13 Winter Decorating Ideas

When Old Man Winter is howling outside, it's a good idea 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 hue of winter white. This lovely living room featured on The Lily Pad Cottage is an example of winter decorating done right.

A fun way to cheer up your winter living room is by adding a touch of romantic glow. Home Stories A to Z has a great tutorial for making a wonderful tea light log. You don't need any fancy supplies—just a dry, interesting log or branch trimming, a set of tea light candles, and a drill. You can substitute battery operated faux flames for traditional candles, if you prefer.

If you're lucky enough to have a fireplace mantel, make it the star of your winter design scheme. Jazz up your mantel with candles, a garland of "snowballs," a bit of winter greenery, and an adorable welcome sign. Hymns and Verses have even more creative ideas that will turn your mantel into a celebration of all things winter.

The best winter tablescapes utilize a variety of natural elements, not just flowers. Home Stories A to Z features a gorgeous example of a silver 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 finished product is unique and spectacular.

Brandi Sawyer of Nest of Bliss shows how simple it is to add a touch of winter decor to a favorite space. All it takes is a gathering of snowflake ornaments, candles, and a few miniature potted firs. The result is simple, inexpensive, and beautiful.

If you like mason jars and rustic wood, consider combining the two for an easy and unusual piece of winter decor. House by Hoff shows you how to turn reclaimed wood from an old pallet into a rustic box. Add mason jars decorated with twine and small chalkboard pendants, then finish the scenario with fir sprigs. Use this box to spice up your winter dining table, coffee table, mantel, foyer, or bedroom dresser.

Wreaths and door hangings are a great way to celebrate every season. You'll love this winter wreath basket tutorial by DIY Inspired. It's easy to customize this winter-bouquet-in-a-basket and use whatever decorative elements you have on hand. Once winter is over, switch up the contents with dried flowers and you have a new look for spring. 

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 now you've got an entryway that welcomes guests and makes you feel good when returning home at the end of a long day.

Set the scene for guests and family members alike by staging your foyer for winter. Bless'er House does a great job of creating a welcoming, wintery first impression. 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, and finish the scene with an ice skate and winter throw. Voila! Your entryway is now an elegant winter wonderland. Of course, you can easily tailor the elements to use what you have on hand.

You can 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. If you'd like to make your own snowballs, the Makoodle tutorial is a great place to start. 

Decorate a coffee table, side table, hutch, or buffet with a winter scene like this one from StoneGable. A rustic, wooden tray is filled with mercury-glass candlesticks, a planter of faux greenery, pine cones in a small ceramic basket, and 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. It's easy, effective, and lovely.

Warm up your front door with a terrific wreath made from old sweaters, a straw or foam wreath, and a few pine cones. Pick up a several sweaters in colors of your choice from a local Goodwill or thrift shop, cut them into strips, then wind the strips around the wreath for a festive finish. You'll find complete directions at StoneGable.