He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter…. In winter the stars seem to have rekindled their fires, the moon achieves a fuller triumph, and the heavens wear a look of a more exalted simplicity.
John Burroughs, “The Snow-Walkers,” 1866
I have been interested in decorating for the seasons versus decorating for any holiday in particular. I do not enjoy putting things up only to take them down a few weeks later. And I am not one who likes to get out the Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving. I love arranging seasonal accents, knowing we have three months to enjoy the change of pace each phase of the year brings. This year for winter, I was inspired by the simplicity of winter light. The other day, I was looking outside our living room window at the Chinese elm tree in the front yard. The tree was bare of leaves, the bark a mix of brown and gray and the sky above was a blue-gray color. In the tree, there were finches with the same brown, gray, and blue easily seen on the branches. It was such a simple scene- devoid of the green leaves of spring and summer with just a few yellow leaves left from fall. I realized that this time of year is the only time I can see all the birds in the tree and I was struck by the clarity of the view. I stood for quite a while watching the finches happily singing away.
In keeping with a winter home decorating theme, you won’t find a lot of Christmas decorations in the house. In fact, we didn’t even put any ornaments on our tree! As Jonathan and I were unpacking the Christmas decorations and figuring out how we wanted to display them, we just loved the way the tree looked all lit up with nothing on it but tiny lights and the pinecones and berries that were on the tree when we bought it. With simplicity in mind, we were content with the way the tree looked as-is. What you will find are bits of light here and there through candles and Christmas lights in other places. What you will also see are bits of greenery from the japonica bushes that are in the front yard. Instead of buying greenery that doesn’t match our natural surroundings, I used what we had and cut fresh branches to put in a vase. The branches and leaves which stay green year-round add a natural element to our simple decor.
In the living room, we have tall ceilings with a very high shelf. We have decorated that shelf with lanterns, baskets, greenery, and other home accents. We put Christmas lights up there and I think we are going to keep them up all year. We like to plug them in at night as the sun goes down and it gives the living room a nice glow.
The longest dark hours are in winter and as the sun goes down early, my battery-operated candles light up on their timer, our Christmas lights get plugged in as well as the high living room shelf lights. We light candles and keep the bright lights off enjoying the cozy feel. It makes winter nights a bit more comforting as we settle in for the evening. All of us look forward to that time of day very much.
In the kitchen, I’ve been changing out the curtains to transition into the next season. During the fall months, I had orange, brown, and white in a tablecloth, in curtains, and in accents. For winter, I swapped out the warm colors for cool, using gray and white curtains and tablecloth with just a hint of Christmas in red and green glass bottles with a few japonica branches for more color. The bottles are displayed in the kitchen window and when the sun hits them in the afternoon, the bottles look like lanterns.
A few weeks ago, we were out late at night for an event at the local Historical Society (a 1912 historic home) where Jonathan works. John and I had stepped outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air and we happened to look up at the sky. Orion was right above us- big as life -spread across the sky and the stars were just so bright and beautiful! Later that evening, I went upstairs because I knew there would be an amazing night view of the city lights. Seeing the stars and the night lights confirmed that I wanted to bring that feeling of wonder from outside to the inside of our home.
Whether you love to go all out for decorating every holiday or you enjoy keeping it simple like me, may we all see cause for wonder and admiration in every season.
