My Early Winter Cottage Bedroom (+ Printable Seasonal Artwork)

by Melissa @ The Inspired Room | Dec 5, 2022 | Decorating Inspiration, Christmas, Christmas Decorating, feature, My Bedroom, My New House, Seasonal Decorating & Entertaining, Winter Decorating

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My Early Winter Cottage Bedroom (+ Printable Seasonal Artwork) — *Striped Gray Ruffle Duvet Cover + Shams* // *Wall Sconce // Similar Grain Sack Blue Stripe Pillow* // *Blue Floral Coverlet* // *Cane Bed* // *Blue and White Bowls on Wall*

It’s been getting a wee bit cold here on our little island, so I’ve been inspired by the season to begin a few updates to our “winter cottage bedroom.” You might find it amusing or unexpected see my winter quilt is the same one I’ve shared in summer rooms in years past. I’ll explain a few thoughts behind that and evolving a home for new seasons in this post.

As you probably know by now, I’m always inspired to create or embrace a mood for my home. The seasons provide a fun opportunity for simple or subtle changes that make rooms feel cozy and welcoming. Gratefully, you don’t have to redo the entire room to make it feel the way you want it to.

In this post I’ll share a few of the very simple updates, as well as my own thoughts and reasons behind doing things the way I do! I’m quite intentional with our home, even if it doesn’t look like it haha! I hope you enjoy reading about the thought process, it’s not often the method you read about in today’s ‘social media” version of decorating a home. But it works for us!

(By the way, I always try to add sources throughout, but also at the end of the post if you’re looking!).

As I always say, creating a sanctuary is always about paying attention to how it feels to be in it. That feeling change day to day as well as season to season, but it doesn’t require that you redecorate the whole room or have to change everything to keep up with a current trend. If it doesn’t feel right, usually a simple adjustment can be made. Hopefully a bit of that feeling comes across in photos, but what matters most in a sanctuary is how we feel to be here since we’re the ones who wake up to and retreat here every day! I hope you feel the same in your home.

You may or may not have noticed this over the years, but I try to capture photos of our home just as we like to live in it day to day rather than styling it or setting up a perfect scene for a photo and then taking it all down when the photo shoot is done. This is because I’ve always felt it was more helpful to offer an authentic representation (once the bed is made and room is tidied for the day, of course) of what we live with every day.

I hope it encourages you when I share a real peek at our home. And by sharing bits of our progress, made slowly through each season, I hope you’ll feel inspired with ideas to create your own meaningful and personal sanctuary.

While I have more ideas plans for this room that I’m sure will happen over the years here, I’ve been enjoying simple changes here and there over the past year. Recently I’ve been adding more art to the walls and switching some accessories.

One simple and very affordable update I added was these winter prints in new frames on the bookshelf. You can switch out art using wrapping paper, downloadable prints (which is what I did), or free images on the internet. It’s a little thing, but it makes me happy to be able to reflect the season in some of the frames since I usually don’t switch out the artwork on our walls.

Scalloped Wicker Frame // White Faux Bamboo Frame // Winter Art Printable File from this shop (exact one may be out of stock)

In case you don’t remember it, this is the same bookcase we’ve had in our past homes. You can see the before and after in this post. A few years ago I painted it white so it feels fresh and new. Now it’s mostly a spot where we can display a few books and accessories plus it has storage for quilts below. Will it stay here long term? I don’t know! I’d love to have a fireplace in our little room, but I do have fun with the bookcase so we will see! When space is limited, you can’t do it all.

If you missed my post about the bird art in the corner, you can read that here!

A few weeks ago I fell in love with a ticking striped duvet cover and shams. Once I put up the buffalo check curtains, I felt inspired by the new mood so it gave me the idea to add ticking. The feeling that is starting to take shape is almost that of a relaxed country house. I love that mood. Since I already had a duvet insert, this was an easy update. I LOVE the ruffled detail around the edges.

I layer the new pieces with whatever blanket or quilt we have on the bed at the moment. While seasonal patterns, holiday specific or even a new matching bedding set can be adorable and so fun, at our house we are also fine with mixing and layering whatever we have or need at the moment for warmth.

Layering what you have is a practical approach, but certainly I’m not opposed to having winter specific bedding. Here’s a fun way to add in a seasonally specific touch without all new bedding. In our guest room we added fun seasonal shams (we will likely do the same in our room too as the season goes on). So simple, affordable and takes up so much less room than all new bedding, yet the shams will still bring a festive look.

Our blue quilt has been a favorite for years and are used any time of year. It’s super soft (and reversible). Our dog sadly made a hole in one spot so the striped duvet hides that well LOL! Does this appall you or inspire you? Ha!

I’ve also had the vintage grain sack pillow for so many years. Mine is filled with feathers and feels so squishy, I just love it all year round.

The paint color is Bunny Gray Benjamin Moore. It was already painted this color when we moved in. I do like it so I’m glad it was already a pretty color we could live with. It’s definitely a soft blue in person, but it does have a hint of gray which I find works so well to compliment our surroundings of coastal PNW waters and skies outside!

I shared more about the floral painting in this post about Decorating with Art That Speaks To You. We brought it up here and on a whim I decided to hang it above the bed. I instantly loved the way it brought colors together and added some pretty ones to the mix. More country house vibe! It seemed a little lonely though so I hung a couple of my favorite blue and white dishes to finish the space. It makes me happy!

The little black vintage bookshelf belonged to my grandparents. We’ve always used it in our room for more of my husband’s books but this time when we moved just set it in the garage. We’ve been trying to clean out the garage to be ready for the remodel (yes, that’s still happening, stay tuned) and we thought we might as well bring it up here and sure enough, it’s useful.

You probably spot quite a number of things you remember from past rooms and homes, if you’ve been following here all along. My design principle is always the same: use what you have and love whenever possible, collect classic pieces over time, and then sprinkle in something new now and then. That way you’ll always have a fresh mood that feels like home and the current season, but doesn’t go out of style.

I am loving this little corner right now. I know when we take down winter and Christmas decor I’m going to miss these elements.

Can we keep winter vibes up all year? Even though I know I’ll probably enjoy winter right on through January, at some point I’ll be ready for spring and a fresh start. But for now, I’ll just embrace the season we’re in and savor the chilly days ahead.

I’ll report back if I add in any more winter layers!

If you enjoy the idea of embracing the mood of the season in your home like I do, you will enjoy my newest book A Lovely Life!