5 ways to get inspired for your interior schemes
I’m seeing an outpouring of creativity over on my socials this week as people rise up to ban the doldrums and make the most of these short dark days spent inside. Unleashing some creativity is always a mood booster and I find faffing with my home is how I get my kicks!
But when it comes to designing your home, do you find yourself getting stuck on even where to start?! Maybe you’ve just moved home and are facing an overwhelming sea of beige or bare plaster! Or perhaps your current home is well furnished but just isn’t giving you the feel-good vibes anymore.
When you find your decorating mojo, things just flow effortlessly, you have inspiration on tap and you don’t waiver over your design decisions, because you are confident on your own authentic style.
I’m passionate about helping people find their flow so you can enjoy the process. So, if you are in a creative rut, here are five tips to get the inspiration juices flowing.
I love looking at clothes shops and window displays for colour palette inspiration. I cannot wait for them to all open again!
1. LOOK TO FASHION
If you are feeling weighed down by all the design choices you need to make, take a break away from Pinterest and look at a different art form for creative inspiration. Ask yourself what colours you love to wear, that make you FEEL your best? Or a favourite nail colour or piece of jewellery that gives you a boost. You can also look at shop window displays, or catwalk shows to get a feel of the style, colour palettes and patterns that resonate with you.
2. MEDITATE ON COLOUR
I do this exercise with my workshop guests and it’s fascinating! So many people feel conditioned to pick certain colours for their homes (often a sophisticated safe-bet grey!) but pull out a paint chart and empty your mind of any prospective rooms you are thinking about decorating and just let your eye scan over the colours randomly. Notice how they make you feel. Where does your eye want to land? Is it on that oceanic blue, that subtle pink or zesty yellow? If it’s a green, are you drawn to the bright apple shade or the soft olive? Put a tick next to your discoveries.
3. ASSESS AND ADDRESS
A design scheme doesn’t start with am isolated purchase like a new sofa or picking a wrap-around wall colour. Begin any interior design scheme by asking yourself how you use the room, who uses it and when you are in there. Next, you can think about how you want to feel and the mood you wish to create. Do you want the space to be calming and relaxing or somewhere more dramatic and uplifting? Use this information as your jumping off point to select colours and styles.
4. DARE TO DREAM
To keep motivation high and the inspiration flowing I love to dream big. This usually involves drooling over fabulous interiors that are never going to feature in my own home. Banish those practical considerations for a moment. Instead, investigate your favourite dream interiors. Hotels, bars restaurants can be a good place to start as well as your favourite Instgrammers or interior design heroes. Collect images from fashion, favourite travel destinations, artwork, and architecture. What you want to aim for is a board that gives you a real mood boost and conjures up your decorative spirit. This isn’t to leave you feeling depressed and disappointed. Instead, use the energy to feel excited and inspired, and another indication of your design style.
While we can’t visit our favourite venues and theatres and cinemas are closed we can find inspirational images online and save them to our Pinterest folders. This is The Ivy in Brighton.
5. GET INTO MOOD BOARDING
Next, begin to chart the colours you are drawn to and the decorative styles that give you the goosebumps. Start to notice your emotional response to interior spaces and record them in a journal or print out key images and make a sketchbook. You could even create a ‘Fantasy Interior’ Pinterest board. This is decorating your way, and only you can really know how to make your home a happy one.
Getting excited and inspired about your decorating schemes plants you on the path towards creating your dream interior. It’s when we feel pressured, talked down or insecure that’s we make the wrong choices.
I just had this review come in from Sandy Grey, who’s just completed Colour Psychology for interiors.
“My heart sings with certain colours but I have been so programmed that neutrals are ‘good taste’. Feeling excited to go on with my colour course!”
If you feel committed to making your home the best it can be and exploring your own unique design style and colour palette then you can follow my transformational process online. I guarantee it will cut through any feelings of FOMO and move you towards creating your dream interior with clarity and confidence. Enrolment for Colour psychology for interiors is still open for another week, so come and join the hundreds of students who have already found the secret to powerful decorating!
