Winter is coming, folks. 

The leaves all fell from one day to the next and the nights have gotten longer. Temperatures are finally dropping and, before you know it, Mariah Carey’s dulcet crooning will be booming from every car radio and department store for miles around and then it’ll be Christmas. 

Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much!

The winter chill is slowly creeping in and you all know it’s a slippery slope from here on out and through the new year!

Although Winter Solstice is a ways away, many of us may already be putting pumpkins and scarecrows away in exchange for nutcrackers and mistletoe. Even as exciting as redecorating for the winter can be, it can also get incredibly daunting very quickly. 

Many of you already have the wherewithal necessary to update your homes for the last season of the year—the only thing that’s missing is a bit of guidance.

That’s where I come in.

For those of you that wish to stay ahead of the curve, we’ve compiled a few trends that we think are going to be popular for the winter season and into the next decade. At the end of this article, we’ll be discussing ways to blend your winter decor with the season’s finest, which will hopefully help you navigate the holiday season with ease. 

Bear in mind that much of this, like any trend forecasting, is all guesswork. We could be totally wrong on some of these...We’ll check back in the new year to see how accurate our predictions really were.

Without further adieu, here are the six design trends we think are going to be huge this winter:

Moody and warm neutrals

Fans of earth tones rejoice! We predict that neutrals will continue to reign supreme into winter 2020 and expect to see more modern spins on these classic hues.

Bloggers and decor companies agree that mixing neutral tones, such as varying wood stains in a single room or choosing various shades of brown, is going to continue to be big in the design world. 

A tip for keeping things from getting too overwhelming is to choose two to three different tones and keep repeating them throughout your room. This keeps things balanced and helps combat the cluttered look that mixing finishes can so easily fall prey to.

If you crave something a little more dynamic we recommend opting for what people are calling “moody neutrals” this season. Earthy and unabashedly dark, “moody neutrals” mixes eclectic and traditional elements with a somber color palette to create the perfect space to brood and hibernate in. Think Scandinavian hygge, but make it dark like the cold winter months. 

Color of the Year? 

We’re no Pantone committee, but we’ve certainly noticed the buzz surrounding the color sage.

This muted neutral can lean either cool or warm and seems to be especially popular in the world of textiles and paints. 

If you have paint paralysis, like we do, you can still incorporate this beautiful color into your space by choosing prints with similar shades of green in them.

To maximize the effect, pair prints with complimentary sage-colored furniture, cushions, throws, and even plants. The resulting look is just as good as any old paint job and requires less than half the effort.

Bring on the drama 

If you have a flair for the eclectic and everything over-the-top then winter 2020 is your time to shine. 

Victorian gothic elements are making a big splash in subtle ways across design styles. Designers and home decor experts agree that this winter calls for bold choices and pieces that’ll capitalize and enhance the effect of space and depth in your rooms and add lots of drama. 

Consider adding mirrors into your space to create the illusion of more space, hanging curtain rods and wall decor higher to elongate your walls, and opting for optical prints that trick the eye, all for the sake of creating a space with added ‘oomph’. 

Mincing opposite styles 

Salty & sweet, black & white, new & old—everybody loves a good pair of opposites. 

It’s no different in home decor. 

This winter, we’re expecting to see a lot of style mixing, particularly opposites. Keep an eye out for rustic rooms mixed in with touches of opulence like metallic or precious stone accents and jewel tones, or feminine and warm hints in rooms that lean towards minimalism.

To incorporate this trend into your home, we recommend starting off small. 

Bring in one or two pieces that contrast with your room’s overall design and experiment with their placement. In the beginning stages, you might want to keep the pieces close together to highlight their intentionality, but as you add onto your room you can slowly play around with different placements to find one that suits you best.

Black and white prints 

When it comes to wall decor, black and white prints are, by and large, among the most versatile and visually stunning.

These monochromatic prints are a great way to amplify your room’s existing design and instantly perk up the colors of your walls. Depending on your taste, black and white prints can add tons of drama to your space or lighten things up if you’ve gone a bit heavy-handed with bold colors and textures. 

With so many options on our site, it’s easy to find a print to suit your fancy. Narrow down your search with our specialized subject and subsection categories, or sort by size and artist to find the perfect print to match your style and space.

Brass or metallic accents 

Are metallics ever really not in?

Sure, styles and colors change, but silver, gold, brass, and copper are design essentials and, at this point, are practically home decor classics. 

This season, like every holiday season, metallics are big. We particularly like the antique look of bronze, especially when used in funky sculptural pieces or in conjunction with pops of green. 

The holidays can be a tricky time for decor enthusiasts. There’s the very real conundrum of whether or not to stick to traditional holiday colors, what to do with all your regular decor items, how to incorporate heirloom pieces, etc., etc.. 

We have three tips we think will help you out tremendously, regardless of what holiday, if any, you choose to celebrate. With these tips, we hope to make it easier for you to blend your home decor with the best and brightest of the Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanza/New Year season and make your home just that much more festive for the holidays.

Be true to yourself

If your room’s overall design is easy and uncomplicated, there’s no use in fussing it up with unnecessary holiday decor. Similarly, if you’re a maximalist at heart, then, by all means, go nuts.

It’s important to take a step back, before you undertake any decor update, to evaluate what vibe your room has now and what vibe you’re aiming for. Chances are, your room is the way that it is because that’s the vibe or atmosphere that you’re drawn to. 

Unless that’s something you’re actively trying to combat, ease into it and embrace the colors, styles, and textures that make your room yours. 

Back to basics

A rustic, woodsy holiday may not seem very glamorous, but that’s precisely where you’re wrong.

The subdued natural wood tones inherent in this style of holiday decor are perfectly at home with seasonal flora like pine and evergreen trees or wreaths and pair beautifully with pretty much every color under the sun. 

Don’t believe us? 

Pink and tan? Très chic! 

Silver and ash? Gorgeous.

Sage and walnut? Stunning.

Gold and cypress? Beautiful.

Red and caramel? Ooh lala~

Black and white oak? A little...unique, but still totally stylish.

If you’re more of a traditionalist, you can mix the typical colors of your holiday of choice—red, green, and gold, or blue and silver, or black, red, and green—with an earthy tone to ground seasonal decor in your current set up. This should help you to blend these two sometimes divergent styles into one and helps keep your space looking cohesive.

Borrow colors from your room

We, for one, don’t recommend going the traditional route, unless you’re planning on giving the season’s tried and true shades a major update. 

Sure, sticking to the standard holiday colors is an easy way to create a festive mood, but, more often than not, they clash with your existing decor and can leave your room feeling dated and a little tacky.

That is the absolute last thing that we want. 

Instead, eliminate the predicament of choosing a holiday color palette by going off of what you already have. 

Take a step back and assess what colors are strongest in your room and choose your holiday decor around that. This will not only save you a little cash in the long run, because you’re not starting off your decor from zero, but it saves you the headache of coordinating your regular decor with your seasonal decor, instantly and effortlessly meshing the two together. 

The holidays are a stressful time for everyone but festive decor shouldn’t contribute to your seasonal woes. 

With a little pre-planning and strategic redecorating, you can get your holidays started off without a hitch all while being the stylish and chic decor aficionado that you are. 

Whatever holiday you celebrate, we hope we’ve made your season just a little easier with these tips. 

Now if only we could help you with dressing that turkey…