Merry and Bright

I've been looking at the book Merry & Bright by Country Living over and over since I found it. Not only does it have some great ideas for decorating for the holidays, but it has a bunch of recipes and, best of all in my opinion, hundreds of gorgeous pictures of Christmas decor including lots of differently-styled Christmas trees. This book can be found on Amazon (click on the title link) for about $16.50 for the hardback (and, at only three dollars more than the paperback, is well worth it for a holiday book you will look through again and again over the years for timeless ideas). The following are some pictures and ideas from that book.

So simple, yet stylish: jars filled with colored ornaments!

Framing a wreath hanging on the wall? I wouldn't have thought of it, but I like the look.

Don't forget to decorate your lighting!

I love this simple and sweet look of buttons threaded with wire and topping a present.

Easy to make your own pedestals using candlesticks and pretty plates.

I'd definitely like to try this at Christmastime: hanging cards by twine and plain office clips.

I wouldn't exactly use this design, but I'm loving this idea of trimming the edges of my china cabinet shelves using patterned paper and double-sided tape.

A simple and cheerful way to display your holiday cards: making them into a wreath.

Put a sweet trim on your doors by using satin ribbon and dried flowers.