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Saturday, January 30, 2010

Warming up in winter

A few weeks ago, my friend Lisa posted on her blog that after the holiday decorations come down, she's anxious to put up some cute wintery decorations to keep the house from feeling cold and empty. She put out a call for pictures and inspiration, and I'm finally getting around to helping her out!

Graham comes from a home where decorations and small touches show up for every season/holiday. I love me some Halloween and Autumn decorations, and we always go on decoration overload for Christmas, but after The Holidays are over, I don't mind the lack of decorations. I think it's great that the house looks a little more streamlined and less cluttered in January. However, Graham thinks it looks cold and gets frustrated that I don't like to throw up more decorations after a bunch of them have just come down. So, we compromise. After the Christmas decorations come down and are all packed away, I get a week to keep the house feeling a little empty. It's a mental thing, and in addition to clearing out the decorations, I need to clear my mind and get myself out of "decoration mode". Once I've had that week, I'll bring out a few small items to help warm our home and make it feel a little more welcoming.

A year ago, Graham gave me two wind chimes. He knows how much I love a good wind chime, and I was so excited to finally be able to pull this one out to hear it cling and chime!

I like the snowman in the doorway. He's got a nice, cheery smile for me when I'm coming and going, and even though it's a snowman and it's -12 degrees outside, he does warm my heart.

I've also got a thing for penguins. It's kind of a sickness.

I found this penguin tealight holder at Hallmark a few seasons ago. How cute is he? It's the perfect size for our coffee table, too, so it's not cluttering up the table, and it's a cute little centerpiece for the season.

Another way I like to warm up the house, all year long, is by using candles. I think they add a nice touch and really add some visual warmth to a room.

A few months ago, I found some Febreeze candles at the grocery store. I fell in love with this one, "Winter Evening & Warmth". After 6 weeks of balsam, Christmas trees, sugar cookies, and other holiday scents, it's nice to go to a softer, more neutral candle to warm the house.

We always have an afghan on our couch, no matter what season. During winter, I like to throw out our cream colored afghans.

Both of these were wedding gifts, made by family members. I love setting them out because they're available if we get a little chilly (Well, one of them is. The other is more decorative than warming) and they make the couch look more inviting to our guests.

So, that's how I warm up the house after the tree and lights have come down. What do you do?

2 comments:

  1. I'm famous!

    That afghan looks really warm & comfy for a cold day like today...I actually have a wind chime that's very similar. I took it out to hang up, but I feel like it's too pretty to get ruined in the cold weather, so I put it away again. Did you hang yours inside?

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  2. I do what I can, friend!

    Ours is inside the screen door on the side of the house. It's meant for "indoor or outdoor use" according to the tag, but if I hang it inside we get to see it, but it's on the door so anyone who comes around that way can see it too. When we replace the front door, I'll hang it out there instead of on the side.

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