DIY Challenge – Create a Cozy Winter Entrance

It’s January and time for another round of DIY Challenge with Terrie over at decorateandmorewithtip.com. Terrie has some great DIY tips so make sure that you visit her blog. Also see the bottom of this page for more inspiration from other bloggers involved in this challenge. This month’s challenge was to give inspiration on warming up your home for the winter.

The Challenge

I love to DIY, but decorating always presents a challenge to me. I have a very small home and I work a full-time job plus have a small hobby farm to take care of. My days are filled! January is a challenge in itself because it means taking down Christmas decor and packing it all away. Somehow this always leads to sorting, cleaning, and organizing, instead of redecorating and I miss the winter months. My home ends up going from half taken down Christmas, to a little Valentines, to Easter. I decided this Challenge might be the perfect motivation that I needed to actually get some winter decorating done!

The entrance to my basement has always been rather bare as I’ve never had time nor motivation to do any decorating. I wanted to bring a cozy winter look to this area, making it more welcoming for visitors coming in this door. I’ve always had a basic wooden bench directly inside the door, but not much on the walls. Our floor in this area is a solid maple with a nice warm tone. the maple leads up the stairs to the main part of our living area.

Ingredients of a cozy winter entrance

When I think of winter, I think of being cozy inside, of fuzzy slippers, blankets and pillows, of weathered gray wood and neutral colors. These were things that I wanted to incorporate in my cozy winter corner. I decided that I would not buy anything for my entrance, but instead would go “shopping” in my decor stash and make anything else necessary.

I had forgotten about a mirror that I had purchased at Hobby Lobby on clearance a while back that had a great weathered finish. It reminded me of an old garden fence that I had recently taken down, so I brought one of the weathered old pickets inside and attached some rustic farmhouse hooks to it. These 2 items are both wood and rectangle, so I would need some different shapes to go with them.

For something round on my wall, I wanted a wreath, but had a difficult time deciding what type to include. I decided on an evergreen wreath that had no decoration on it, one of my favorites to have up at Christmas time. As the seasons change, I can easily swap a different wreath out for this one. For texture, I decided to add a basket that I think I will use for holding mail when I come in the door. I plan on using the hooks for bags, hats, and possibly light coats, but I still wanted to add a welcoming touch. I quickly made one of my small embroidered pillows to hang up.

Finishing Touches

To add to the cozy welcoming feel of our entrance, I added more texture and warmth with neutral colored blankets and pillows. The “blanket” that I have draped over my bench is actually a very large, soft scarf. I have seen many of these blanket scarves that would look beautiful in decor or even used as a lap blanket. My grandmother’s old egg basket is perfect for holding pillows and extra blankets that guests can use. I think I will put together some fuzzy socks to add to the basket.

I’m working on some valentines decor that I can easily slip into place on this wall and I’m now on a roll being motivated to get the rest of my house done! Next up, please visit Jessica to learn a fun DIY winter project. Make sure you visit all the blogs below to get more inspiration!