WINTER TRANSITIONAL VIGNETTE
Now is the time to add a winter vignette to your home decor! So many StoneGable friends have written and asked me, how do you decorate after Christmas and through the winter? Well, I am so glad you asked! Let me show you one way that will change the look of a room!
Let’s create a pretty winter transitional winter vignette that will be a big focal point in your living room, family room, dining room and more!
WHAT IS TRANSITIONAL DECORATING
I love the word transitional when it comes to decorating!
Transition means to move from one place to another with ease.
And that is exactly how I think we should decorate. Let’s ease out of Christmas and ease into winter and beyond!
I’m a huge fan of winter decorating! I love that stripped-down look of my home after all the Christmas trimmings are taken down and put away.
It’s like my home takes a deep breath! There is more open space. And my home looks so uncluttered after Christmas!
Embrace winter! And transition into the new season.
CREATE A TRANSITIONAL WINTER VIGNETTE
Like all vignettes, there are some basic design elements that almost guarantees a gorgeous arrangement. Remember these design guidelines when creating a vignette…
- theme
- color palette
- perimeters for a vignette
- an organic element
- varying heights
- layers
- varying textures
- rule of three’s
The theme of this vignette is, of course, winter! And I like a tight color palette in the winter because it mimics what nature looks like outside my front door. Winter has such a beauty all its own.
PUT A WINTER VIGNETTE IN SOMETHING
Think of the word corral when you create any vignette. Vignettes should tell a little story. And the story should be contained in something.
I love this old and well-used basket! It is very textural and spacious! And it’s the right color!
THE RULE OF THREE
For this arrangement, I’m going to follow the design element, the rule of three. Thing grouped to make three work as three as well.
Our eyes are crazy about items grouped in three. It’s like magic!
Make sure to see THE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN… THE MAGIC OF THREE HERE.
My three items are…
- a white bread bowl of assorted pinecones
- a stack of burlap books with a textural vase of winter branches
- chippy candle
PINECONES
I am a huge fan of pinecones. They are so textural and can be used in decor from fall to early spring.
Don’t put those amazing pinecones away! Use them!!! And then don’t keep them very far away because they make the best “filler” in arrangements!
So, I chose some of the pretty pinecones I decorated with at Christmas and they are now part of my winter decor. I used many of the smaller pinecones that were various shapes and some with a little snow on the too.
The bottom pinecones are SCENTED PINECONES I made for Christmas and they still have a beautiful cinnamon/clove scent so they are staying around for a while!
You can see how easy it is to make your own SCENTED PINECONES HERE.
WINTERY BRANCHES
At first, I put a few stems of a realistic faux green plant in the white container. It was really pretty but just looked a bit too spring-inspired. And it visually fought with the pinecones!
That’s when I cut a few branches from a limb of a tree that had fallen in our yard.
These aren’t the most lovely bare branches but I think they work much better for a wintery theme. I’m on the lookout for some more gracefully shaped branches to replace these.
Remember to give a nod to what’s going on outside! It feels and looks much more authentic!
Maybe I’ll take back what I said about the branches. They look pretty in this image!
A WORD ABOUT HEIGHT IN A VIGNETTE
Varying heights in any vignette is its lifeblood! When objects grouped together are all the same heights, even if they are all very interesting, they will look boring!
I added a couple burlap covered books under the vase with the branches and, what a difference! Think about using books as risers! This is one of my favorite easy-peasy decorator tips!
You might like to see how easy it is to cover burlap books and still be able to use them.
Go HERE to see HOW TO COVER BURLAP BOOKS.
ADDING LIGHT TO A WINTER VIGNETTE
Lighting is most important in the winter. I love love love candlelight! The days are still short so use winter’s darkness to make your home glow!
Even just one candle in a vignette will throw off lots of pretty soft light. My best advice is to get candles with real-looking flames with timers. No worry about an open flame and you don’t have to turn them on and off!
You can see my favorite Below…
THE WINTER VIGNETTE TAKE-AWAY
Here’s what I want you to take away from this post so you can create a transitional winter vignette in your home…
- don’t get rid of Christmas decor that could work in a winter vignette
- add a nod to what’s happening in nature right now
- keep it simple
What is the first thing you decorate in your home for winter? If you don’t have a direction yet, try putting together a simple, beautiful early winter vignette!
Your vignette is beautiful! I particularly love the mercury glass…..love to collect it. It seems so difficult to decorate after Christmas, thank you for a new idea.
Karen
The vignettes are lovely. I like how you combine the natural elements with the sparkle of the mercury glass. It is a gentle transition from all of the Christmas sparkle.
Hope you are enjoying your family and the little new one. May I ask, is the blue door yours, if so, did you make the sweater wreath? Would love to make one.
Oops, sorry I didn’t see your post with directions.
Love your blog! I always find lovely ideas.
Wow have you taken your Christmas décor down already!?!? You are a woman after my on heart. Beautiful transition. I need to get started. Great ideas to regroup for winter and New Years.
I agree with everything you said in this post. Hope you had a great Christmas.
Still praying for a speedy and complete healing. You are so industrious. Who would think about how to decorate after Christmas decorations are put away. The house seems so empty after all things are taken down. I have added so much to my displays with ideas taken from Pinterest. Thank you for all of your creations.
