How to Make Your Home Feel Cozy After Christmas

If you’re anything like me, once all the Christmas decorations come down the house always feels a little bare. Trust me, I don’t put up a lot of Christmas decor. But I still miss the cozy Christmas feel. This has me looking for ways to make my home feel cozy after Christmas

It’s interesting because I’m always ready to take the decorations down. I thrive in a clean and decluttered space. Yet, I equally love a cozy and warm space.

So with the Christmas decor packed away for another year, the house feels a bit cold and drab. Which means I need ways to make it feel refreshed and cozy.

My Favorite After Christmas Winter Decorating Tips

My favorite part of these tips is you can use them year-round to make a cozy and relaxing home. They are simple and add the perfect amount of cozy so you can decorate without creating clutter.

So if you’re ready to keep the cozy going we are going to focus on:

Lighting
Scents
Add Lots of Textures
Bring in Nature
Use Candles
Decor with warm neutral tones

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase something mentioned in this post. See more details here.

Lighting

One of the biggest things that make your home feel cozy during Christmas is the lighting. All those beautiful Christmas lights cast a warm and cozy glow.

After the Christmas decorations are down, we move too quickly to the harsh overhead lighting. However, for your home to stay cozy after Christmas it’s all about keeping the lighting soft and warm.

Soft, warm lighting is what creates that feeling of comfort, warmth, and coziness. So keep the overhead lighting off and add a couple of lamps to light your space.

I prefer to opt for floor lamps as they will keep your tabletops clutter-free yet still provide that cozy feel.

Just make sure you use lightbulbs that give off a warm yellowish glow instead of the cooler white lightbulbs that give off a bluish glow.

Even if you simply swap out any colder hue bulbs for warmer bulbs, you will see a big difference in how cozier your home feels.

Don’t be afraid to keep some of your string lights up. They are very in style right now. The best part is you can drape them anywhere to give an instant cozy glow.

Scents

Another big thing that makes your home feel cozy during the holidays is all the various scents. The smells of baking, warm vanilla, cinnamon, and fresh pine from the Christmas tree.

Scents can be very powerful and trigger memories and feelings from the past.

To make your home feel cozy after Christmas do a little baking and create a list of comfort foods to make.

Another idea is to keep a simmering pot of favorite scents on the stove. I’ve tried this one and it’s really good! Another option is to diffuse warm, cozy scents like vanilla cinnamon, or pine.

Having a home that has those cozy scents waffling through it, is just as important as how it looks.

Add Lots of Textures

There is something about varying textures that just makes everything feel cozy. If you want to keep that cozy feel after all the Christmas decorations come down, don’t put away those cozy throws and soft pillows.

Drape one across the sofa and corral the others in a basket or hang them up for an instant cozy vibe.

If you have hard flooring adding rugs is another great way to cozy up your home. Not only does it add warmth under your feet, but it also adds more cozy textures. Amazon has a great selection of rugs and really reasonable prices.

Add in a few decor accessories in differing patterns and materials to really up the cozy factor.

Bring in Nature

One of the biggest things that make your home feel a bit naked after Christmas is when the tree comes down. That’s why bringing in some nature is the perfect way to make your home cozy after Christmas.

My favorite way to add some nature to my home is with plants. Don’t worry if you don’t have a green thumb. They make some beautiful faux greenery these days that works just as well as live plants.

When it comes to containers for your plants, vary the textures here too. Use some natural elements like baskets or wicker. Then mix in some warm terracotta planters as well.

You can also add other elements of nature, such as pampas grass, dried flowers, pinecones, and wood decor or furniture pieces.

Of course, a fresh winter bouquet of flowers is another excellent option for bringing some nature to your decor.

Use Candles

Nothing says cozy to me more than a room full of lit candles—something about that flickering light that creates instant warmth no matter how cold it is outside.

I have a candle (or three) burning regularly in my home. Candles are without a doubt my favorite way to keep things cozy.

If candles are not an option for you, consider some battery-operated candles, they can be a great option to add a cozy factor to your home.

Decor with warm neutral tones

Decorating with neutrals is key to making your home feel cozy after Christmas. I realize Christmas carries with it a lot of bright colors. However bright colors tend to make you feel more energized than cozy.

This of course does not mean you need to go with completely neutral decor. Just add neutral pieces to your existing decor.

Warm beiges, creams, tans, or even warm greys in your accent pieces will act to calm down brighter colors. This in turn will make your home feel cozier.

The nice thing about neutrals is they work year-round and make it easy to change up your style.