It’s time to start planning decorations for a modern holiday. One of my favorite Thanksgiving posts of all time was written by Dwell Studio’s founder, Christiane Lemieux awhile back. You can revisit it here. Here’s a little teaser:

Since I didn’t grow up with all the trappings of an American Thanksgiving, I felt free to create my own tradition. On this holiday, the meal itself will be the center of attention, so you don’t need to do much in the way of decorating. The rich cranberry red, the warm orange of pumpkin and sweet potatoes, the perfect honey brown of a crisp turkey — it’s already a gorgeous color palette.

She let the food be the star of the show by using beautiful monochromatic linens. It’s such a nice balance:

Thinking ahead to Hanukkah, how happy are you with your menorah? If you’re looking to break with tradition and try something more modern, there are tons of options out there. I love this organic one from Flickr member Less&More:

I also love the simplicity of this understated menorah by Josh Owen:

Thinking ahead to Christmas, we’re finding inspiration from our Fresh New Spaces Group on Flickr. Thanks to Flickr member citrusandorange for switching up our ideas about sticking with red and green:

Branches and beautiful vintage ornaments in unexpected colors make for beautiful vignettes.

Speaking of vintage, Flickr member Electica Miamiadded ths fun vignette, which makes me feel nostalgic for my old Flexible Flyer:

Flickr member Peezeth knows how to keep things minimal, sleek, and subtly festive:

Flickr member 1richtungsblog kept things limited to gold and white, adding sophisticated holiday style:

How will you be decorating for the holidays? PLEASE share your photos from the past and present with us in our Fresh New Spaces Group, or share links in the comments section to wherever you have them posted online.

Americans, are you flying your flag today? It’s too rainy where I am right now, but I’m thinking about it.

Image by Philip Clayton-Thomas/Blackstone Edge Studios via Houzz

iVillage put together a neat little gift guide featuring resident Hatch blogger extraordinaire, Becky! Check it out here.

Depicted:

• Harry Allen Pig Bank ($190 at Design Public)
• Normann Copenhagen Salt and Pepper Set ($44 at Design Public)
• Vitra Cork Stool ($405 at Design Public)
• City Stamp Set ($24 at Design Public)

Read More http://www.ivillage.com/cool-holiday-gifts/7-b-300634#ixzz19X7IMcNL

Well, this image does NOT come from our Flickr group, but from one of our favorite bloggers, Decor Demon. He whipped up a chocolate, purple, white and bronze Christmas with inexpensive purchases from Target, WalMart, and Big Lots! He even involved an appropriately accessorized sock monkey! To see the rest of his unorthodox holiday design moves, check out the entire post.

Photos by Christina Wedge for Decor Demon

We’re sticking with the holidays this week, and thanks so much to Flickr member sfgirlbybay for posting this close up to our Fresh New Spaces Group!

P.S. In case you’ve been hanging out with that waste of an iPad Winona Ryder who claims she doesn’t go on the internet, you know all about Miss Victoria and her fabulous blog, but just in case you don’t, I’m mentioning it! For more of her holiday decorating, check out this post in particular.

Got a great holiday shot? Please add it to the group this week and we’ll pepper the blog with them for the next week!