After the glitz of Christmas I love the quieter transition period of Jan. My kitchen gets the first change. Since my dishes for Christmas are plain red I leave them in my hutch and just remove the greenery and lights, add more white dishes and am good through Febuary when I can add some Valentine accents. My vignette on the counter will be reduced to a bowl of fruit and pinecones with my white pitcher filled with winter berry branches. Next my mantle. I pack away the mercury glass Christmas trees angels and silver ornaments,remove the wreath replace with a painting and keep my mercury glass candle holders per your suggestion. Maybe some white amaryliss and some more pinecones on the coffee table tray and I am done.
Happy Healthy New Year to you and your family Yvonne
Thank for the transition to winter decor ideas! Happy New Year!
Hi Yvonne, I had lost your blog for some time but have just signed up again and hope to start receiving it everyday. I love the idea of the pine cones. I am going to paint mine white as my living room is rather dark in the winter. Will also add some white painted branches and leave up my white starts on the mantle. Thanks for all your great ideas. Hope this sign up will take.
Donna
I’m so glad you shared this! I wasn’t ready to put my pine cones away! Yay! Also, did lots of after Christmas shopping to prepare for next year’s Christmas! 🙂 Thanks for the idea!
So, question… since I brought in the pine cones, I’ve had some issues with tiny black moths. Do you think this could be coming from them? This is my first winter in my Wee Abode, so I’m not sure if it’s the norm for my home, or it’s coming from the cones. I Googled it, but nothing seems to come up. =/
Hi – I really like your blog and used to check in more often, but the pop up adds on every picture
drive me crazy. Your pictures are lovely, why do they have to be covered? I know they pay for content, but there must be another way. Sorry for the negativity, but I thought you’d want to know why I’ve been turned off.
HI ALI, If there was another way I would have certainly used it. I am very grateful for my sponsors. They keep my blog “alive”. I could NEVER… and let me repeat NEVER put out a blog like StoneGable any other way! StoneGable actually has less ads than most blogs its size and scope. You never see an ad covering up one-sixth of the bottom of the entire page, as many blogs do. So I forgo that revenue to keep the whole bottom of the page free from ads. Publishing StoneGalbe costs $$$$$ of dollars a month! I don’t expect you to know or understand just how much goes into a blog like StoneGable. And it is such a passion and labor of love on my part. I do understand that ads may seem an inconvenience, but think of a magazine. You are paying for pages and pages of ads and less content. StoneGable is free to you! StoneGable is published 9 times a week and that means 36 articles to inspire you! I bet most magazines don’t have that much monthly content!
I hope StoneGable is worth a few “clicks” to get rid of the ads you don’t want. I’m sorry to see you go, but I understand this blog just may not be your cup of tea! Happy New Year!
I enjoy creating vignettes in trays. The center of my kitchen island has a tray with candlesticks, my favorite muffineer and a cloisonné bowl with fruit. The biggest change it see by season is the contents of the bowl and the color of candles. At the moment, it still includes a small Russian Santa gift from a friend. I appreciate forest brown too. On a chest in my hall sits a huge round glass container filled with glossy brown buckeyes. Thank you for these suggestions. Ads? I have clicked off a blog for the constant jumping as ads load but I didn’t notice it here. Happy New Year!
Love your style
Lovely vignette! My favorite way to transition between seasons is with vignettes scattered throughout my home. Having very eclectic tastes myself, I’m partial to neutrals as a foundation and add color to suit my current fancy.
I love having a winter decor after Christmas with pine cones, etc. I was wondering when you change your winter over to spring. I’m usually itching to change it after Valentine’s Day.
Good Morning! Love how you decorate with pine cones and boxwood! I live in Wisconsin and have had boxwood bushes and they look gorgeous all year long~and plenty of pinecones in our yard & area to use for decorating/Christmas ornaments too! You mentioned you also experience four seasons, where is Stone Gate?
Hi Deb, StoneGable is in the bucolic farmland of historic Lancaster County, Pa. It is the most beautiful place to live.
Good Morning! I have noticed that when I find a decor arrangement I REALLY like it turns out to be a Stone Gable post about 40% of the time. My acquintences find my preferred color palette (which is very similar to yours) a bit boring, but your blogs have encouraged me to stick with what I like. I want to inquire about the Pottery Barn white punched lanterns that you have. I’ve admired them for quite a while, so when I finally found them available I ordered them. I just recieved them today, and I must admit that they seem so much larger than they look in your arrangements. May I ask you the dimensions of yours? I’m wondering if they may have changed them. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Maybe they are making them in different sizes now.
Also, sorry, I missed the important question about this post. I absolutely LOVE the little white “woven” ceramic bowl! Can you tell me where you got it? I need one…..OK, I want one – badly. If you can help me find one that would be wonderful. Thanks!
That is a bread basket I picked up from Williams-Sonoma.
Enjoy your site so very much! Where did you buy the candle holder?
Hi Silvia, there is a link to the candle holders… https://rstyle.me/+HE8mVw0MOctrt6kZzgGa9Q
I leave my pine cones and branches out after I put away the Christmas decor- the house looks so empty otherwise. I also leave out my snowmen, until mid February, because they make me smile and remember the excitement of snow days when I was growing up. We don’t get snow every year in Portland, Oregon. I have always defined eternal optimism as Portland kid with a new sled for Christmas!’
Happy 2020 to you and yours.
So pretty. I love the natural feel of your decorations and using white for winter.
Amalia
xo