The North Wind Season: Home Decorating for the Holidays

At the same time each year, the air outside turns brisk and cold when northern wind gusts rise. Whether you call it a big city or a small-town home, holiday decorations will be drawn across front lawns, tangled around door frames, and twisted along porch railings. But whatever the celebration, across darkening landscapes everywhere, residences will take on their unique brand of come-hither-winter flair.

By choosing colors from the warm side of the color wheel, we can send visual cues to our bodies that inspire thoughts of sunlight1. These unique tones, also called earth tones, run the gamut from red through yellow and include countless in-between shades such as orange, brown, and gold. When you accent your home with textiles in these colors, you promote an intimate—even cozy—feel. A cluster of pillows might compliment a seating area, comfortable throw blankets could drape various easy chairs, a carefully selected rug would welcome guests into the foyer, and seasonal curtains may be easily hung and artfully tied back. However you choose to incorporate earth tones into your décor, they’re an affordable way to add swathes of warmth that will be simple to change out next year.

Consider winter greens, fruits, seeds, and berries for those aspiring to bring nature indoors. With their abundance of cool green tones, Evergreen garlands will compliment any warm reds or yellows in your holiday plans. Garlands become fragrant centerpieces when draped over a holiday table, and they’re equally dramatic along indoor and outdoor railings. Winter squash is widely associated with fall and can last all season when properly preserved2. While pumpkins are the best-known variety, butternut squash and smaller gourds are affordable. Their wide array of shapes, sizes, and colors will add immediate interest when grouped together. Use them on front porch steps or nestle between torches, lanterns, or candles on the mantle or tabletop. In some places, fall is known as pine cone season, thanks to the abundance of conifer cones littering the ground. Pine cones are easy to collect and display in glass vases, rustic baskets, or vintage wood buckets. Finally, there are the holly trees with their bright red berries. The branches of holly trees have traditionally served as the foundation for front-door wreaths.

A variation on the holiday wreath is the increasingly popular ombre wreath. The term “ombre” originally referred to the blending of three colors. An ombre wreath often incorporates summer, fall, and winter shades. For this reason, they can be an excellent way to bring dried Summer flowers into your fall decorating plans. With a bit of preparation, it is easy to dry your flowers3, and not expensive to purchase them. Flowers that dry well include hydrangea, eucalyptus, roses, baby’s breath, lavender, wheatgrass, and yarrow.

1 Source: https://www.canva.com/colors/color-wheel/.
2 Source: https://newengland.com/today/living/crafts/how-to-preserve-gourds/.