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Hello everyone. I've never been on this board before cause I'm not really into decorating. However, someone recommended I check out this board for my question.
I would like to add some decoration to the front of my house or porch for the long, boring, depressing winter. I usually do nothing and it's such a long, depressing season. Do you decorate the front of your house for wintertime? I am NOT referring to Holiday decorating, I mean after New Year's, like in January. I need some ideas! Thanks so much!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Wavy,

i know what you mean. after all the fall colors, and Christmas, things look so dull, and it is a letdown. I live in a warm climate now, but seem to have more trouble wainitng for spring with all the flowers,etc

Only suggesting I may have is some pretty containers, with things like boxwood, asparagus ferns and pyracantha have red berries that last all winter, if they have them in your area.

Having grown up in Pennsylavania, I remember not all winter is those beautiful snowy days, with snowman in the yard, frost on the windows, etc. There were just too many of those cold bleak winter days. I used to put up snowmen in my indoors after Christmas as I missed the easstern winters, but I would get comments like why do you still have your Christmas decorations up. But you could also still use fake snowmen and white twinkley lights up thru January and February too.

If you have window boxes, large urns or pots, fill with fresh evergreen greenery( usually do this in late Nov when supplies are plentiful if you don't have a yard to cut from.) I spray with an incandescent spray, and make sure all containers are watered thoroughly. Using curly twigs, red branches, anything with color contrast, gives the containers ha bright look in the bleak days of winter. I put my pots at front of house so they look nice at the street, and others go on the deck which can be seen from the inside thru our sliders. Goes without say, the front door has a fake evergreen wreath as well. Lots of ideas out there on Pinterest, magazines or copy from homes you admire.

Having lived most of my life in the Northeast, I hear what you are saying.

One thing we did was to have large urns flanking our door, planted with slow-growing evergreens in a cone shape. (Later we used the frankly fake versions). We removed the obvious holiday ornaments, but kept white twinkle lights on them after Xmas; looked so pretty at night.

If your neighborhood allows, adorn bare trees on the front yard with twinkle lights for that pretty sparkly look. This is a popular winter look in many cities, especially downtown.

Any kind of evergreen wreath on the door will still look great after the holidays, especially if has red berries and a plain ribbon. Add tiny red cardinals to the wreath. They are winter birds, so it will look seasonal.

And, don't worry: Valentine's Day will be right around the corner!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: aychihuahua,

I use a winter themed wreath between New Year's and the beginning of spring. It's basically a grapevine wreath with a cardinal, some bits of pine and some red berries. I live in a temperate climate so I have green plants year-round, but pansies are a good flower to put into pots in the winter as they are colorful and can withstand the cold.

I found some pictures of winter plantings at the following site: http://www.deborahsilver.com/b...=container+plantings

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Graciepj,

Welcome to the boards. Lots of great ideas already posed. When you think winter in the north post holidays, think of things like baskets filled with pinecones, greenery (as has already been suggested), a colorful door mat, a large colorful lantern on a table by a chair or bench w/ battery candle, a sleigh propped up, flower boxes adorned with wintery greenery/berries, and a seasonal wreath. Seasonal elements are things like pinecones, holly branches, red berry branches, white ice skates hanging off a railing or door, faux fur, etc.. A few examples are found here:
http://cleverlyinspired.com/20...-winter-front-porch/

Featuring a bench and/or door in a cherry, vibrant color like a red or yellow can go a long way to cheer up the outdoor entry.


A tall vessel can hold a bunch of battery lighted branches.

Luminaries (ex. punched bare cans w/ patterns) can alight the steps or hang over a railing or from shepherd's hooks.

Create a cascade of snowflakes in front of a bare window. It will act as a lace curtain and will be highly visible if the room is illuminated at a safe distance from the paper flakes. Here's a visual.

Another wintery vignette (btw, skis can be used in a similar way especially if colorful to be viewed from the curb):

In this example, greens or holly branches can be substituted for the Christmas bulbs. Even faux snowballs can take their place. A more colorful bucket would add a punch of warmness also.

If your door is dark in color, this burlap wreath idea flanked by clusters of large candle filled lanterns is sure to be warm and welcoming from Fall onto the winter months. Touches of Thanksgiving and Christmas can be simply added and then removed when the holidays are past.
http://confessionsofaplateaddi...rlap-wreath-and.html

If protected enough, a colorful blanket or inexpensive quilt can be used as a throw on a bench or chair.

Hi Wavy, glad you found your way over here!

One thing we did a few years ago that I liked was place a tree in an old wheelbarrow on the patio. Even tho we have lots of trees in our yard they are too tall to decorate easily so DH cut a small one for the patio. If the lights were white it could stay up well after Christmas and not look overly 'Christmassy'.

May not work for everyone as it was quite rustic but it was fairly easy and looked great.

Here's the tree at night...

I leave my snowmen on the front porch until I am ready to switch to something for Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day.
since we live where we can have snow all the way into May, I could leave them out there for several months, LOL.

TTFN,
Candy