I always feel like home spaces feel empty after all of the Christmas décor (click to see this year's Winter Wonderland outdoor decor here) has been taken down and put away. As our un-decorated environments slowly start to re-normalize, I find that having a bit of extra colour and greenery around brings life to a space. This is a good thing, especially during Vancouver's grey days of winter.
This year I wasn’t ready to say “good-bye” to my winter porch décor. I had put a fair amount of time into planning and creating my outdoor pots, planters and urns, so I decided to keep them post-holiday, but make a few tweaks. Now, they are winter ready, but don't feel too Christmassy.
1. Keep Your Greens
I removed all extra decor like lights, Christmas balls, snowflakes, ribbons, etc. that looked like Christmas from the planters, porch and roofline. Anything glittery or with Christmas colours was packed up. I kept all of the natural greenery, boughs, branches and pine cones in the planters, pots and urns - essentially anything that felt woodland like I kept. I also left the bird house in my one urn, as I noticed a few hummingbirds had started to take shelter inside.
This year, none of my greenery or small trees were flocked, but I think this look would also be lovely to keep as wintery outdoor decor for January to late February.
2. Lanterns
I decided to switch the lights and candles in a few of my more visible lanterns from shimmery silver exterior outdoor lights (for Christmas) to natural bark candles. I like how the bark ties in with the greenery and nature feel of the porch. Not only do the bark candles look great in the outdoor lanterns, but they also bring a neutral brightness and texture to the space. A few times a year in Vancouver this (snowy image below) happens and having some texture really cozies up an outdoor space to contrast the "blanket" of white.
My door mat is layered to add more texture and the bark candles highlight the palette of the mat.
3. Choose An Accent Colour
On the rest of the porch, I kept two red cushions, as a pop of colour transitions well into February and Valentine’s Day decor. In addition to the natural greens and small cedar trees, I added one red pot with a white hellebores, a winter blooming flower.
4. Add Winter Blooming Flowers
With Vancouver's climate (rainy, windy, cold, sometimes freezing temperatures and snow), there aren’t too many flowers that will bloom in winter. The hellebores is a hardy evergreen flowering plant that survives will in damp areas. They commonly flower from early January to mid-March, so are perfect for winter colour and outdoor displays.
There are over 20 varieties of hellebores with different petal styles . They range in colour from neutral white and lime green blooms to stunning deep burgundies and red. These richly coloured varietals transition beautifully into mid-February and Valentine’s Day. Fittingly, they are sometimes nicknamed "winter jewels".
Images above and below: A variety of winter blooming hellebores from my neighbourhood.
5. Think Seasonally
By keeping a few pops of colour (such as red) in your outdoor decor, you'll barely blink and the next thing you know, February will arrive and a few more items can be brought into your space to celebrate Valentine's Day. This year, I added a red heart wreath (Image below, "how-to" linked here) to my porch to tie in with the red cushions and potted flower.
I hope this post gives you some ideas about how to bring warmth and a bit of life to your outdoor space during the winter months, without feeling overdone or Christmassy.
I'd love to hear how you decorate your outdoor spaces for the winter months. Leave a comment below or post to #mykuratedlife on social.
Take care,
Krista
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