Don’t we always say this every year?
I can’t believe that the year is almost over.
And that means it’s almost Christmas.
I’ve done several posts about Christmas. You can see them here, here, here, here, here and here.
And if you’re looking for sources and even more ideas please check out the new holiday shop!
However, I told myself a couple of weeks ago that I’d skip it this year. And definitely no shopping guides. That one I’m going to stick to!
But, even though I don’t celebrate it, I’ve always loved Christmas-time. And quite frankly, I have no idea how y’all do it. It snowed today and I was so happy to just engulf myself with the fruits of other people’s labor.
I must say, that I’m feeling pretty rejuvenated after the experience. Actually, it began last night. And it would continue to go on, except I need to put all of this beauty into a post.
Most of these images came off of instagram this time. It’s a great place to find fresh and wonderful content. Everyone is tagged with their instagram username to make it easy to find them.
And just in time, we had our first real snow fall today. It was very pretty in the early AM but then came the freezing rain and sleet which un-prettied things a lot.
In my quest for beautiful seasonal images and Christmas decor, I found some amazing and I mean amazing instagram accounts as well. So, I’m excited to share those with you as well.
The images are both indoor and exterior and include shots from Boston, New York, New England, Old England lol and one or two from the south and some other random locations.
Is there anything that says Christmas more than this image of the skating rink just outside the Museum of Natural History in London?
@meanderingmacaron on instagram
I wonder if the original architects envisioned their building all wrapped up with a giant red ribbon?
@nikkitibbleswildatheart on instagram
While not strictly the traditional red and green color scheme, I can’t resist the gorgeous colors in this winter floral arrangement.
This one’s been floating around, but have to say that I love it. Sorry, I don’t know the original source.
Aerin Lauder via the 2007 issue of House and Garden. I didn’t realize that it was nearly 10 years old. It still looks completely fresh!
A gorgeous home in the snow on Marlborough Street in Boston.
I adore white homes!
@meanderingmacaron on instagram
Fine Paints of Europe makes a beautiful high gloss black paint. This is from a London home
Taken only a few hours ago in Boston.
@Bostondoorproject on Instagram
Also, Boston, but not today.
Boston again, but this one is today. :]
New York City in the snow. Our snow today wasn’t this pretty.
It’s fun to walk in the snow as long as the wind isn’t blowing much.
@elenakrizhevskaya on instagram
Elena is from Moscow and has a gorgeous feed on instagram.
Don’t you just love looking at other people’s trees through their windows?
Classic English.
I adore flocked Christmas trees!
New York City Ballet – Corps De Ballet performing George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker
and ballet.
Did you know that when I was 16, I was a snowflake in the nutcracker?
The Woodstock Inn in Woodstock, VT – photo: Shane Lynn
evening
not evening ;]
midwest living house tour – photo Werner Straube
Another popular photo well of course. It’s perfect. But I searched high and low until I found a higher res version. That always makes my day!
@northeasternnautical on instagram
haha!
This is one of my favorite feeds on instagram. Every image is exquisite!
Beautiful white on white textures. So glad they kept the Christmas decor very simple.
@thegrovestreetpress new orleans on instagram
I guess that the shutters give it away. But it’s so pretty!
Awww… yes, you have to wait! haha!
Happy Holidays!
xo,
The holiday shop is filled with trees, ornaments, wreaths, garlands and great ideas for gifts, gifts, gifts!!!
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66 Responses
Happy Holidays Laurel! you make me laugh and I love your taste!
Thanks so much Suzanne and the same back atcha!
Laurel, I adore the pictures. Feels like a Christmas gift from you! Thank you.
Thank you so much Judi and happy holidays to you!
What a feast for the eyes, Laurel! Christmas is my favorite time of the year-one of the rare times in Dallas when it’s not stinking hot!
Hi Amy,
Enjoy the season and moderate temps!
