Cozy & Simple European Cottage Winter Decor in the Kitchen

Winter decor can be hard, so today I’m excited to share our European cottage winter decor and a little secret about decorating your home.

How I Simplified Our Home Decor this Winter

• Simple greenery stems
• Neutral and calm linens
• Display everyday items as decor (wooden spatulas in a crock, stand mixers, flour canisters, etc.)
• Remove items that are just decor with no function (I had books on the kitchen counter and they felt like they were cluttering the counter instead of adding to the aesthetic.)
• Display artwork that is life giving (this could be as simple as papers that the kiddos colored for you!! Is there any better artwork?)
• Go through cabinets/closets and get rid of things that make opening those spaces painful and then donate the items you don’t actually use. (When it’s easier to do the things we need to do it reduces our anxiety surrounding that activity.)
• Add candles (If you’ve been around here very long you know I LOVE real candles, but my sister in law gave me some battery operated candles and I actually like them more than I thought I would.)

If you’re interested you can always watch the YouTube video I created for our European cottage winter decor here.

European Cottage Winter Decor: Linens

One of my favorite and most affordable ways to switch up our kitchen is with kitchen linens.

I love tea towels for various reasons.

They are simple and beautiful.

But they are also very functional.

I use them for sourdough and butter, and we will be using them for cheese soon too!

You can get some with pretty designs, but I like mine fairly simple.

They other thing about them that I love is how affordable they are.

Changing the towels in the kitchen can completely change the mood and feeling and the tea towels I like are $18 for 12!!

European Cottage Winter Decor: Candles

For so long I have been such a candle snob.

I didn’t even realize it, until this past Christmas.

These candles were EVERYWHERE!

I thought to myself, they look fine, but nothing beats a real drippy candle.

Then I opened these candles for a Christmas present from my sister-in-law.

After getting them, I swapped our real candles for these, and YOU GUYS!

When the evening comes and we turn the candles on they create such a beautiful ambiance!

My husband actually made the comment that he likes them because we turn them on all evening every day, and the real candles we only light for short period.

We were actually driving home from small group last night and when we pulled into the driveway the only light on in the house were the candles, and it looked so beautiful through the window.

European Cottage Winter Decor: Simple Greenery

I almost always have greenery of some kind out regardless of what the season is.

After I took Christmas down I probably went about 2 weeks before I went to the basement and grabbed a few simple stems to replace the evergreens.

Those two weeks were dreary with very little sunshine (a typical winter in Ohio) and without the greenery, in the house it felt worse than normal.

I know this is going to sound silly, but as soon as I added greenery back to the kitchen and dining room if just felt better.

European Cottage Winter Decor: Rugs

I’m in love with our new rugs.

I’m super cheap, so when we originally bought rugs for the kitchen I went to IKEA.

I think I spent $3/rug.

Now, this isn’t the case with all things IKEA, but with my $3 rugs, I definitely got what I paid for.

They weren’t comfortable for my feet, and we just generally struggled with them.

(Don’t buy white rugs for the kitchen when you have small kiddos haha.)

So with my Christmas money I decided to buy our kitchen some kitchen rugs that would be comfortable and beautiful.

These rugs fit the bill.

I love them!

Now, they are not machine washable.

That was the first thing my husband asked me.

But because they are multi-colored and a little darker I think most spills will just blend in.

(I’d like to pretend that we won’t have spills but I put these rugs down 2 weeks ago and they have already had sourdough starter, cooked chicken, and carrots fall on them already haha!)

European Cottage Winter Decor: Artwork

Every winter I pull out this piece of artwork.

But if you go back through all of my post about winter decor in the kitchen and dining room you’ll see that it shows up nowhere.

Peaceful Home-Dining Room
6 Tips for Winter Decor
How to Decorate Kitchen Shelves

I bring it upstairs from the basement where I keep all my decor, then decide to take it back down.

I’m always afraid that it doesn’t look good enough, and that people won’t like it as much as I do.

Isn’t that ridiculous?

I bought it because I love it, and yet I keep it hidden in my basement.

This year I decided to pull it out and hang it up regardless of what my fear said.

The Secret to Winter Home Decorating

There is NO secret!

You can decorate you home however and whenever for all the seasons.

If I’m being totally honest, my house still had Christmas decor up until mid-January.

Not because I was sad to take it down or anything.

It was because I decided to take a break from all the home decor things, and I really leaned into it.

But when mid-January hit I decided I had regained the energy I needed to tackle Christmas decor.

Some people may hear that I left my Christmas up that long and cringe at that thought.

But here’s the thing.

All our lives look different from each other and all our seasons are different too.

In some season’s I have the motivation and energy of 10 women, and other times I’m needing rest and time to recover.

So my encouragement to you is to worry less about what others may think about your decisions and do what you need for you in the season you’re in.

So for winter in our home this year we are doing simple with touches of hope for the Spring that will come.

I’m praying for you and hope that you have a great week!!

Can’t wait to share next weeks post.

I talk about it a little in the YouTube video, and it’s going to be so much fun!

Also this week I did a collaberation with a sweet friend from YouTube.

Her name is Karrie and she is the creator behind Cottage Diaries.

She is so kind and I think you’re going to love her videos!

Pin for Later!

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Also, make sure you follow along on YouTube & Pinterest to check out all the other inspirations I’ve been pinning!

Have a great week! XoXo

Open Your Doors,
Aliya

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