Winter styling guide
Winter Cottage Decor: What to Hang After Christmas
The tree is out on the curb, the ornaments are back in their boxes, and the living room suddenly looks bare. January doesn't have to feel like that.
The trick is to swap your Christmas art for winter art, not for nothing. Skaters on a frozen pond, a highland loch under snowy peaks, a fox sketched in the frost: scenes that feel wintry and cozy without saying "holiday". They carry the house through the coldest, darkest weeks of the year, and they can stay up until the first daffodils.
Below are three winter cottage looks, the January swap in five steps, and the textiles that pull each room together.
Look 1: The snowy village living room
This is the look for the room where everyone ends up on a January evening. Skaters gliding across a frozen pond below a church spire, a snowflake painted in soft cream and blue, a family walking home through the snow: it all feels like a hot chocolate by the fire.
Build it around one wide landscape in the middle. Flank it with two smaller portrait-shaped prints hung at the same center height, and keep the colors soft (cream, grey-blue, warm brown) to match wool and linen.
Frame it: light oak or whitewashed wood with a cream mat. Pair with a chunky knit throw and a sheepskin.
Look 2: The highland winter bedroom
Think of a stone cottage in the Scottish Highlands: mist on the hills, sheep in the heather, a loch under snowy peaks, and a plaid wool blanket on the bed. It is the calmest of the three looks, which is exactly what a bedroom needs in the dark months.
Three landscape-shaped prints in a single row look best above a bed. Keep them the same height and let the whole row span about two thirds of the headboard.
Frame it: dark walnut with a warm off-white mat. Pair with a tartan or plaid wool throw and sage, oatmeal or heather textiles.
Look 3: The woodland entryway
The entryway is the first thing you see when you come in from the cold, so give it something simple and graphic. A fox drawn in ink on cream paper and a white swan on black make a striking black-and-cream pair, and both feel like winter creatures.
Hang the two side by side, centered over the bench, with the bottom of the frames about 10 inches above the coat hooks or bench cushion.
Frame it: slim matte black. Skip the mat on the swan for a modern edge, or add one to both for a softer look.
The January swap in five steps
- Keep the frames up. When the ornaments come down, leave every frame on the wall. Only the paper changes.
- Take out anything that says Christmas. Santa, bells, wreaths and reindeer go back in the box.
- Keep anything that just says winter. Snowflakes, sleighs, snowy forests and skaters can stay. You may find half your wall is already done.
- Fill the gaps with landscapes and animals. Highland lochs, sheep in the mist, a fox, a swan: calm, cold-weather subjects.
- Swap the red for wool. Replace red and green textiles with cream, oatmeal, grey-blue and plaid. The art will suddenly look intentional.
Still decorating for the holidays? Start with our vintage Christmas wall art guide. Many of its prints (the snowflakes, the sleigh, the tree hunt) carry straight over into January.
What to pair with each look
| Look | Frames | Textiles and colors |
|---|---|---|
| Snowy village | Light oak, whitewash | Cream knit, sheepskin, faded blue, oatmeal linen |
| Highland bedroom | Dark walnut | Tartan wool, sage, heather, off-white bedding |
| Woodland entryway | Slim black | Plaid blanket, sheepskin, leather, jute |
Printing tip: print on matte paper and add a cream mat. Winter light is flat and cool, and glossy prints bounce it straight back at you.
FAQ
What should I hang after Christmas decorations come down?
Snowy landscapes, snowflakes, winter animals and soft neutral scenes. They feel seasonal without saying Christmas, so they can stay up from January until the first spring flowers.
When should I switch to spring art?
Most people swap in March. If winter is long where you live, the highland and neutral pieces work well into April.
Will I get a physical print?
No. You get high-resolution digital files to print at home or at a local print shop. Nothing ships.
Can I reuse my Christmas frames?
Yes. Every print comes in five ratios that fit standard US frames, so the January swap is just new paper in the same frames.
Cozy until spring
Pick a look, print it, and slide it into the frames that held your Christmas art.
Christmas and winter art Vintage landscapes