How to Get Inspiration for your Interiors
If you’re looking to redecorate your home, you’ll need to get inspired. However, sometimes inspiration doesn’t come easy. We’re always wondering where people, especially artists, authors, songwriters and designers, get their inspiration from. Oprah famously said that her daughter is her greatest inspiration. J.K. Rowling, on the other hand, got the inspiration for Harry Potter whilst journeying on a train. Roald Dahl kept what he called ‘idea books’, and from them were born his most famous works, including ‘The BFG’. The world-famous French fashion designer, Christian Dior, took inspiration from the women in his life.
So, what about your interiors? They won’t just come together and look stylish if you don’t get inspired and make a plan. You’ll need some inspiration to start choosing things like colours, materials and designs. Should you go to Europe and go on a train ride and start keeping ‘idea books’? Well, you can if you want to, but there are other, more suitable ways to get inspiration for your interiors. To quote Bob Dylan, ‘Inspiration is hard to come by. You have to take it where you can find it.’. On that note, here are some of the best places where you can find inspiration for your home décor:
Social Media
Social media is quite controversial. Especially lately, and people everywhere seem to be quite conflicted. Debates surrounding social media, and the privacy and mental health issues that it presents, are rife. In fact, many young people have been put off social media recently. Particularly after big headlines involving Facebook privacy scares and such. Having said that, you can use social media to inspire you in lots of different ways. Even if you don’t share content yourself, you can follow other people who do.
Both Pinterest and Instagram are perfect platforms to use for interior design inspiration. The main focus for these two social media platforms, unlike Twitter for example, is images. On Pinterest, you can make yourself a sort of ‘interior design mood board’ by pinning pictures you like. You can also follow other people’s boards and get inspired that way. Using Instagram, you can also follow individuals, designers and companies. ‘Inspire Me Home Décor’ has 5.5 million followers and they share new pictures every day. Many famous interior designers, such as Miles Redd, Kelly Wearstler and Martyn Lawrence Bullard, also have Instagram accounts and regularly share images of their work. You might not like everything you see but scrolling through your Instagram feed will inspire you to get creative, nonetheless.
Blogs
If you’re not a fan of social media, then blogs are a good alternative. You can follow a blog without having to create a social media profile or give over any sort of personal information whatsoever. With that being said, some blogs do give you the option to add your e-mail address to their mailing list, so you will be notified when they publish a new blog post. When it comes to home design blogs, there’s lots and lots of choice. Big companies, like Ikea and Dulux, have blogs on their websites. Many real estate companies also have blogs that feature interior design posts from time to time. There are also many blogs dedicated to interior design and home décor. ‘Liz Marie Blog’, ‘Love Chic Living’ and ‘The Design Sheppard’ are all popular examples.
Magazines and Books
Just the smell of an interior design magazine or book will be enough to get you excited. With the rise of social media and online blogs, people have forgotten what it’s like to read print instead of digital. Magazines are magical and books are even better. The larger book stores in Malta do have ‘Interior Design’ sections, and you can also buy online if you prefer. These big design books make great presents. If you have a friend who’s doing up their house, you could gift them a lovely, hardback book of interior design. They’ll love poring over the pages and devouring all the designs! It’ll also be something they can display in their newly finished home. People also like to have their stacks of magazines on display. Top home décor magazines include: ‘Country Life’, Architectural Digest’, ‘Dwell’ and ‘House & Garden’. You don’t have to buy every issue of every magazine but, once in a while, why not shun the internet and go back to print? Cut out pages that you like and create a real mood board, instead of a virtual one on Pinterest!
Window Shopping
The term ‘window shopping’ is often associated with clothes. It involves going shopping, looking in windows, and perhaps trying a few things on… all without actually intending to buy anything. Design houses spend huge amounts of money on their shop windows. High-street brands also try to make their window and floor displays look as stylish as possible. If you can do this with clothes, why can’t you do this with home interiors as well? There are plenty of kitchen stores, bathroom stores and homeware stores in Malta. You could even make a day of it. Plan to go and have a look around your favourite stores and maybe stop for lunch with some friends. You don’t have to buy anything, but you can see what’s in style and get some ideas from the displays.
Television
If you’re someone who prefers to stay at home, then perhaps window shopping isn’t for you. You can effectively go window shopping without even getting up from your sofa. There are so many TV programmes you can enjoy watching. You can take a peek into other people’s homes. You can be nosy and get home inspiration, both at the same time! Growing up, I remember watching shows like ‘Location, Location, Location’ and ‘Escape to the Country’ with my family. But now we have Netflix, and Netflix knows how to do a property show. Top titles from the streaming service are watched by millions of viewers. The latest release from Netflix, ‘Selling Sunset’ is as full of reality show drama as it is of multi-million-dollar dream homes. Netflix subscribers also love ‘The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes’, ‘Amazing Interiors’ and ‘Grand Designs’.