Christmas Cozy

A 1940s Connecticut home gets a holiday makeover with pops of red and vintage touches.

Have you ever wanted to learn how to better style your home? Well, Instagrammer and our 2024 Brand Ambassador Bryan Cosham of Our Cozy Little Home is a master at it—especially when it comes to Christmas décor.

“Each year I start in July,” he says. “I look at pictures from the year before, I think about color schemes and figure out how to move things around.” Here’s how he transforms his house into a winter wonderland.

Setting the Stage

The home was built in the 1940s. A previous homeowner added on two bedrooms in 2012. Bryan and his husband, Jameson, moved in just as the pandemic started in 2020. “We didn’t have a garage; the house originally had a wraparound gravel driveway,” Bryan explains. “We knew we would have to do that when we bought the house.” They’ve done several remodels since then, including updating the kitchen and adding a half bath and laundry room, dining room, entryway and garage. “I didn’t see the potential when we first saw it, but then we came back for a private showing and I loved it,” Bryan says.

The most recent renovation they did in 2023 included adding a new dining room, which has played into Bryan’s Christmas décor. “I love to entertain and I wanted more entertaining space,” he says. “We host a huge Christmas open house for friends and family every year. Last year, it was full of Christmas cookies I baked, a big cookie charcuterie board.” The formal dining room was key to being able to host all the people they wanted. “We didn’t have a formal dining room before and I wanted a space to be able to host friends,” he says.

Welcome, santa! The living room exudes Christmas charm with a Santa Claus theme¬—not typical for Bryan. “I [usually] try to steer away from Merry Christmas or Santa because they have to come down right after Christmas,” he explains. “I try to stick with a winter or neutral theme that can stay up through the winter months.” This year, though, to honor his brother, Matthew, Bryan decided on lots of red, plaid and, of course, Santa.

A Red Kind of Year

One of Bryan’s signature moves is to decorate with a base of neutrals, then switch out colors throughout the year. “I do a lot of neutrals throughout the year, primarily because I can add in pops of color,” he says. “That makes it easier to add red for Christmas.”

GREEN GARLANDS.When it comes to garlands, Bryan goes with a combination of faux and real, depending on whether or not he’s entertaining. “I do faux garlands unless we’re hosting something,” he says. “So then I’ll switch them out for fresh, but most of them are faux. Then for Christmas Day and Christmas Eve, I’ll put in a lot of fresh greenery.”

But this year, he decided to do more than just a little red to honor his brother, Matthew, who had passed away unexpectedly. “I ended up adding more and more red as I decorated,” Bryan says. “And later, I found out from my sister-in-law that red was my brother’s favorite color. That was the way of him staying with us for Christmas.”

Dining Delights. For the very first Christmas with the new dining room addition, Bryan chose a white-and-brown palette. The two faux trees showcase white ornaments and brown velvet ribbon, and the “Sledding” sign brings the eyes upward. “Not much changes in there after Christmas besides the trees,” Bryan says. “I keep it very winter.”

When it comes to mixing every-day and holiday décor, Bryan goes all out with whatever Christmas theme he chooses for the year. “When my husband and I first started dating and he came over while I was in the process of Christmas changeout, he thought I was being robbed—everything comes down,” Bryan says. “It’s my biggest switch, and that’s why I start on November 1. It takes me two to three weeks to get everything done.” This includes entertaining pieces, wall art and the décor in bookshelves and hutches. “I usually start taking down fall on Halloween,” he says. “Then I deep clean the house.”

No matter which season or holiday he’s decorating for, Bryan always aims for the same feel. “My style is very cozy and warm,” he says. “That’s the look I go for all year long. Especially being in New England, we can enjoy all four seasons and the house reflects that. I’m always thinking about ways I can make the house warm and comfortable for people.” And with the pops of red and plaid, cozy Christmas lights and lots of décor, Bryan has achieved his goal.

Kitchen Nook. The small table next to the kitchen is where Bryan and Jameson eat their everyday meals. For the holidays, Bryan added a big tray with part of his collection of Santa mugs. The all-white mugs are in the dining room and he displays the red ones here. “It was a flow piece for me, because it has the same vibes in different places,” Bryan says. He hung ornaments from the pendant light for extra pizzazz.

Cozy Kitchen. The kitchen counters provide Bryan space for his kitchen Christmas décor, but that doesn’t stop him from using the space. “If I’m baking, the counters are cleared,” he says. “I’ll put it all on the kitchen table. For company, I clear the bar area because that becomes the buffet. Sometimes the counters are full of décor, so I do have to move it.”

Corner Desk. In the office, Bryan added a small tree with white and red ornaments to keep with the white-and-neutral color scheme. “The red and white was inspired with the Rae Dunn because I have a few of those pieces in the room,” he says. “I do plan out a flow when I’m doing a color scheme.”

How to Style a Bookshelf

Here’s Bryan’s easy formula for beautiful bookshelf styling.

Start in one corner of the bookshelf (top left, top right, etc.)
Decorate in a diagonal line, moving up or down the shelves. For example, in this bookcase, Bryan used wooden Christmas trees, moving
from the bottom left to the
top right.
Lay out similar-sized items for the middle of each shelf. “Try to get them the same width,” Bryan says. In this bookshelf, the bowl of greens on the middle shelf is the same width as the stack of books on the shelf above.
Decorate in another diagonal line, going the opposite direction. Bryan used wooden houses on the top left and middle right to move the eye in that diagonal direction.
Step back and evaluate. “Make sure it’s balanced and symmetrical,” Bryan says. Once you’re done moving the larger items around, you can add smaller touches, such as an ornament or a sprig
of greenery.

Collecting & Decluttering for Christmas

Styling your home with seasonal décor can feel daunting and draining when you have too much of it in storage. Here are tips from Bryan on how to manage the Christmas decorating process.

Decide on colors. “Thinking about a color palette is a good place to start,” Bryan says. When decorating seasonally, do you like to add in different colors, like red and gold for Christmas and pastels for Easter? “That’s why I keep the neutrals, because it’s easier to change out décor and style,” Bryan explains. Or, if you like color, find seasonal tones that will complement your chosen color palette.

Gather staple pieces. “Start with some staple pieces, like wooden bowls you can put on a coffee table,” Bryan advises. What everyday décor can you jazz up for each season? Try jugs for flowers, vintage books to stack and art for the walls. “What are some pieces you can leave up all year long but also easily switch out?” Bryan says. “It might cost more, but you can use staple pieces from season to season and year to year.”

Edit as you go. Your cottage style may evolve as you go—and that’s okay. “I’ve found myself going away from cutesier holiday décor to more vintage and getting more staple pieces,” Bryan says. Don’t feel obligated to use what you don’t like anymore simply because you have it. Aim to change out a couple of things each year to keep your style fresh.

Don’t keep what you don’t use. As you collect more décor, don’t keep the stuff that hasn’t made the cut this year. “My rule is that if it comes up any stairs and it doesn’t get put up, it goes out the door and doesn’t go back,” Bryan says. “I found myself in that pattern of saying, ‘Oh, I’ll use that next year,’ and then just storing a bunch of stuff.” Instead, donate the items so someone else can use them.

To see more of Bryan’s beautiful home visit @our.cozy.little.home on Instagram.