Are you over all the excessiveness for Christmas? Ready for a clean and crisp home to finish out winter and welcome spring? Today, I’m sharing some easy ideas that will help your home feel cozy as you wait out the winter, while also crisp, clean, and refreshing, too!
The Beauty of a Winter’s Rest in the Home
Whew! Christmas feels like a month (or more!) long marathon. After all the busyness, doesn’t it feel good to have permissions to rest and relax and recharge before the activity of spring picks up again?
I definitely feel that, and after Christmas, when I look at my house, all I think of is that I want to scale back, declutter, clean up, and then just be cozy and relax while I wait out the winter.
I’ve found that you really can create a space for the best of both worlds – crisp and clean, while also being cozy and relaxing.
To me, crisp and clean equals calm and serene, which is cozy and comforting. So, in a way, I don’t think cozy and clean are opposites, but more synonymous that I might originally think.
So let’s talk about how to achieve this.
Crisp & Clean Design Elements: a Bright & Fresh Aesthetic
When I think of crisp decor, I think of openness, light and airy decor placement, even along the lines of minimalism, especially for winter.
I like to combine that with the brightness and freshness of greenery, whether that is faux winter greens, or bright green house plants.
All of those details feel crisp and clean to me, again the bright whites and neutral decor.
It’s the contrasts that help provide the crispness and cleanness.
While sometimes spring and summer get to own the light and airy aesthetic, I think it also provides the cleansing of the air in winter as well.
Sleek materials like metals also can contribute to that clean, smooth, feeling.
When you think of crisp and clean, I definitely follow the saying of ‘less is more.’ Less decor is more room for open space and an open flow of a room. It feels calmer, less cluttered.
So when creating a crisp and clean area, ask yourself, ‘How can I make this space feel calm?’ And usually, less is more!
Cozy Accents: Inviting Warmth and Comfort
Like I said, I don’t think of clean and crisp as opposites of cozy and inviting. To me, crisp and clean feel cozy if not in a traditional sense, but in a calming, relaxing sense.
However, it is cold out in the winter, so traditional cozy is important too.
I think of the soft textures like knit blankets, fuzzy pillows, pom poms of snowballs as well as on the ends of blankets. all of that create cozy.
Layering those textures are wonderful also… cotton, velvet, wool… all of those accents create a wonderful place to relax.
Cozy also includes the other senses as well… the taste of hot cocoa or warm coffee, the scents of cinnamon, pine, and vanilla… all of those elements create that kind of cozy we want in winter.
A cozy tiered tray and coffee bar is a great way to accomplish that!
Lighting also has a lot to do with cozy. Lighting can also be used in ways of lots of natural light to lift the spirits, fairly lights in lanterns, candles, or other ambient lights like floor and table lamps.
While I’m definitely a bright light gal and like all my light bulbs ‘daylight’, winter might be the one time where I don’t always want those harsh, overhead lights.
The warm lights balance the winter’s cold – and those warm white Christmas lights are great for accents around the house.
When it comes to decor styles… I admit I like a mix of modern minimalist along with cozy rustic, especially in the winter.
Those rustic elements of chipped paint, wood edges, and natural elements like birch, pine, and cedar all add to the cozy feel. These shine and clean lines of metals also add the crispness I like for winter, too.
So don’t shy away from mixing styles if they contribute to a relaxing, calming aesthetic for the winter.
A Cozy Nook
I’d definitely encourage creating a space for this if you have the room.
It might be an afternoon or evening tradition you adopt in the winter months, when it gets dark so early. Curl up with a cozy throw blanket, a book, coffee, and spend a little time unwinding.
I realize that if you’re in the weeds in the baby or toddler phase, that might not be a possibility. But even if you can have your little one snuggle up with you, that would be a wonderful way to unwind and decompress together.
Winter Home Decor Suggestions
Of course, there are winter accents you can add all through your home.
Winter DIY projects are a great way to unwind and make the best use of being indoors. Both the sweater vase and tiered tray are simple DIYs!
Winter wreaths (lots of times, you can repurpose a Christmas wreath) look beautiful both on the front door and throughout the house.
{In the wreath photo below, you can see a mix of cozy rustic and sleek modern gold-themed decor! Cozy + clean and crisp!}
Winter greens and pine cones (more Christmas decor leftovers) work brilliantly as winter decor also.
Winter wall art – photography, watercolor prints, botanical prints even, (printables are a great option – temporary and cheap!) – can add those festive touches as do other winter accents like lanterns, birch trees, wooden snowflakes, and birch candles.
Below is a mix of a botanical print, bare winter trees and birches, paired with the crispness of icicles as well as the warmth of candles and coziness of felt ball garland. Checks off all the boxes!
Warm and Inviting Winter Home that’s Crisp, Clean, AND Cozy
The whole idea of blending all of these aesthetics is to keep things simple, open, along with cozy elements for all the senses.
I honestly love the idea of having permission to slow down for a few months and create a winter sanctuary to recharge. God designed nature to lie dormant for a few months to get ready for the bursting forth of life and energy in the spring.
I really think we can take a cue from that and do the same. And I think God wants us to do the same also.
More Winter Decorating Ideas
If you’d like more inspiration for winter (be sure to see the links all throughout the post, too!), check out these posts!
Cozy and Chic Winter Decorating Ideas for the Living Room
25 Best Cozy & Classy Winter Porch Decorating Ideas
21+ Cozy, Easy, & Elegant Winter Tablescape Ideas
Get Cozy this Winter with 30 Fantastic Mantel Ideas
35 DIY Winter Wreaths (Easy Non-Christmas Ideas)
40+ Cozy DIY Winter Decor Ideas (Farmhouse Style)
Cozy Rustic Farmhouse Winter Decor Ideas
How to Decorate for Winter after Christmas, Farmhouse Style + Before & After Pics
Easy Minimalist Winter Decorating Ideas: Uncluttered & Yes, Cozy
25 Winter White Decorating Ideas for January (After Christmas Inspo!)
If you try any of these ideas, I’d love to see them! Tag me on Instagram and I’ll share in my stories! You can also share photos and comment on Pinterest!
Other thoughts? I’d love to hear them! Leave a comment below!
And if you enjoyed this post, I’d be so grateful if you pinned or shared!
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