Don’t you just dread that in-between time right after Christmas and before Spring when you begin to transition your home back to its normal decor after the holidays are over and everything just seems to look so blah and empty?

After the shinny, cheerful decorating schemes of Christmas, it is hard to make the everyday living areas look more than just plain and ordinary again.

BRING OUT THE WINTER WHITES

I’m here to tell you there is no reason for your home to look as bleak and dark as those depressingly gray winter skies!

There is a great solution hiding right inside the end of this very season and last year I tried it out at our place and I absolutely loved the results.

Think of all the magical qualities of snow and ice as they blend across the winter landscape.

Aren’t they truly lovely?

With the gray and white skies as a backdrop, they seem to shine out and say that winter can be a very special time too!

INSPIRED WHILE CLEANING UP

The idea actually came to me as I was putting away the first of my Christmas decorations.

Some of the things I was busy packing into a box for storage could still be left out for a little while longer because they were not necessarily related to Christmas at all; they were more related to winter.

Winter isn’t over until late March/early April!

It dawned on me that I should retain some of the magic of the silver and white for a while longer and let them live on inside our house till springtime arrived with all of its contrasting colors.  

THE WHITE CHRISTMAS ELEMENTS COULD TURN INTO A FRESH NEW WINTER LOOK

That past year’s end I had dreamed of a White Christmas; and my dreams actually did come true.

I had white everything!

There was a white tree with white decorations on it; white pillows on the sofa, white in the rugs, white in the candlesticks and white in the door wreaths.

I had accented everything with just a few little touches of silver.

The silver things I had used were also more “winter” than “Christmas.”

A silver deer and some silver balls in a silver tray against a painting of blue and white skies, some mirrors here and there and some silver coasters against my white dishes would work just as well for winter as it had for Christmas.

ADDING A LITTLE SILVER FOR AN ELEGANCE FACTOR

The lovely silver deer that had graced my kitchen table for Christmas could stand on top of that silver and white beaded table runner and look very majestic all by himself in my dining area this winter.

This area of the house satisfied the minimalist in me.

I liked the simplicity of it all for the dining room.   My imagination saw silver coasters with white plates when we dined in that area of the house. It would look elegant with gray napkins. All the silver made the silver light fixture over the long dining table pop.  I left the snowflake pillow too.

SMALL CHANGES MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

I removed all of the Santa figures and the angels plus the occasional Christmas ornaments and pillows that were scattered here and there.  However; I left the long, flowing solid white draperies and kept using the gray and white rug.

THINGS IN OTHER AREAS 

(I pondered getting a solid white rug to put in front of the entrance door; but just could not decide if that would be very practical. My common sense resisted the temptation to do it anyway.  In the end I bought a light gray rug with dark gray trim.  The solid white rug would have looked lovely for a few weeks; but I resisted.

I decided to look for a little greenery to use when hanging a few small delicate green wreaths with tiny white flowers.  They just seemed to naturally belong inside all three of the long windows in our main living area.

I carefully picked fragile looking small wreaths to reflect the fragility of the winter ice and snow. 

They would only be there for a momentary season.  Like the weather in winter, they would eventually be exchanged for bright springtime wreathes.  These were perfect in this transitional setting.

WINTER WHITES PREVAIL

With these little changes my imagination is taken only to the winter themes of the forest which have thrived on through their season and lived way past the time of Christmas.

The pillows with the owls, and the deer scattered here and there with the flocked pine cone wreaths, gave me the good feelings that I love to celebrate about winter.

I left the pine cone wreaths with white flocking hanging on my kitchen doors; why not? They represent winter and are not necessarily just for Christmas.

A few more white candles were added to the ones I already had out (the more groupings of different sizes of white candles the better.  This set a more romantic winter theme) and some white roses and a small bouquet of white tulips were also placed around the room.  Things really started to come alive and it all looked lovely.

All of the silver accents in the room sparkled out from the whites.  I accented these with several solid black items.

In order to add more of a “family” touch, I displayed some really cute photos of the grands (all framed in pretty white frames.)  This year I needed an extra white frame; as we have been blessed with our new grandson.

Then I added and a black metal sign that said “LOVE” in black and white.  This was set down as an accent piece on the large black coffee table.  It reflected the mood of the other black sign with the word “love” in gold letters which hangs permanently over our kitchen window.

FRESH AND CLEAN WHITES WITH LOTS OF STRAIGHT LINES BRING ORDER AND HARMONY

The business and the clutter that begins to wear on you after several weeks of more and more Christmas has now being toned down, and some straight clean lines with pure, clean order have begun to appear.

All of these little changes made me feel fresh and new and invigorated.

Instead of starring the new year out with the usual blankness of the “after Christmas” decorating, I woke up every morning in January wanting to go right into these main living areas to curl up on a sofa and read a few of my new books while sipping coffee in those clean, refreshing and uplifting rooms.

All of the white just felt very welcoming and fresh and inviting.

We don’t want to use complete starkness, because that would feel cold.  But; the gray and white checked table runner added a little color to the black of the coffee table area.  It perked the room up even more. Plus; I could set my crystal vase of white roses down on the table unprotected and not worry about any water stains.

WHITE, WHITE AND MORE WHITE

What do you think?

Don’t you love the light airiness of it all?

I love how one season faded into another during this year, and how the best elements of one year continued steadily into a bright new year.

My overworking imagination can see some red and white themes forming out of all of this for the upcoming month of February too; but even then I might stick mostly to white because I never seem to tire of the freshness of it!

A lot of my friends are using white in more of a farmhouse look. That style is very popular this year. I love that look too; but I am also enjoying blending my whites into more traditional, classic themes that I won’t see in all the more popular themes everywhere else.

BREAK THE RULES A BIT IF YOU WANT

I did carry over to the farmhouse theme myself when we did some remodeling in our half-bath in the hall near the main living areas. I love the white fake ship-lap wallpaper that we used in there; and I decided to leave the tin deer wreath/wall hanging I hung in there for Christmas simply because I’m just not tired of it yet; and I’m free to do whatever I want in my own home; right???

I love how each area melts into the next space and everything blends together well. All of the use of white brings balance and harmony into the whole flow of the house.

LIVING LIKE SNOWFLAKES

Whites are hiding everywhere if you just open up your eyes and look around your home.

The January IN SEASON Family Tree was filled with snowflakes this month.  The tree that held them went perfectly with the celebration of The New Year of The Trees, and the snowflakes looking so unique and shiny new reminded me of The Sanctity of Life that we are also celebrating this month. 

As I watched the winter cold outside the windows; I finished a story about a little snowflake that can be added to our tree’s collection of seasonal stories.  Here is the link if you want to read it:  https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/the-snowflake-and-the-tree.

Go ahead and pick out all of your favorite white pieces and let me know the unique way that your family will use them in decorating schemes for your own spaces.

Will you be brave enough to go white this year?

I dare you.

So typical of winter snowflakes; none of our homes will look exactly alike! Each of them will have their own special qualities and characteristics; but each of them will also be refreshing, unique and beautiful in their own special way.

Happy Winter Everyone!