Thanks for sharing the photos Laurel. I love the snow so much it hurts;but never see it much. The red house nearly brought tears to my eyes. Such beauty! I live in NC, near the coast, and it doesn’t snow much here. I spent all day yesterday, 12/18, on the beach in shorts!! Even put my feet in the water and boy was it cold, but, refreshing. Today had to drag out the coats and scarfs; 43 was the high today
. Merry Christmas to you and your family, as well as to all your readers. May your hearts be blessed, and filled with much joy, peace, and happiness.
Hi Betty,
I like looking at the snow, when it’s fresh, that is. Some winters we still have black snow in April. Oh well, thanks for such a sweet message and Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!
Wow! Laurel, you have such a good eye. That was certainly a lovely and very evocative group of photographs. They were like a Christmas card with many pages. Thank you so much for sharing, and for brightening our lives with your blog posts and good humour.
Have a happy and healthy holiday season.
Warm wishes from Cynthia Lambert.
Hi Cynthia,
Thank you so much! Happy holidays to you as well!
Those pictures make my heart ache a little bit, but in a good way….do you know what I mean?
And wishing you much joy, Laurel, throughout the holiday season!
Hi Holly,
Yes, I do know what you mean; I feel the same. Happy holidays to you as well!
Hi Laurel,
I’m fairly new to your blog so being able to go back to previous posts i.e. “Here, Here, Here,”, etc. was such a treat…better than a Christmas present!
Happy Holidays!
Hi Joan,
I’m so glad you enjoyed and Happy Holidays to you as well!
Greetings Laurel,
I love all that you do! Your taste is perfection. Thank you for showing us perfection. For sure it’s not found anywhere that I’ve tried to decorate. It looks so easy…..
Hi Sandy,
That is so kind! Thank you!
Thank you for the wonderful post by turns fanciful, festive, contemplative and magical. I feel transported. You even provided a soundtrack, “The Nutcracker”, of course, for this gift. The ‘Classical English’ is Howard Castle, the setting of the fictional Brideshead in tv and film.
Best wishes, Laurel, for a warm and cozy holiday with your sons!
Thank you Libby for such a dear comment! Transported is what I was going for! And thank you for letting me know the source of the classical English room. Happy holidays to you too!
Beautiful post, as usual! I love the red house in the snow. We considered painting our garage…ie, your cottage, Red! XO
Thanks so much Nancy! I like my cottage just the way it is. haha.
Beautiful, thank you, Laurel. Your posts are like a little present every Sunday. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and all the best in 2017.
Oh, that is so sweet Carol and it is very much appreciated! Same to you!
Merry Christmas to everyone!! Special prayers to everyone who has lost loved ones in the past year.
That’s beautiful Susie.
Loved this post and your comments, thank you, and Merry Christmas.
Same to you Judith!
Stunning pictures! Thanks for sharing:) Enjoy the holidays and your week with your boys!
Thanks so much Kathy and you too!
Just beautiful! Thanks for sharing and happy holidays to you too!
Thanks so much Karen and you too!
Just so lovely. Thanks for putting it together for us, Laurel.
Hi Jane,
It really is my pleasure. I very much enjoyed putting this one together!
Beautiful post and thank you for those lovely pictures! There is nothing nicer than looking at Christmas decor! Happy Holidays to you!
Thanks so much Susan and the same to you!
Lots of pretty pictures but I really only like the inside ones. Snow — brrrrrr — thankful for the 70 degree day we’re having in southern Virginia (before the sleet storm tonight).
Hi Barbara,
Yeah… I only like *looking* at the outdoor ones. In fact, the older I get, the more reluctant I am to go out much in the winter. Of course, that’s no good. My boys are coming on Thursday for a whole week (first time ever!) and we’ll go out and do stuff.
Gracias Laurel for the Seasonal Eye Candy!! Your posts are a highlight of my day. And I agree, these dark, cold days are hard for many and the pressure to create perfection is real…my life is far from perfect but I’m learning to slow down, focus less on the materialistic parts of the Season and more on other joys, and that includes taking time for me and reading your Blog!! Cheers
Hi Angela,
It’s so important to do that. I have too much “me time” now. But I did raise two exceedingly high maintenance hellions. And even then, took time out for myself. Gosh, otherwise, I’d be dead. no joke!
