Turn Your Orange County Living Room into a Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland Living Room

[Insert instrumentals] “Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin'? In the lane, snow is glistenin', a beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland...” (If singing in your head is not enough, here’s a link to Michael Bublé’s version of “Winter Wonderland” 😉)

A lot of people dream of having a white winter—but living in Orange County, California, means a white winter is next to impossible. Unless...you bring your winter wonderland inside your home...

With the help of our interior design tips, you can easily turn your Orange County living room into an elegant winter wonderland this season! 

Here are our 5 tips to turn your Orange County living room into a winter wonderland:

White Living Room During Winter

1. Change your Colors for the Season

If you want to achieve that classy look of a winter wonderland, add as much white as possible into your living room. To accent, add splashes of cream, gold and silver. These colors help to and depth and dimension and elevate the interior design of your living room for the entire winter season. You can also opt for clear, shiny and/or sparkly accent pieces. 

Start by giving your sofa a makeover. Throw on a slipcover, change your throw pillows, and add a new cozy blanket. In fact, we found beautiful white throws and pillows at west elm. We also recommend warming up cold toes by adding a furry white rug this winter season. For more tips on how to make your home feel cozy this season, check out or blog. 

2. Make Use of Your Fireplace & Furniture

There is nothing like a roaring fire to help bring the outdoors inside, so be sure to make good use of your fireplace this winter. Display extra wood by the fireplace for both functionality and style. Decorate your mantle with frosted greenery or snow-dusted pine cones, or a collection of white candles on light wood, silver or gold candlestick holders and fake white trees. 

Bottom line: have fun! Decorate your coffee table, side tables, and entertainment units with pieces that you really love. This time of year, you shouldn’t have a hard time finding decorations that fit within the winter wonderland color palette. So, shop around. We love to incorporate winter animal figurines in gold or silver like these cute but classy 9" Silver Reindeer from Crate & Barrel to help bring the feeling of a winter wonderland inside.

Snow Village from Crate and Barrel

3. Create a Snowy Space

To make your home feel like a true winter wonderland, create a snowy space. Use cotton batting or other artificial snow products for your tables, mantels and other areas in your living room. For a shimmering effect, spray your fake snow with a glitter spray. You can also frost your windows with spray snow for an extra wintery touch. 

For this tip, we’ve included a couple specific ideas. Lay down a sheet of fake snow and create a snowy village by placing white, ceramic homes down. You can put your village in the entryway of your home or across the mantel. Handmade Ceramic Christmas Village Houses from Pottery Barn could be exactly what your winter wonderland is missing. 

We got our next suggestion from eHow: “An option for centerpieces or vases is to use floral gel crystals. Look for them in the floral section of a craft store. Water mixed with the crystals turns it into a snowlike texture. Place it in a shallow bowl and arrange candles or glass Christmas ornaments in it for a festive centerpiece.” 

Fake Snowy Tree in White Living Room

4. Dress Up a Fake Tree 

While we love the smell of a real douglas fir, our next tip for turning your Orange County living room into a winter wonderland is this: consider purchasing a fake tree that is white or snow-dusted.

Then, dress your tree to the nines! Remember, to keep with the winter wonderland theme, choose white, cream, gold and/or silver ornaments. You can also decorate with clear glass, shiny or sparkly ornaments to make your tree the real star of the show! Ornaments can also be snow-themed such as snowmen, snowballs, or snowflakes. We recommend these beautiful Hammond Ornaments from Anthropology. For your tree topper, consider either a silver or gold star.

Lastly, swap out your traditional-colored tree skirt for a solid cream or white, or consider one with gold or silver accents.

Twinkling Lights in White Living Room for Winter

5. Add Twinkly Lights Everywhere

For the final touch, add twinkly lights anywhere and everywhere in your living room during the winter season. This will bring your winter wonderland to life and light up decorations so they really stand out. Sprinkle some glittering lights on the mantle in between your decorations, throughout your holiday tree, and inside the snow you have placed throughout your home. The Electric LED String Lights from West Elm will work perfectly to enhance your winter wonderland, especially if used throughout the snow.

If you’re looking to stage your home for the winter season, or a special occasion, we’d love to help! To get started, set up a consultation with Viève Interiors today