Essentially EmmaMarie
How to Decorate Your Home for Winter
Christmas comes and goes so quickly but in Pennsylvania where I live, winter does not go as quickly. I always feel a bit bereft after taking down the Christmas tree and all of my Christmas decorations, so I decided a while ago that I wouldn’t take down all my Christmas decor at once. It is cold and, except for the sporadic snowfall, it is quite bare outside and will be for several more months. I don’t want the inside of my house to feel bare as well. I want it to feel cozy—extra cozy! Winter is a season too, after all, and I want to decorate for winter!
How I Decorate for Winter
Since I just can’t quite cope with taking away all of my Christmas and winter decor at once, I tend to leave up greenery (if you use faux you have the ability to do this); I have little trees that look wintery and instead I only take down things that are expressly Christmas-related. There is some discussion over whether to leave up decor that is glittery and my feeling is this—if you like it, leave it, and if you’re tired of it take it down. I would say by conservative standards you should take down anything glittery, but since I like glitter to brighten up winter’s darkness, I leave it. Typically, I don’t use any red in my decor throughout the year except I do add in a touch or two of red in autumn and at Christmas. So I also take down most touches of red unless I have berries in with my greenery. As I said, we still have another two or three months of snowman-making weather so the snowmen don’t have to leave yet! I also keep up certain glittery accents as well—trees, frosted evergreen accent balls, silver deer figurines, etc. I love the look of white, glitter-dusted branches. I love it when the branches outside glisten with snow and frost and I love it inside as well—faux snow and frost that is!
My rule is: If it’s true in nature, it can be true in my decor!
Keep it Cozy
Think of your home decorated for Christmas in all its cozy goodness and what do you picture? Try stripping away all the elements that are overtly Christmas-y and leave all the candles, lights, and anything else that looks super cozy to you! This is what I call decorating for winter. Maybe you decide to take down the glittery accents and trees but still want something to make your home special through winter—think cozy! Throws, pillows, and candles can really warm up and transform a space. You want your decor to appeal to all the senses and in winter I love to appeal to the eyes and the sense of touch. It has been said that we feel texture with our eyes as well as our hands, so bring in lots of different textures. Replace pristine books with worn, warmer-looking books; faux fur pillows look soft and warm; woven baskets to chase away the sterile feel of a home devoid of Christmas.
Want other touches of winter? Here’s a quick list of some of my favorite winter decorating items:
Branches—bare branches in a big vase (These can be a show stopper!)
Pinecones
Evergreen and frosted evergreen branches
Candles, candles, and more candles!
Faux fur pillows and throws
Deer sheds (antlers)
Twinkle lights
Logs in the fireplace—even if it’s not a working fireplace!
Faux sheepskin throw
Remember What You Like
Scandinavian Decor
Over the last few years Scandinavian decor style has gained popularity. This style is known for lots of white, minimalism, and crisp, clean lines. Scandinavian decor also incorporates a lot of candles and faux fur, and evokes feelings of hygge. (The closest translation to this word is coziness, but think of being snowed-in in a cabin with a warm fire while the pine trees outside are covered in snow and you’ll get the idea.) If you’ve ever been a fan of this style of decor and wanted to try it, this time of year is a great time to add a few of these elements.
I want glitter and branches and basically want my home to transform from a Christmas wonderland to a winter wonderland for the next few months. What do you like? I think winter is also a great time to add more white to your decor than usual. Also, maybe you keep a pretty traditional-style home but would like to incorporate more vintage elements into your home—why not try it now?!
Maybe you are tired of some of the colors and decor you have been using as staples in your home, take this season as a little breather and an excuse to play and have fun with your décor. I think the number one reason we get bored with anything is because we stop having fun with it. So have fun! Check out my post on “Creating a Cohesive Color Pallet” as a springboard for ideas if you have the urge to switch up some of your décor.
