Decorating for Winter with the Beauty of the Great Outdoors
The squirrels aren’t the only ones who store up and tuck in for winter in mountain country. Humans, too, instinctively linger longer inside when that first winter chill fills the air. Unfortunately, in the pre or post-chaos of holiday parties and other gatherings, our living rooms and dining areas can begin feeling less cozy and more stir-crazy. One of the best ways to avoid clutter and calamity indoors this winter and instill a sense of calm back into our most beloved spaces is to deck our halls, walls, and surfaces with the calming beauty of the great outdoors.
Luckily, for those of us living in Appalachia, we don’t need to shop online or at the nearest home decor store to achieve a woodland-inspired wonderland in our homes. Grab your favorite tote or basket and step outside with the family, or take a solitary stroll in your local park or backyard, and you’re sure to find all the materials you need for top-tier decor (no shipping necessary!). Here is a list of simple indoor decor projects that will have you and others seeing the indoors differently this winter.
Bountiful Bowls and Baskets
Have a lovely serving dish you only use once a year or a beautiful basket sitting ignored in a closet? Give these items a longer shelf life and a new purpose by filling them with your favorite outdoor treasures. Enhance the sophistication of this decor choice by ensuring the contents of each vessel are the same: a basket full of unbroken pinecones, a shallow bowl of clean and shiny acorns, or a dish with your favorite river stones can add charm to any side table, fireplace, or centerpiece.
To make this simple decoration an interactive experience, consider assigning each family member a specific outdoor trinket to collect and store in their container throughout the season as they venture outdoors. Another way to engage smaller hands in this kind of decorating is to go on a scavenger hunt to collect as many of one or two items as you can in a single trip outside and then enjoy sorting out “the pick of the liter” together around the table as you recount all you saw and heard outside.
Glorious Garlands
Retailers have us convinced it takes the automation of mass production to create a beautiful garland, but this is a homemade decoration known to be used in celebrations dating back to ancient Egypt and Rome. Garlands can be as simple as using miniature clothes pins to hang a colorful array of dried leaves from a pretty piece of ribbon, stringing berries, popcorn, or other dried fruits and seeds onto a string as if they were beads, or as complex as interlocking the more supple boughs of feathery evergreen trees into a tidy row. To create this later garland, simply choose the greenery you would like to use, line the branches up end to end, then use floral wire to tights and wrap the ends together. Attach springs of berries, flowers, lightweight charms, or bows throughout the garland for additional character to match the charm of the season and home.
Need unique decorations for your holiday tree? Read about handmade decorations in “Appalachian Christmas Traditions to Warm Your Hearth and Home.”
Wreaths Your Way
Willow branches, grape vines, or any other kind of slender, flexible branches from bushes or small trees in your yard are perfect for making your wreaths year-round. The length and amount of branches you gather are up to you and will determine the size of the wreath you will make. Once you have harvested the branches or vines you want to use, strip them of all their leaves and offshoots by running a gloved hand against them to snap them off or trimming sheers. Once your vines or branches are processed, take one in your hands and bend it to form a circle, wrapping the tip and end around one another so they are secure. Once you have your initial loom, repeat this process with the rest of your branches, and stagger the twist so the wreath becomes fuller and holds itself together. As you bend and twist your branches, try not to break any; instead, wait until the end to cut away any loose ends. Once your wreath is formed, rest around an over-turned bucket or hang up to dry for two weeks before adding foliage or decoration.
The Appalachian forest brims with a bounty of beautiful decor that many people across the country could only dream of. So, step outside this winter season and make new memories and decorations that your friends and family will adore.
