Cozy Winter Color Schemes You'll Love All Season Long
As the weather turns colder and the days get darker, we start searching for ways to make our homes even cozier. In addition to stocking up on fuzzy throw pillows and heated blankets, utilizing color is a way to add warmth to a space and preserve that hygge feeling, despite the chilly temperatures outside. This season, amp up the coziness of your home by incorporating one of these inspired-by-winter color schemes. Featuring saturated shades, warm neutrals, and a few cool hues, these winter palettes will wrap your home in a welcoming ambiance that will carry you through from fall to spring.
Kim Cornelison
Winter Holiday Colors
The start of winter coincides with the holiday season, and with that comes holiday decorating. To save yourself some effort during this busy time of year, look to your typical seasonal decor to inspire your overall winter color palette. Work in touches of traditional Christmas colors to create a cheery atmosphere that transitions easily in and out of the holiday season.
To ensure your winter decor can live on even after December ends, bypass bright red and green in favor of subtler shades. Pair a deep forest green with soft salmon red, for example, or combine rich burgundy with mellow sage green. Then layer in neutrals like white, gray, and wood tones to further calm the festive palette.
Starting with a neutral backdrop, introduce red and green into your winter color scheme in small doses, such as upholstered dining chairs or framed wall art. A bowl of real or artificial fruit (think: pomegranates or red apples) is another great way to add color and an organic element reminiscent of the summer months. For an extra hit of green, consider incorporating potted houseplants into your decor.
James Nathan Schroder
Winter Jewel Tone Colors
Rich jewel tones, such as turquoise, ruby red, and magenta, can instantly make a room feel more intimate. You can easily incorporate these vibrant hues into your home by simply opting for deeper, more saturated shades of your current color scheme. If your decor features touches of light blues, for example, consider layering in accessories and fabrics in a dark navy or sapphire blue. If bright shades of green appear throughout your home, add hints of rich emerald or hunter green.
To keep the room for going too dark, mix in lighter neutrals for balance. Keep the walls painted eggshell white, or select an ivory area rug to serve as the winter palette's foundation.
Use plush textures, such as velvet and chenille, to bump up the warmth in a dark winter color scheme. Then bring in other cozy accessories like candles, shag rugs, and textured blankets. To lighten the mood, include an unexpected accent like a geometric color-blocked pillow or a fuzzy leopard print throw.
David A Land
Cool Winter Colors
Draw inspiration from the arctic weather outside and embrace icy hues in your decor. Snow white, powder blue, and cool gray create a no-fail combo that gives your home a crisp, polished look. These cold-weather colors form an elegant palette that's ideal in bedrooms, dining rooms, and formal living spaces.
To keep the look from veering too cold and uninviting, soften your space with plush textures. Velvet, linen, and faux fur balance cooler colors by providing added dimension and softness. Then layer in a warmer accent color, such as blush pink, or accessorize with light fixtures, photo frames, and other decorative items in shiny metallic finishes.
Tria Giovan Photography Inc
Neutral Winter Colors
Neutral colors are always in season, but they feel especially warm and cozy in the winter. This sophisticated color palette can help foster a soothing, tranquil feeling that you'll appreciate on cold winter days when you'd rather snuggle up on the couch than venture outside. To achieve this calming effect, ground your color scheme in shades of creamy white, soft gray, tan, and taupe.
Keep this winter color palette interesting with a variety of patterns, such as plaids, stripes, florals, and even animal prints. In pared-down neutral tones, these patterns take on a luxurious air. Accents that feature natural materials, such as woven baskets, wood furnishings, wool rugs, and marble accessories, are another method of introducing texture to the room.
To add contrast, consider incorporating one accent color in small doses, such as wall art painted in blue tones or a smattering of vintage red books. Black is a great choice to add emphasis without breaking the all-neutral aesthetic.
