decor accents.

Tip:  Glass, mirrors, and reflective surfaces are great ideas for winter decor because they help the natural light or candlelight to bounce around the room.  

Especially during these months when it gets dark so early, reflective surfaces help a space feel brighter and more cozy with a pretty glow.

On the dining room table, you’ll find the most simple kinds of centerpieces.  Again, cozy candlelight and simple, winter greenery are my go-to elements for any table centerpiece with winter decorating ideas, whether it is the dining table or even a coffee table.

Tip:  You can find easy winter decorating ideas specifically for a coffee table on THIS post.

apothecary shelves styled with ironstone, wintery art, and mirrors

Non Christmas Winter Decorating Ideas in the Bedroom

Over on THIS post, I share all of my favorite tips and easy winter decorating ideas to create a cozy winter retreat in the bedroom.  Just as with the other rooms, the first thing to do is pack up all of the Christmas decorations.  However, keep out some evergreen branches or pretty stems if you don’t have fresh ones available outdoors.

The next thing is to focus on a neutral color palette while adding a lot of cozy layers.

Tip: A more neutral color scheme is a great way to get that winter look indoors, as if you’re bringing a snowy landscape inside.  

At the same time,  cozy blankets, pillows, and possibly extra layers of soft bedding are great options for a luxurious look.  These cozy layers and different textures will make your home feel like a cozy winter retreat for those long, cold weather evenings!

cozy bedroom styled with neutral bedding, a large weaved basket and a throw blanket on top, and a small wreath above the bed

How can I brighten my room after Christmas?

Especially when it gets dark so early in the evening, brightening up a room with pretty winter decorating ideas can help it feel fresh for the new year.  These elements of winter decorating ideas will help create a space that feels bright while still being super cozy for the season:

Get more non Christmas winter decorating ideas for bedroom spaces over on THIS detailed blog post!

cozy neutral bedroom styled for winter with neutral bedding and a small wreath overhead

How do I make my house feel cozy after Christmas?

We have chatted about a lot of easy winter decorating ideas for cozy living spaces!  While there are many different ideas of how to create a cozy feeling in your own home, I think the most important factor in creating cozy vibes is whatever actually feels good and comforting to YOU!  This may look a little bit different for every beautiful home!

For me, a cozy feeling starts with calming the senses.  The best way to initially do that, for me, is with a neutral color palette (browse some of my favorite neutral home decor HERE).  

Next, I add items that are soft to the touch: faux fur, velvet, knit, and layers of soft linen are my go-to favorites.

Then I focus on texture.  Elements that bring the outdoors in are always an easy way to add texture.  I like to do this through wood tones, greenery, metallic finishes (old brass and silver) and layers.  (You can browse some of my favorite winter home decor textures HERE.)

close up image of a winter candle with its lid - with a Christmas tree on the lid - next to it

As we wrap up the holiday season and prepare for a new year, I hope these easy tips and winter decorating ideas help you create the coziest spaces for a winter retreat around your own home.

Remember, the easiest way to create a cozy home is to curate it with what you love and what makes you feel relaxed and at home.  At the same time, there are some tried and true tangible winter decor elements you can bring into your home to create the ultimate cozy retreat for winter!

You can browse some of my favorite winter decorating ideas, carefully curated HERE on my storefront!

Happy New Year and Happy Winter!  My wish for your home this year is that it is full of peaceful spaces that bring you and your family so much joy!

Robyn styling ribbon on a decorative tree
I’d love for you to follow me on social media!  You can find my home decor inspiration on Instagram, Pinterestand Facebook!  
Blessings,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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