15 Ways to Decorate Your Home for Winter

The holidays are over, your Christmas ornaments are packed away; but Old Man Winter is still howling outside, and it sure would be nice to add a dose of cheer to your home. Luckily, it's easy to decorate for winter – the key is to use natural elements, touches of greenery, a bit of shine, and the soothing tint of winter white. Check out the lovely living room shown here – it's from blog The Lily Pad Cottage – for a preview of winter decorating done right.

Looking for a unique way to cheer up your winter living room while adding a touch of romantic glow? Then visit Home Stories A to Z and learn how to make the wonderful tea light log shown here. You don't need any fancy supplies: just a dry, interesting log, piece of driftwood, or branch trimming, a set of tea light candles, and a drill. You can substitute faux flames for the candles, if you prefer.

If you're lucky enough to have a fireplace mantel, make it the star of your winter decor. Candles, a garland of "snowballs," a bit of winter greenery, and most of all, the adorable winter-welcoming sign – get the full instructions at Hymns and Verses – turn this mantel into a celebration of all things winter.

Related: Ways to Decorate Your Mantel for Winter

The best winter centerpieces are filled with a variety of natural elements, not just flowers. Here, blog Home Stories A to Z shows off a gorgeous centerpiece focused on a silvery urn filled with a shed deer antler, small pine cones, a few clippings of greenery, and a couple of sprigs of winter-blooming flowers. Though simple in design, the result is spectacular.

In this lovely living room, blogger Brandi Sawyer of Nest of Bliss shows how easy it is to add a touch of winter decor to a space. All it takes is a gathering – or scatter them around the room, if you prefer – of snowflake ornaments, candles, and a few miniature potted firs, whether faux or real. Simple, inexpensive, beautiful.

If you like mason jars and rustic wood, why not combine the two for an easy, inexpensive, and unusual piece of winter decor? Blogger House by Hoff shows you how to turn reclaimed wood from an old pallet into the rustic box shown here. Add mason jars decorated with twine and small chalkboard pendants, then finish the scenario with fir sprigs, whether real or faux. What a nice way to spice up your winter dining table, coffee table, mantelpiece, foyer, or bedroom dresser.

Just because your Christmas wreath has been put away for the year doesn't mean you should leave your front door unadorned. In fact, wreaths and door hangings are a great way to celebrate every season, including post-holiday winter. On this door, you see the beautiful results from DIY Inspired, where you'll find full directions. It's easy to customize this winter-bouquet-in-a-basket, as well.

Related: 9 DIY Winter Wreaths

No need for frosty feet when you spread your winter floor with a sheepskin rug as thick, as luxurious, as warm as the one shown in this living room found on Apartment Therapy. Add a few sweater-inspired throw pillows and blankets, and your space is transformed into winter-cozy and warm.

There might not be a lot of colorful annual flowers blooming during the winter, but that's no reason to leave your front entry bare. Instead, take a note from The Bungalow Blog, and fill up planters with cut greenery, fir branches, interesting twigs, and a few small pine cones. Add a triple row of faux greenery wreaths, and you've got an entryway that welcomes guests and makes you feel good when returning home at the end of a long day.

Related: Ways to Decorate Your Front Porch for Winter

Set the scene for guests and family members alike by staging your foyer for winter. Here, in this photo from Bless'er House, you see how easy it is to accomplish. Spread faux or real fir branches along the entry bench or table, hang a greenery wreath, add a few winter-blooming bulbs and birch branches, finish the scene with an ice skate and winter throw, and voila! Your entryway is an elegant winter wonderland. Of course, you can easily tailor the elements to use what you have on hand.

No snow? No problem! Use these DIY "snowballs" in so many ways around your winter home. Fill a basket with them, add a few to your mantelpiece, set some in your planters, scatter a handful along your dining table. They are super-easy to make; you'll find the complete instructions on Makoodle.

Don't leave your celebration of winter outside your bedroom door. Instead, twine a string of white lights around your headboard, curtain rods, or ceiling edge, then add a few hanging sculptural snowflakes, as in this pretty bedroom scene from House and Garden.

Decorate a coffee table, side table, hutch, or buffet with a winter scene like this one from blog StoneGable. A rustic wooden tray is filled with mercury-glass candlesticks, a planter of faux greenery, pine cones in a small ceramic basket, and thick white pillar candles for a wintery, peaceful, and beautiful vignette.

If you like to keep things simple, but still want to add some winter flair to any room with your home, you can't go wrong with this easy idea from At the Picket Fence; set small fir clippings bound at the base with burlap anywhere you'd like a touch of winter life, color, and texture. Easy, effective, lovely.

Is your front door looking a little bare now that the Christmas wreath has come down? Well, warm it up with a terrific wreath made from little more than old sweaters, a straw or foam wreath, and a few pine cones. Pick up a few sweaters in colors of your choice from the local Goodwill or thrift shop, cut them into strips, then quickly and easily wind them around the wreath for the lovely results you see here. You'll find complete directions at StoneGable.