We all know Pinterest is king when it comes to interior design inspiration, with its separate boards dedicated to various rooms or spaces within the homes, intelligent ‘suggestions’ based on your previous style preferences, and the ability to purchase items directly from posts. But, we can aim even higher than that, right? We have apps, platforms, and customised services dedicated to almost every industry on the planet available to us today, and the interior design industry is no exception. So if you are wondering where to find fresh inspiration for your next interior design project – be it a complete home makeover, a cafe fitout, or a new office space – look no further…
Houzz – the best app combined with product marketplace
A great starting point for those seeking to embark on their first home renovation, this American website and app is an online community dedicated to architecture, interior design and decorating, landscape design and home improvement. People using Houzz can also directly liaise with the relevant professionals such as finding the best local plumbing company in your area to discuss jobs and request quotes, so it has a practical twist, too.
Paint companies – best for seeing the overall picture
This is a bit of an odd one, but haven’t you ever noticed how comprehensive those paint colour sample catalogues are? Go to any paint store or paint department of a home depot, and you will notice that strung to the walls are enticing pictures and magazines containing design and decor inspiration.
Lifestyle shows – best for gaining understanding of the renovation process
We’ve all been hooked to a home renovation show at one point in time, haven’t we? For me it was Property Brothers and Flip or Flop – two of the best home renovation shows to have come out of the U.S. the past few years. But seriously, where better to gain inspiration for your next renovation or project than shows dedicated to showing the ups and down of interior design projects in real life? Provided you are watching a semi-recent episode, chances are you will be privy to the latest interior style and design tips – as well as become familiar with how best to “fix” an underused or broken space, as a result of watching one one of the many hundreds of home renovation shows currently playing on television.
Get on the web – best all-round solution
Finding inspiration can be as simple as logging on to the internet and hitting ‘interior design’. Between Google images, dedicated blogs, and Pinterest pictures, there is much information and inspiration to be found on the internet that all one needs to do is dedicate an hour to some simple research. Some online interior design platforms take things a step further by providing online virtual home decorating design services that allow you to envision the changes you wish to make during your design project. Popular website options include: decor8blog.com, habituallychic.blogspot.com, inhabitat.com, and dezeen.com.
Visit an art gallery or museum – best for real life inspiration
Why not take the old-fashioned approach and actually go and see art firsthand for artistic inspiration? No matter what city or state you live in, there is bound to be a contemporary, modern or classic art gallery nearby for you to visit and draw inspiration from. No matter if you’re into the classic, the cubic or the surreal, you’ll surely find something at your local gallery to inspire your artistic interior design vision.