Hi Laurel,
I’ve been eyeing all the pretty pics on Instagram also. When we got our first snow storm this season several weeks ago in Chicago, it motivated me to get my Christmas decor out.
I wanted to do nothing but fresh greens this year. I wanted everything to be natural. I did sprinkled some mercury glass here & there for some sparkle. I loved it for the first week and a half. Now everything is dried out & crispy. Swell!!
Damm that internet & it’s pretty pictures! My house looks like it’s full of kindling…a fire just waiting to happen.
Hi Mary,
Yes, there are some fantastic accounts on instagram where every image looks like it should be sitting in a museum or something. I admit, that I far prefer that to seeing the fake pasted smiles… oh, I better stop! I’ve had a few of those myself! haha. But I try not to put them on instagram.
Damned that dry air. I have a new humidifier that’s arriving any day now.
But I was just looking at the weather and there’s a giant squall line covering the entire eastern half of the country. It’s on the coast now. But a little while ago, it was snowing in central Mississippi!
Your decor sounds lovely. I guess you could go out and refresh the greens
Such pretty pictures! Some very pretty ideas to remember for next year too!
Enjoy the holidays
Thanks so much Gogo!
Thank you for the pure pleasure post. All the bloggers with their must have Christmas presents only make me feel more stressed. It’s nice to just look around and enjoy the season. Merry Christmas to you.
Hi Suzanne,
Yes, some make me feel a little ill; not just the lists (which are there to make them money BTW) but their perfect homes, perfect decorations, perfect children and I guess a perfect husband too.
Or maybe that’s just the magic of the internet? lol
Stepford wives!!
lol!!! or maybe a little smoke and mirrors? some of that too, I think.
It was such a pleasure to view your post this morning. Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures! Now I need to go look up the meaning of “snirt”
Hi Susan,
Thank so much! You will enjoy this post. It’s one of my favorites and explains very clearly what snirt is.
https://laurelberninteriors.com/the-best-christmas-decorations-ever/
Such exquisite pictures. I am not a fan of the snow and cold. Particularly on a day like today where our high temperature is 0! However, there is no denying the magnificent beauty of it all.
Hi Lisa,
Oh my! My sister in Wisconsin says that it’s been brutal already. I HATE the cold and the snow and ice. But I hate it just a little less now that I have a nice, warmish, dry place to park my car!
Happy new yearr Laurel.
Same to you Ayse!
I was delighted to find out from recent DNA results that I am 10% Jewish. I hope that I can call you “cousin” from now on. Happy Hanukkah cuz.
Hi Rita,
That’s cool! I bet that a lot of us are! I don’t celebrate Hanukkah either but respect those that do.
The idea of Christmas always seems better than the real deal- which can entail too much work and have too many expectations!
I love your Christmas décor vignettes- these are just beautiful Thank you, Laurel.
Happy holidays to you too- and a very healthy and happy New Year!
Hi Dolores,
December is just a hard month. It’s a change of season and a lot of us are mourning the loss of a loved one. December and January are the most common months for loss of life. And on that cheerful note, here’s wishing you strength for the next week and all things good in the year to come!
Beautiful – thanks!
You’re welcome Anna!
Thank you Laurel for the beautiful pictures. They make me sit back and relax in this hectic season. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! ^..^ *** ^..^ from my kitties too.
Awww thanks so much Betty! Please give your kitties an extra kiss from me! xoxoxo
Lovely picture of Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow brings back fond memories of walking over that bridge every day on the way home. I had forgotten how beautiful it is in the snow.
Hi Joann,
Oh wow, you lived there! I love the Russian ballet!
Thanks, Laurel for a beautiful post!
Hi Maureen,
Glad you enjoyed it!
You may not celebrate Christmas but you certainly gave your readers a lovely Christmas present with this post. I would love to print and frame several of the snowy pictures. They are so peaceful.
Thanks Nancy! I love the lights and it’s too early in the season to be concerned with “snirt.” lol