16 Winter Decorating Ideas

After the holidays, warm up your interiors with these elegant, whimsical and casual decor ideas from designers.

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October 31, 2016

By: Lori Johnston

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Photo By: Casto Photography & Cinema

Photo By: Eduardo Rodriguez/The Home Depot

Photo By: Casto Photography & Cinema

Photo By: Christina Wedge

Photo By: Lowe’s

Photo By: Melanie Robinson

Photo By: Casto Photography & Cinema

Sylvan Centerpiece

Wintery white dishes set the table for post-holiday meals and entertaining. Karin Jeffcoat of Cote Designs, a floral and event studio in Aiken, S.C., gathered paperwhite bulbs and pinecones, then added a hint of moss to assemble this casual, organic dining room centerpiece.

Ready to Bloom

When you swap out holiday plates for items you use in your home throughout the year, look for new ways to display old pieces. Karin Jeffcoat of Cote Designs in South Carolina used vintage milk glass for this tablescape, including setting one bowl on top of a cake plate. The dishes already have a wintery white look. She then filled them with paperwhite bulbs that complement the pinecones on the table, knowing they will bring even more warmth to the interiors when they bloom.

Rustic Placecard Holder

Replace the color and glitz of holiday placecard holders with simple, rustic ones. South Carolina floral and event designer Karin Jeffcoat created placecard holders by setting individual pinecones in tiny urns. Pinecones can transition your home from the holiday season into winter.

Woodsy Texture

Usher in the winter season with texture. Dig through your cabinets or scout thrift shops for patterned vases and bowls, which can be filled with pinecones and bulbs, like these paperwhites selected by floral designer Karin Jeffcoat. Use different finishes and designs to give the tabletop an informal, eclectic look. “I love the texture of the bulb itself,” she adds.

Bits of Green

After Christmas, those once festively adorned spaces on tables and in bookshelves may feel empty. Warm up the winter months with hints of natural greenery, especially in shades that differ from traditional holiday hues. “Greens are a soft accent for the house,” says Karin Jeffcoat of Cote Designs. Here, she used reindeer moss that is preserved to give it that chartreuse color, but you can also forage items, such as magnolia leaves, from your own yard.

Scandinavian Inspiration

To update a wreath for the winter, use white paint and fake snowflakes, like interior designer Eduardo Rodriguez of The Designer Pad did for this tablescape. He upcycled pinecones, which are dipped in white paint for a shimmery effect, and arranged them in terra cotta pots that he painted white and gray. The rest of the pots hold colorful candies and cookies for a casual Scandinavian-inspired winter get-together.

Cozy and Modern

With their thick, fleshy leaves, succulents give a more modern edge to decorating for winter. Floral and event designer Karin Jeffcoat upcycled old cable-knit sweaters to make cute, versatile container covers that balance that modern feel with a cozy warmth needed to get through a long winter indoors. This foursome could be a coffee table vignette, or you could make more to run down a dining table, interspersed with pinecones and dried pomegranates.

Long-lasting Extras

Pinecones and dried pomegranates can help decor last well beyond the holidays. Karin Jeffcoat of Cote Designs used glass cylinders to hold small succulents, by using a filler and then inserting a smaller pot with the succulent so it would peek over the top. She covered the cylinders with pieces of sweaters.

Winter Bundles

Upcycle pieces of an old sweater, or even flannel, for a creative koozie to hold a low-maintenance succulent. Karin Jeffcoat of Cote Designs, a floral and event studio in Aiken, S.C., combined several succulents for this adorable winter look.

Clever Container

To make the winter look last, you can secure the sweater fabric around a vase, glass cylinder or pot in a couple of ways. You can hand sew the fabric together, like Karin Jeffcoat of Cote Designs did here, or hot glue it.

Whimsical Mantel

A flock of tiny owls nestled on a mantel brings a whimsical woodsy element and texture to a winter landscape above the fireplace. You even could leave up some of your greenery and berries for this post-holiday look assembled by Atlanta designer Ann Wisniewski.

From: Ann Wisniewski

Wintery and Wonderful

Add a fluffy white cushion to an antique chair, or any wood or metal seat, to give your room an instant touch of snowy elegance. Atlanta designer Robin LaMonte also placed glittery snowflake cutouts in the built-in display cabinet and filled in the spaces with greenery and jewel-toned items.

From: Robin LaMonte

Iced Effect

Fill vases with a shiny finish, such as mercury glass, with iced branches and flowers to give your holiday centerpiece a sophisticated winter refresh. Add a few snowflake votives (these are Allen + Roth brand from Lowe’s) to transition into your new year look. Then while packing up ornaments, keep out shapes such as pinecones or finials, that can finish off the transformation.

Glitter and Gold

Glittery pinecones and greenery can take your winter decor into the new year in a fresh and festive way. Georgia interior designer Melanie Robinson updated these pinecones by covering them with a spray adhesive, placing them in a ziplock bag and tossing in clear glitter. She doubled up on bowls to add weight to the coffee table vignette and then brought in fresh greenery from her yard to add height to a brass vase she picked up at a thrift shop.

Fresh Florals

After the holiday plates, platters and placemats are stored away, add a new element of greenery through fresh flowers and topiaries. The lemon cypress topiaries and Star of Bethlehem in urns provide a touch of green, whether on a table or on a mantel, says floral and event designer Karin Jeffcoat.

Green and White Redux

White and green is a universal palette that can transition nicely into post-holiday decorating, especially if you remove stronger holiday hues such as red. Karin Jeffcoat of Cote Designs filled small urns with fresh flowers, including white hydrangeas and dainty Star of Bethlehem.

16 Winter Decorating Ideas

Related To:

Shop This Look

Sylvan Centerpiece

Ready to Bloom

Rustic Placecard Holder

Woodsy Texture

Bits of Green

Scandinavian Inspiration

Cozy and Modern

Long-lasting Extras

Winter Bundles

Clever Container

Whimsical Mantel

Wintery and Wonderful

Iced Effect

Glitter and Gold

Fresh Florals

Green and White Redux

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