6 Ways to Spruce Up Your Home Mid-Winter

Guest post by Yuna Miller

The Christmas decorations are stored away, and you’ve eaten up all the holiday goodies. Now that the festivities are over and winter has set in, you just want to curl up under an electric blanket and hibernate. The downtime is perfect for sprucing up your home. Let's get started!

1. Wall Decorations

Tired of looking at the same white walls? Think of them as a blank slate. Update your house or apartment walls with colorful decals, a stunning mural, or peel-and-stick wallpaper. Tapestries, wall hangings, canvas, shadow boxes, and wooden plank art are only a few ideas for the living and family rooms. Wreathes, macramé, and your own crafty creations add a personal touch. Warm colors against white walls are sure to draw eyes to an otherwise drab room.

2. Plants and Flowers

Fresh flowers are a perfect way to keep your home bright and colorful during the winter. Open drapes and blinds to let the sunshine in! Visit your local florist for long-lasting blooms, such as carnations and potted orchids. Money tree plants are known for bringing good luck and positive vibes. Snake plants, aloe vera, English ivy, and bamboo filter out airborne chemicals while they circulate oxygen into the room.

On a blank wall, build a vertical garden with prefabricated kits of plastic, metal, or wood. You can also create one from scratch. Make sure the wall is solid and strong enough to handle the weight of the planter and its greenery. If natural light from windows or a skylight is not available, you can install indoor plant lights.

3. Kitchen

Spice up the kitchen with stick-on tile for the backsplash. Hang baskets with silk flowers from the ceiling. Give the kitchen a stylish makeover with new wallpaper, or borders over a fresh paint job. Shelf paper with muted or colorful patterns gives cupboards a cleaner look. Flowers, fruits, vegetables, and bird graphics are fun to look at each day. Natural greenery and hydroponic gardens are Mother Nature’s way of reminding that you can nurture your green thumb during the winter, too!

4. Aesthetics

Spruce up your bedroom and living room decor with velvet, silk or merino wool throws and pillows. Hot colors with bold patterns give you something different to look at, so cover up old chairs with new fabric. Large and small mirrors reflect light and colors throughout the room. Cheerful curtains dress up windows. Check out flowers, honey bees, hummingbirds, kittens, and butterflies for any room in your home. When you’re shopping, say “yes” to whatever knickknack makes you happy.

5. Winter Decor

Winter is beautiful. Frosty snowflakes, snowmen, bright red cardinals, blue jays, juncos, and other seasonal birds are ready for your decorating scheme. Decorate a dark-colored shelving unit with winter-white glass pieces like dishes and vases. Layer several fluffy rugs over carpeting to pump up a cozy look. Stock the fireplace bin with logs.

6. Scents

Scents that say “winter” are a nice way to sweeten your home on a snowy day. Cinnamon, pine needles and evergreen, apples, cotton candy, peppermint, chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven- it’s all good. Potpourri, candles, air fresheners, and incense tickle your nose.

Winter’s snowy weather and cold temperatures keep you indoors for most of the season. That’s why it’s a perfect time to get creative and do a makeover for the home. There’s nothing like something new to make the old feel like new again.

 

Yuna Miller is a freelance writer who has lived in eight cities in 16 years. She finds a community that interests her, finds an old house, fixes it, flips it, and gets out her map again.