When it comes to decorating, getting started can be hard, and down right frustrating. Even the best designers get stumped for ideas, which is why a constant and varied source of inspiration is essential if you want to keep your ideas fresh and really come up with something unique. Below are some inspiring solutions to your creative block.
Furniture Shops
Yes, an obvious choice, but also a good one. Sometimes all it takes is one piece of furniture that you’ve never seen before to make you sit back and go, ‘yes; I want something like that in my house’. Furniture shops like www.superamart.com.au/ are a lot of fun to look at (and dream about every possible item on there that you want!), and will inspire some possible colour palettes, shapes, and themes you might want to go with. Try to be confident and push the boundaries.
Your Kids
Source : Baby Toy Linwood
Kids are not hindered by any of the stresses of adult life, so their imaginations still run wild with an enormous amount of possibilities. Get them to paint you some pictures of their favourite places, ask them who their favourite characters are or what they want to be when they grow up. Something as simple as ‘a fire fighter’ could lead to an industrial style living area, or a kitchen with bright accents of fiery orange. If that seems too out of the box for you to consider, how about them inspiring their own rooms. Nia my eldest daughter wanted a grown up white space, emulating bedrooms she had seen on american films, somewhere for her and her friends to relax together. Together we achieved just that.
Magazines
You could channel the kids again with this one, or go crazy with the scissors and glue yourself. There is a huge difference between simply flicking through the pages of a glossy mag and chopping out all your favourite images and making a mood board. It’s then easier to put all your favourites together to see possible colour and pattern combinations that you may not have picked up on before. I also find Polyvore excellent for this, or just collecting things that you have around the home,
The Past
Trends are all simple evolutions from the ones before them, so why not step back in time for an old-school piece of inspiration. Curvaceous furniture with wooden accents are a great way to bring a 70’s vibe into the home, or how about some bright psychedelic colours and Andy Warhol inspired pop art to get your 60’s on! Go through the photo albums of your parents or grandparents – there are bound to be some scary (and slightly embarrassing) fashion faux pas in there to get you inspired. Mid century pieces are a favourite of mine, I’m always on the lookout for them.
A Few of Your Favourite Things
Do you have an item in your home that you simply can’t live without? Is it that cute blazer you bought many moons ago, that you’ve never been able to give away – or chuck out? How about that beautiful, cheap collectable you bought on holiday in Bali? It’s something you’re holding on to for a reason; it has value to you, and anything with value to you can be the biggest source of inspiration. Re-upholster some furniture pieces in a similar fabric, incorporate colours or the same tones into other accessories – once you start, you won’t be able to stop!
How many people spend more time thinking of redesigning than actually getting up and doing anything? Often the problem is that you look to the same places over and over for ideas; think outside the square, such as the examples above, and the inspiration will come naturally.
Where is the craziest place you’ve gotten an idea from? I’d love to hear from you.
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