How to Decorate for Winter: 5 Tips to Transform Your Home into a Winter Wonderland

Whether you find yourself in the cozy, snow-covered homes of Buffalo or an apartment in Santa Monica basking in the mild coastal climate, the desire to create a warm and enchanting atmosphere indoors remains universal.

This Redfin article will highlight five expert recommendations on how to decorate for winter, turning it into a wonderland that’s perfect for embracing the cold weather months. Now, let’s get started.

1. Introduce a wintry color palette

As with any season, decorating for winter comes with choosing a complimentary color palette to the changed landscape of the outside ambiance. 

Jillian Czyz, interior designer for Jillian Czyz Interior Design + Styling, suggests to those fond of a more vibrant palette, “opt for colors such as greens, deep reds, and browns.”

Additionally, Linda Heaton, master designer with Design Decor Knoxville, recommends  “incorporating frosted blueberries, or snow-covered greenery,” and adds to keep your candle choices white.

For those living in a geographical landscape that doesn’t offer that “winter” feel, playing with a more neutral palette, such as pure white, light gray, or a darker midnight shade of blue, can help satisfy that feeling.

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2. Replace simple items with something seasonal

When thinking about decorating for winter, you don’t have to worry about completely transforming your home. The wintry look can be achieved by replacing or adding simple decorative items.

Mary Shamow, interior designer of My Design Haven, suggests “incorporating items with texture such as in thicker knit throws, or with other items that include faux fur, wool, or velvet elements.”

Principal interior designer for Color Conscious Living, Mehanaz Khan, recommends “switching out your lightweight drapery for thicker fabrics.”

Jillian Czyz shares how interior foliage atop surfaces or in floor planters can easily be swapped for wintry natural branches, evergreen, berry sprigs, or needle pines.

Wendy Yeakley, principal designer and owner of Homestyles Interior Design, says “adding a quilted, velvet coverlet layer to beds” can also add “warmth and set a winter mood.”

3. Opt for warm, cozy lighting

If you don’t have color-changing smart lighting, this can often be an overlooked opportunity for creating the right seasonal ambiance. 

Tamara Leicester, certified interior designer (NCIDQ) for Tamara Heather Interior Design, shares that “warm spectrum light bulbs (ideally 2700K) are essential for the warmest and most flattering lighting.”

Another excellent method of decorating for winter with warm lighting is by integrating carefully placed candles throughout your home or cozying up near a warm, lit fireplace.

4. Blend natural elements

The power of blending natural elements can never be understated when decorating your home. During winter, incorporating natural wood tones is one of the quickest ways to achieve a Hallmark rustic aesthetic.

Ava Milani, lead interior designer for Ilene Chase Design, suggests “blending natural elements like reclaimed wood accents.” 

The Atlanta, GA-based Seasonal Designs team shares items in which wood accents can be incorporated and add to the wintry look, including “custom-made signs, painted pallets, or rustic frames hung on walls.”

5. Fill the air with seasonal scents

Now that your home glistens like the snow on the floor in the New England states, take it one step further by filling the air with wintry aromas. Achieve a space that welcomes winter through candles, diffuses, or room sprays.

Ava Milani adds how scents such as “cedarwood, cinnamon, and vanilla can heighten the sensory experience” of your cozily decorated home.