Purge
Christmas came and with it a few new additions to my home, so after Christmas I love to purge and reorganize. It is a great time of year to ask yourself what things have you held onto for another year and still have never used. If you haven’t used an item and it is not an heirloom—pitch it!
Likewise, I like to do an audit of my home: where are the pain points? What drawer do I continually keep telling myself that I need to sort? This year I even switched a few things around in my kitchen to help it function better!
Dresser Makeover Inspiration and DIY
We are in the process of setting up a nursery for our first child! It has been so much fun to think of all the possibilities to decorate a room for a new little one, and of course there is some specialized furniture we will be needing; namely a changing table. We had an old dresser that had been given to us but which we didn’t have an immediate need for so it had been living in the basement. However, it is shorter in height, and longer in width, making it the perfect size for a changing table. There was just one problem- it looked a little dated. It was time for some repurposing for this old dresser!
Tips To Make Your Home (and your life) Run Smoother This Year!
How is your new year going thus far? Are you sticking with all the new commitments you said you wanted to do this year? Or are you struggling? If you are anything like me and enjoy a quieter start to the year, where you slowly start to focus on things that a cumulative effect th throughout the year then read on for a few of the tips that I have accumulated over time to help give me back some of my time and streamline some of life’s most mundane tasks in areas such as meal planning, laundry, and developing and cleaning and tidying routine- you know, all the fun stuff!
How to Decorate Your Home for Winter
Christmas comes and goes so quickly but here in Pennsylvania winter does not go as quickly. I always feel a bit bereft after taking down the Christmas tree and all of my Christmas decorations at once, so I decided a while ago that I wouldn’t take it down all at once! Here it is cold and except for the sporadic snowfall, it is quite bare outside as well for months. I don’t want the inside of my house to feel bare as well! I want it to feel cozy- extra cozy! I want to decorate for winter, after all winter is a season too! Here are some ideas of how to decorate your home for winter.
Sweet Recipes for this Christmas Season
Growing up it never was officially Christmas until I went over to grandma and grandpa’s and there was peanut brittle in grandma’s crystal trifle dish, which everyone in the family called “The Peanut Brittle Dish”. When the peanut brittle appeared in the dish and grandma hung her little decoupages and dollars on the china cabinets handles, we knew that Christmas had arrived!
Homemade Ornament Ideas
The winter weather always inspires me to get a little more crafty! I think this is due in part to the fact that there is all kinds of cute decor out there to be made but also when I was growing up our community would host a craft show in which you could open your home to the public for a craft show for several days. We would participate with our neighbors in this holiday craft show and the weeks leading up to it would have my mother and I furiously crafting in an effort to have enough inventory for the show. The crafty bug has hit me again and I have two Christmas ornament crafts for you!
Christmas Inspiration
Are you ready for Christmas? I am so ready! I love all the days in the holiday season starting with Thanksgiving, from getting out and doing a little shopping on Black Friday to going out and getting a real Christmas tree. I love shopping for presents; I love wrapping presents; I love baking with family; I love the Christmas parties (probably the only kind of parties that this homebody gets excited about!), but I have to say above it all, one of my most favorite activities of the Christmas season is decorating my house! It almost makes the whole ordeal of growing up, finding a way to earn an income, and paying bills worth it! Today I’m sharing some of my favorite Christmas decorating ideas as well as some things you can start doing to prepare for the holidays to make them a little less stressful!
How to Transition Your Decor From Fall into Early Winter
We made it through the spooky month! I admit, I’m not the biggest fan of spooky decor. (There are worse faults a person could have!) But, now what? Done with the Halloween stuff but not quite ready to tear into all the Christmas decor? Here are a few ways to keep your home nice and cozy, just by adding a few touches of winter to your decor—and you don’t have to pack up your pumpkins.
Soup Recipes to Warm You Up This Winter
I have always been a soup-and-salad-type of girl. I love soup, as in I could (and do) eat it all year round! I realize that while not everyone may enjoy soup all year long, most of us can enjoy a good bowl of soup in these colder months. Here are several of my...