While Interior Design can be trend-driven, where does a designer find their inspiration beyond Instagram? What if you’re looking for something a little bit different, or you’re not quite sure what you want?
How can you find inspiration for a space at home or in the workplace like a designer? Let me tell you how I start…
Travel
Who doesn’t love a good holiday? Just taking yourself out of the day-to-day can open you up to a whole new collection of sights and experiences to draw on. It doesn’t have to be in some far-off, exotic location (although I highly recommend you try it, you know, for research!) – a weekend away at the beach might be just what you need. Just seeing the colour palette of a wave about to break, or sitting in a trendy new cafe might trigger the most amazing concept.
Auctions and Vintage Shops
I love furniture auctions. There are so many eclectic pieces, all under one roof, with nothing to determine their location but their lot number. It’s like a treasure hunt! Sometimes I buy, sometimes I don’t, sometimes I just wander and think about the possibilities. Sometimes an item creates the inspiration for a whole room – perhaps a fabulous wing-backed chair, or antique mirror. What better place to find the extraordinary at an attractive price point?
INTERESTING COLOURS, SHAPES AND TEXTURES IN VILLEFRANCHE-SUR-MER, IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE. (PHOTO CREDIT: ME!)
Art
Visiting an art gallery, big or small, is one of life’s little pleasures (and it makes me sound more cultured and intelligent – win-win!). You don’t have to be an art critic to work out what you like or dislike about a piece. Seeing a variety of art might make you think differently about how you could use a colour palette or position furniture to make the most of a view.
COLOUR AND TEXTURE WITH NO STYLING REQUIRED. (PHOTO CREDIT: ME!)
Nature
God’s handiwork cannot be faulted! Have you ever seen a flower that didn’t suit its colour, or a parrot whose feathers clashed, or a sunset over the snowy mountains where the light was all wrong? Nope! Nature is a goldmine of inspiration, from colours to textures to balance and depth. I have a smoky purple house. “A purple house?” you say, “Interesting…”. But if you could see it, you’d realise that it’s the colour the clouds go after a summer storm, when the sun is returning. This is my favourite skyscape, and never fails to make me stop and wonder at it. Why not paint my house this colour? (It looks good – promise!).
Fashion
Haute couture is like (semi-)wearable art, but it feeds into the trends and styles of so many other industries. There are an abundance of ideas you can find by flicking through a blog post or magazine article about fashion week in Milan – prints, colour palettes, and symmetries might just be the catalysing images to birth an amazing new concept. Aside from that…surely I’m not the only person who has said “She looks like she’s wearing a lamp shade”…am I?
EMILIO PUCCI AT MILAN FASHION WEEK, AUTUMN/WINTER SHOW 2017. (PHOTO CREDIT: BRITISH VOGUE)