This is a post I wrote last year about what to do when your house looks bare after Christmas. I know a lot of people that have the blahs when the holidays are over. Does your house look empty after you put all of your Christmas decorations back in the attic? Here’s the best way to handle the empty spaces.
I have been hearing this a lot lately. After you set out all of your lovely Christmas decor the house looks so festive and cozy.
People don’t notice dreary weather because Christmas is around the corner, where there will be lots of baking, good food, time with family and presents. When the holidays are over and the tinsel has been swept from the floor the room can look very bare. Now rainy weather just looks dreary, not festive.
Do you remember Narnia when the White Witch was in control? It was always winter, but never Christmas.
So what can you do so your home doesn’t look bare and empty after the holiday decorations are put up?
- Embrace the empty space.
No really, I’m serious.
I used to have my home very full of furniture and accessories. Then after watching too many episodes of DESIGNED TO SELL on HGTV, I began to notice how much better the homes looked with less stuff in them. On the show, to prepare the homes to show their best, the expert would usually remove a lot of furniture from the house and make it more neutral. That got me thinking. If a house shows better with less stuff in it, then wouldn’t it ‘live’ better also? I began to remove things, and found I really loved having fewer things in my home. At first the space would look empty because I was used to seeing a lot of things in the room, but gradually I got used to the ‘blank spaces’ and began to really love them.
2. Move things around
Before the holidays, I had a big bottle on my island.
I decided to clean it (Big mistake) and it broke. If you follow me on INSTAGRAM, then you know this already. I used the jar as a hurricane lamp when the bottom broke off.
Don’t put everything back the way it was before the holidays. You may need a new look for your home. It’s amazing how much better things look when you simply move things from one room to another. On the kitchen island I took off the big bottle and put my collection of blue and white pitchers and creamers there instead. I am keeping the winter greenery there for now.
3. Evaluate your Design
Are you happy with your __________? Do you like the wall color? Do you like your table? Do you like your lamp?
At one point I didn’t like how the wall looked, so I kept adding and adding stuff to the wall. The more I added the more I didn’t like the wall. Then I realized it wasn’t the lack of art that made it look bad; I just didn’t like the color any more. No amount of artwork on the wall as going to fix the paint color. I was just was not going to like that wall until it was painted.
I never painted that wall; we moved instead! The new owners did however paint it gray. And I got gray walls in my new home.
Now is a great time to look at your room and honestly ask yourself if the problem is that it is too bare or if there is something else about the room you don’t like.
4. Spend your money wisely on something new
So let’s say you just can’t get into the whole ‘less is more’ thing. And maybe you’ve tried moving things around but it’s still too bare. Perhaps you have even done some soul searching and have determined that problem lies not in what is in the room, but what is missing from the room. So really the next course of action is to get something new for your room. Hopefully you are the lucky recipient of a gift card or even cash in your stocking. So let’s work on selecting something that will really give your room something special.
For the room below, I had a few cloches and a bottle on the console in the back between the two lamps. This was a before Christmas photo.
So my big purchases were for the olive jug and the column base. I simply moved the cloches to the table and to other places in the house. I like that the jug added a bit of color to the room, but not too much.
Then on the table, I added some things from the kitchen, but also added some new items – the Provencal style urn and the French style wire basket that are new.
So how do you reboot your decor after the holidays?
I actually love to clean all my spaces after I take down the tree and freshen up the look. I add candles to warm up the empty spaces, Create a new winter look with a new wreath and centerpiece.
Through the years, my Santas for Christmas has grown so they take up a good it of space around the house when decorating. So, when my collection of snowpeople began to grow, I began to save most of them for the winter months following Christmas. There are not as many snowpeople so it allows for a gradual transition back to “normal.” In February, I have a few Valentine’s Day items which are followed soon tih a few Easter bunnies. By the time Easter ends, the decorations are put away and I am ready to open up for spring and summer!
After the Christmas decor is put away I brighten things up with my valentine’s theme using little rice lights and some pops of red and silver here and there. Keeps things cheerful!
Great ideas and lovely photos. We, too, are “trimming” back, but there are still a few things I would like to add/change out. Have moved things from room to room for quite awhile and have found even just changing pillows can make a difference. Merry Christmas to all!
My adult kids still tease me about the tree that I kept up and decorated for Valentine’s Day. It was a nine foot live balsam fir and stayed fresh and alive until then. I didn’t have the heart to throw it out before its time was spent.
My frugality may have been a teensy-weensy factor also?
I enjoy taking things down after and having that big space back less is more . Merry Christmas
I am actually kind of looking forward to the next change. My house has been in Autumn or Christmas since early September. This next season (I call it “Early Winter”) starts …..today actually! My vision is the couch loaded with pillows covered in rich textures and colors, along snuggly throws. I will use my faux topiaries, lots of pinecones, a few “highlight” shells, and runners that incorporate the same fabrics as the pillows on the couch. Gotta get my sewing machine out and get busy!!
I am ready for my house to look scaled backed. Enjoyed the tips
Great ideas I will be trying several of these.
Thanks for a great way to evaluate and change things after the holidays!
It was interesting as a floral designer in big box stores, I emphasized green plantings, large vases with single stems of green and grouped containers (i.e. for kitchens/bathrooms) as displays in January. These choices always did well, especially for customers with new homes/apts/condos who had gone whole hog decorating for the holidays and were dealing with all that empty space. Art work and mirrors were always used as a backdrop in displays. Often we would sell an entire vignette—especially to men, who just didn’t want to make decorating decisions.
Personally in my own home, I use the non-holiday months as a chance to freshen and maybe try things in new places. A biscuit jar as a vase, a tray filled with miss-matched glasses for bulb-starting, the list goes on. Most important, is decorate/live with what you love, whether it is ‘IN’ or not. Great post, thanks, Sandi
Call me crazy…I leave Thanksgiving (my favorite) up until almost Christmas. Then we leave up Christmas trees and the mantel until just past Valentines. I do pare out all of Santa and some other theme decorations but the tree and deer decorations are last to go. First, my family agrees, it’s just cheery and we love that through dreary January and February. I also vary my Christmas color theme so it’s not always traditional red. By March we do simplify and enjoy last touches of Winter in a minimalist way. I’m older and not as quick to change for lesser holidays. My grandchildren enjoy it a lot…my 4 year old says he’s going to carry on the tradition:)