Redecorating your home after Christmas can be sad, daunting, or maybe, even exciting! As we look to the few couple months of winter and look back at our cozy holiday decor, how can we bring some whimsy into our home? We chatted with Courtney Wafzig of Zig and Company about how she spruces up after the holidays! She offers her redecorating tips for January and beyond to bring a bit of brightness in your home while it may be dreary outside.
Redecorating After Christmas
There is nothing I love more than the magic of Christmas, layers of color, pine branches, and sparkle everywhere. Christmas decor makes a home feel extra cozy and celebratory. However, once January rolls around, I’m always ready for a fresh start. Not a sterile reset, just a lighter, brighter version of home that feels hopeful for the New Year.
For us, Christmas decorations usually come down during the first week of January. I like to rip the band-aid off quickly. Once the tree is gone, it instantly opens the room and gives me permission to rethink everything.
The Take-Down & The Reset
When the Christmas décor comes down, I don’t rush to put things back exactly as they were before. Instead, I treat it like a mini redesign moment. Furniture gets rearranged (especially wherever the tree lived), and every surface gets a reset. Coffee tables, sideboards, mantels—holiday layers are replaced with fewer, more intentional pieces.
This is when I start asking myself:
What feels joyful right now? What feels fresh? What feels like winter… but happier?
Rearranging for a New Season
After the tree comes out of the living room, I almost always move furniture around. Even small shifts, angling a chair differently, swapping a side table, or pulling pieces slightly away from the walls can make a space feel brand new. It’s such an easy way to refresh your home without buying anything new.
Fresh Flowers, Always
One non-negotiable for me during winter is fresh flowers and plants. The moment Christmas comes down, blooms go up. I always reach for grocery store flowers—alstroemeria, carnations, and simple greenery are my go-to favorites. I love them because they last two to three weeks in a vase. As a bonus, they’re usually the most budget-friendly option, which makes it easy to refresh them often. Fresh greenery and flowers instantly breathe life into a space and serve as a gentle reminder that spring will come even when it still feels far away.
I’m always chasing that feeling of sunshine indoors while I wait impatiently for the real thing. That’s where a little color and whimsy really earn their keep. The Vincent Lantern from Stray Dog Designs does exactly that. The fresh orange blossom color feels like bottled sunshine, and the delicate pink dangling flowers add the sweetest, unexpected touch, almost like petals caught mid-fall. Paired with a table full of blooms, it turns everyday moments into something joyful and lifts the entire room, even on the grayest winter days.
What Brings Me Joy in Winter
Decor-wise, joy looks like color, whimsy, and rooms that feel collected rather than cleared out. Life-wise, it’s the slower pace, more evenings at home, rearranging rooms, dreaming about spring projects, and enjoying spaces in a quieter way.
January isn’t about stripping everything away. It’s about editing, reimagining, and letting a few joyful pieces take center stage. A clean slate doesn’t have to mean boring. It can still be playful, layered, and full of charm. Winter may be gray, but our homes don’t have to be.
