Christmas has been over awhile now. I just took down the last of my four trees last night (gasp!)
I’ve been spending some time pondering what it was like the year we celebrated a redbird Christmas. I was remembering what we did to the house in the new year. So I thought I might like to share the story with you here again this year:
Over the holidays we spent time out-of-state visiting with our new grandson. Now we are back home and working again. I’m sure we didn’t have enough time off. That seems true because I have not wanted to wrap my mind around normal and come back down to earth.
Part of my problem is the fact that the house needs to be cleaned up from the past season. I know whenever that happens, not only is it a long time till the next major holiday break; but everything around us is probably going to have that “bare and empty” feeling for awhile.
What to do about that?
When I get to feeling this way; I just sit down in what is already there and ponder what I loved about the last season. I LOVED the reds we used during this year with our Redbird Country Christmas themes. What I really needed in the moment were some simple ways to hang on to at least a few of them.
I was a bit tired of all of the clutter. Yes; I was willing to let go of many things; but I wanted to hold on to a few of the reds. Suddenly I found myself wanting to run away to a little cottage in the mountains where time could stand still for just a little while longer.
That was it!
I wanted to be in a cozy mountain cabin for the winter.
A plan was forming inside my imagination.
This moment was the moment I got the idea to create a mountain cottage feeling right here at home. I would simply keep some of the reds that we had started using at Christmas.
It occurred to me that this simple change would be pretty easy to pull off. These changes would not be a bit expensive if I just stuck to a buffalo-plaid, red and black theme.
Okay!
Why not go with it?
I had visions of warm fires on cold winter days with hot coffee and hot chocolate. In every vision I was snuggling under a soft blanket in a big comfy chair while reading one my favorite novels. That is how the recent changes in the humble décor of Landgraf Castle got started for the winter season.
I left the red wing-backed chairs in the Great Room. Originally I had only pulled them out of the bedroom for Christmas, but they could stay just awhile longer; right?
I flanked one chair with the softest blanket I could find. After that I put a little ottoman between the chairs so my IN SEASON coffee cup could easily rest on its surface. A black and white plaid plate and two rustic wooden coasters cut from a tree made for the perfect space. I even had room for cinnamon rolls if I wanted to cheat on my diet!
I faced these two red chairs towards the fireplace. Guess what happened? This spot quickly became my special place to sit and drink coffee during the early mornings before work.
Each morning I sat in one of those chairs across from the fireplace and drank my coffee and listened to God for about fifteen minutes before I started my day.
January life had already begun to look up!
The buffalo plaid pillow covers that I purchased for my wing-backed chairs blended so well that I also bought some for the sofas. Later I added a few to the bar stools in the kitchen. These items were very inexpensive because I just covered pillows that I had already purchased and used during the holidays. I’ll probably repeat this pillow-covering trick again in the future. It was so easy to do; and it totally changed the atmosphere in any room.
I set up the portable bar with a few handy glasses, a fresh new unopened bottle of wine and a wine-opener. They too were facing the fireplace. I think they needed to be there, just in case someone else came home from work and built a fire in the room.
The fire of course, is the TRUE ingredient to a winter-cozy room. It has always been my theory that no fireplace should ever miss a winter in giving out its beauty and warmth.
If you don’t have a real fireplace, I’ve noticed that some of the fake ones are very nice these days. Now we can just curl up in the great room and pretend we are somewhere in a mountain resort.
We will especially enjoy this change on those cold, gray, January and February winter days when we don’t have to get up and go to work the next day.
The tray that holds the wine is made from rough wood that matches the coasters. These all give a more “rustic cabin” feeling to the rooms. The natural, right out of nature look and texture looks like it belongs in an old log cabin in the woods. I’ll serve food and appetizers on similar trays all winter. We can eat by the fire instead of always in the kitchen.
Those embers in the fire feel very luxurious when we can curl up in front of them during the week days after work. We can even put a little of our favorite winter comfort foods on those trays at times. Some nights it will be sufficient just to sip a good glass of wine after dinner in the dining area.
Of course, when I removed the “deer in the snow” plates that I had used during the Christmas holidays off from the dining room table, the silver coasters that I had used underneath them still seemed to fit the new themes. They dressed up a silver star I set in the middle of the table. Also, they matched the two silver candlesticks which I sat on each end of the table.
I added some red apple-scented candles on top of the dining room candle holders. All of the red and silver came together in a way that was definitely making me happy.
No more empty room syndrome.
I complimented all of those things with two tall crystal champagne glasses that were used on New Year’s Eve to toast the new civil year.
Simple but elegant. The red and black and red and silver looked great together.
I wanted to give a cozy feeling to the entrance. The wine on the portable bar made a good start. Next I added a bright red wreath to the front door. Then it was complimented with a buffalo-plaid red and black table runner on the surface of the off-white couch table.
Some cute little redbirds sang to everyone coming inside the door. I set them all to themselves on top of the couch table table-runner. They added a bit of that mountain simplicity which I was after. Their novelty totally complimented the look.
.
Then as I was putting the little red rocker away, I noticed a sweet black stuffed puppy dog that belonged to my grand-daughter had on a buffalo-plaid collar.
How cool is that?
I set the little rocking chair just inside the window by the entrance with the puppy nearby. Also; I placed a black and white checked bag full of all of my grand’s favorite children’s stories beside it.
Now everyone had a special place to cozy up and read here; both the adults and all the grands too.
The gray rug we had used went away. Natural wood floors now complimented the rustic look I wanted for the next few months.
I wanted my winter kitchen to be very simple and uncluttered.
Over the holidays I had become tired of all the clutter (though it was beautiful and fun) during Christmas.
The simplicity of two buffalo-plaid table runners crossed on the black glass-topped table worked for me. I could imagine putting a dozen or so deep red roses in the center of the table some time in February (hint, hint.)
The usually busy kitchen window held a bare limbed white birch tree that would probably stay bare until Valentine’s day. At that time I have a new plan that will compliment the mountain cabin look for Valentine’s season.
I’ll recruit two little helpers to do that decorating later in February. The nice thing is the backdrop will already be in place. All I’ll have to do is decorate the tree and add a few red hearts here and there. If I’m lucky someone will bring in a nice arrangement of red roses.
Until then, the bare tree reminds me that winter will be with us for a few more weeks. I like the simplicity of its empty branches against the light of the window.
I did allow myself to put a buffalo-plaid cover on the pillows resting in the bar stools on each side of my kitchen window. Other than that – things look so simple. I love how it all speaks to the minimalist in me.
My minimalist tendencies seem to be more prevalent in January.
Let me say again…….it did occur to me that a dozen red roses on the table would be lovely whenever it is time to transition into Valentine’s day. Hopefully, I won’t have to buy them myself!
As I surveyed the results of these simple little changes to the once-bare after-Christmas look I had when I began cleaning up; I smiled.
I knew this comfy plan would transition well into Valentine’s Day season. It appeared that I would only have to add one or two little compliments to give that season a nod and a slight notice until we moved on to spring.
I loved it!
This basic plan will stay in tact through February. When Passover approaches I’ll change the rooms to lighter and brighter color schemes.
Until then; you can find me wearing my soft buffalo plaid shirt. I’ll be sitting in my big red chair in the great room. Of course, I’ll be reading by the fire.
