Decorating for the Holidays - Inspiration

Whew! Now that my test is done, I can finally focus on the holidays!

Over the past few weeks, as the blogosphere has been gearing up for the holidays, I've saved quite a few inspiration pictures to guide my holiday decorating this year.

THE DINING ROOM  



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I love this dining room setup, especially the tablecloth, place settings and color scheme!  It looks so festive, but totally classy as well!

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I hope to hang something similar from my chandelier!

THE LIVING ROOM

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I love mantels, and always wanted a fireplace just to be able to hang stockings from it!  I don't get to do much else with our mantel, since the TV hangs above it, but I love the greenery and the ornament wreath above this one!

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When I do get a tree, I always spring for a real one because I think the smell and texture adds so much to the ambiance, but if I ever get tired of having real trees and decide to go faux, I will most certainly go white!

OUTDOORS

From Cottage Living

There's nothing I love more than wreaths on windows and garland on a fence when it comes to exterior holiday decor!

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We have a similar, off-center entryway, and I love the simplicity of this decor.

Usually, my seasonal decorating motto is to keep it simple - the more I decorate, the more there is to take down so I try to achieve a festive environment with as little as possible.  I start by picking a color scheme (usually white and silver, plus an accent) and work from there. This year, I'm going with lime green as the accent.  I've still got a few more things to do in terms of decorating my house, let alone buy our tree, but I hope to share pictures of our holiday decor soon!