A Softer Way to Decorate a Living Room for Winter
I have always loved decorating my home and have always been pretty good at seasonal editing knowing when a room needs something added and, just as importantly, when it needs something taken away.
Over the last year, though, something has shifted. Maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s the heaviness of daily news, or maybe it’s simply a yearning for quieter days. Whatever the reason, I’ve felt a strong pull toward creating simpler, more peaceful spaces throughout my home.
This winter, once the holiday decorations came down, I became especially intentional about resetting the rooms we use the most starting with the living room so they would feel calm, grounded, and restorative during the colder months.
“Your home should be the antidote to stress, not the cause of it.” ~ Peter Walsh
Peter Walsh is known for talking about clutter and organization, but this quote resonates with me just as much when it comes to decorating. Our surroundings affect us deeply, and even small visual or sensory changes can either calm the nervous system or quietly agitate it.
I know I’m not alone in feeling this pull toward calm and peaceful, especially after learning what the Pantone Color Institute chose as its Color of the Year for 2026. If you’re not familiar, Pantone selects a color each year that reflects cultural moods and emerging design trends and essentially what we’re collectively craving.
Typically, the color is bold, saturated, and somewhat expected. This year felt different. For the first time, Pantone selected a white shade called Cloud Dancer. It’s a soft, floaty white meant to represent serenity, clarity, and a fresh start in a noisy world. When I read that, it made perfect sense to me.
My Calm and Peaceful Winter Living Room
Creating a peaceful winter sanctuary in my living room didn’t require anything drastic. It was more about small edits—ones that fit naturally with my existing style and felt right for how I want to live in the space during winter.
While I naturally focus on what my eyes can see, I also paid attention to my other senses. Each change was made with the goal of bringing the room and my mind into better alignment with what feels calming and restorative right now.
These are the choices that work for me. Yours may be completely different. Some people crave energy and color during the winter months, while others like me may lean toward quieter surroundings. There’s no right or wrong. Decorating works best when it’s done intentionally and in your own style, without worrying what anyone else thinks.
Using a Limited Color Palette
For winter, I feel most comfortable surrounded by subtle, hushed colors. Whites, creams, greens, and natural browns taken from nature instantly quiet a room.
Limiting the palette doesn’t make a space boring, it makes it restful. The eye doesn’t have to jump from one thing to the next, and that sense of visual ease is incredibly calming.
A Gentle Nod to Nature
While taking down my holiday decor, I realized how much I liked the trio of pine trees I had styled on my basket side table. Instead of packing them away, I simply removed the red ribbon I had around the candle.
That small change turned a holiday decoration into a winter one and created a subtle connection to the landscape right outside my windows and doors.
Warm, Cozy Layers You Can Sink Into
Texture has a way of warming a room almost instantly, but soft textures—especially on throw pillows and seating—do more than look cozy. They invite you to sit, settle in, and stay awhile. Faux fur, chunky knits, and brushed fabrics add physical comfort, which matters just as much as visual comfort on cold winter nights.
The white faux furs on the ottoman and sofa are actually rugs bought at HomeGoods. They look so much better on furniture than a floor.
Evenings by Candlelight
Once the sun goes down, the candles come on in my kitchen and living room. Winter nights feel infinitely cozier with candlelight. I added a salt lamp to the mix that also adds to the relaxing glow in space. Overhead lights stay off whenever possible, and if I need them, they’re always on a dimmer.
A small lamp on the kitchen counter that is open to the living room, a candle on the kitchen table, and others flickering nearby create layers of soft light that feel warm instead of harsh. It completely changes how the two connecting rooms feels in the evening.
Soft Music in the Background
Earlier this month, while Ed and I were in Los Angeles watching two of our grandchildren while their parents were at work, I had calming music playing in the background one afternoon. After the playlist finished, Spotify’s algorithm began adding similar music, and I noticed something interesting, everyone became calmer, including me.
My grandkids play softened. The energy in the room shifted. At one point, my two-and-a-half-year-old grandson, who rarely naps, climbed up beside me without any prompting and fell asleep almost instantly as he snuggled next to me with the sock puppet he had been playing with. My mother would have called this the “Mr. Rogers effect.”
Since then, I’ve been slowly compiling an easy-listening playlist, mostly instrumental string music from the 1960s. Many of the tunes feel familiar, songs that reminded me of what was playing on the radio at home during my childhood. This sense of nostalgia adds another layer of comfort.
Leaving Some Surfaces Empty
If you are a long time reader, you may remember when we had to remove the stone fireplace and mantel we had made in the living room since the building code required a mantel to be placed higher than it was.
With eight-foot ceilings, the new “to-code mantel height” feels too high in my eye for small objects. I didn’t want to put back the art I usually have above the mantel yet as I want to wait to spring to add that. Everything else I tried looked either too wimpy, was too wide or just looked out of proportion.
I tried adding the big dough bowl I usually have on the sofa table, but it didn’t feel right, so after I took these pictures I put the candle filled dough bowl back on the sofa table.
So for now, I’m leaving the mantel empty… and I’m completely fine with that. Open space can be just as powerful as decor. The bare mantel adds to the serene, uncluttered feeling I want in the room this winter.
The needs of a space can change with the seasons. This can be your reminder to pause and notice what you’re craving right now and to take the time to make intentional adjustments happen that will help your home support you during this winter season.
What are some of the ways you create a calm and peaceful place to land during the winter months in your home?
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