Cozy indoor living spaces make getting through winter easier and more pleasant, but it’s important to bring a bit of the outdoors inside to prevent an overly cloying ambiance. Using natural accents to embellish your home interior brings a breathe of fresh air to the picture. Here’s just a few ways you can use nature to decorate your home in winter.

Bare Branches

Collect an armful of bare branches, bring them indoors, and arrange them in a vase or the container. For a rustic look, consider using a brushed tin bucket or watering can. Wind a strand of small white or colored lights along the branches for a festive not. These make excellent centerpieces for holiday meals or welcoming accents for foyers and entryways.

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Feathers

Those who live in areas with plenty of avian life can collect feathers and display them in bud vases. Simply take a small bag with you on walks in the wood, beach, or other area s where birds may have shed their feathers. You can always purchase feathers at crafts stores if you don’t live in an area where birds congregate.

Fall Foliage

Vases aren’t only for flowers — fall foliage presents a pretty picture when brought inside and placed in a vase. Unlike fresh flowers, fall foliage will often last for the entire season. Mix them with a few evergreen branches for a fragrant note and an extra-wintry appearance. Holly branches work well too if you want a festive note to celebrate the season, especially if they’re bearing bright red berries.

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Pine Cones

Baskets full of pine cones placed in various spots around the house add texture and interest for the entire season. Although they look great completely unembellished, painting them or adding glitter to them make a fun family crafts project on blustery afternoons.

Driftwood

If you’re lucky enough to live by an ocean shore, grab some driftwood on your next nature walk and bring it home to craft a customized centerpiece. Arrange them in a huge vase in the foyer for a dramatic accent to your home’s entrance, or craft a smaller arrangement to suit another space. Leave the driftwood plain for a stark, elegant effect or dress it up with fairy lights for a whimsical holiday look.

Pebbles and Rocks

If you live in an area where the soils have significant mineral deposits, the pebbles and rocks surrounding nearby streams and rivers may be attractive enough to display as a part of your home decor. Foraging expeditions are fun for the whole family and provide an excellent way to get some fresh air and outdoor exercise. If you live near an ocean beach, you may be able to find an abundance of smooth, colorful agates, while those who live near mountain ranges often find stones containing quartz crystals in steam beds.

With a little imagination, you can create unique indoor decor using only what’s easily found in nature. Perhaps best of all, its a fun and free way that you and your family can build a personal connection with your home decorating scheme.