Since I have been considering making my first-ever (real) gingerbread house, I’ve found myself looking at a lot of photos for inspiration.  Thought I’d share some favorites…

1: This gingerbread house is so ridiculous and even though there’s no way I’d have time to attempt something like this, it still boggles my mind looking at it. No source, but here you’ll find a closeup photo.

2: Martha always has a good roundup of gingerbread houses. I loved this Swedish-inspired gingerbread house she has on her site.

3:  This royal icing is beautiful. It’s intricate and elegant, but still very simplistic. [Source]

4. The gingerbread Brooklyn brownstone  is so ridiculously awesome. It even has a bike out front! From Instructables.

5. Recently, I’ve seen some other versions of the mini gingerbread houses for your mugs, but Luluto‘s “Gingerland” is my favorite.