2014 was a big year of changes in our house and now that 2015 is here, I'm beginning to think about decorating another room of the house. If you are going to decorate a room in 2015, then take the time to have a look around and gain inspiration from a range of sources. Having a nosey online gives you a chance to really think about what you want and find out about the latest home decor trends. Here are some places you can turn to for additional home decor inspiration.
Show Homes
Not many people see show houses for inspiration, but they can be a great source of ideas for colours and designs because they are usually styled by professional home decor specialists. When you visit a show home, you can take your time and have a good look around but you do have to be ready to talk homes with a sales representative!
Most firms do not mind you opening the cupboards and trying out the storage solutions. Show homes are decorated to a high standard and they tend to feature all of the latest mod cons, including new storage ideas that you can use in your own kitchen and bedroom cupboards.
In a show house, you can look at every room, so get inspiration for any area of your home. It is normally also fine to take photos, which you can use when speaking to your decorator or shopping for furniture.
Pinterest
Pinterest is a fantastic place to get visual inspiration. My advice is to avoid the commercial boards to start with. Start by finding people with similar taste to you and investigate their boards. Once you have some ideas from those photo boards look for something similar on commercial Pintrest boards to find places to buy what you need. My Mellow HQ board is where I pin ideas for my future decorating projects.
Furniture showrooms and websites
This one is obvious, but furniture showrooms and websites are great sources for decorating ideas. Most firms set their furniture in mock rooms that are decorated in the latest styles. This means that even if you do not want new furniture you can still use them as a source of home decor ideas and inspiration.
Home decor magazines
If I am planning to update a room in my home, I still like to browse a couple of home decor magazines. In the days of Pinterest, it feels like an old-fashioned way of looking for inspiration, but it still works for me. Perhaps it is because that is how I used to plan updates to my home or perhaps it is because you can just sit back and relax while flicking through a magazine. I am not sure what it is about magazines, but I do know that they are a fantastic place to find new ideas when decorating a home.
Your neighbour’s homes
Naturally, you do not want your home to end up looking like everyone else’s in the street, so many people do not think of looking at their neighbour’s homes for inspiration. However, you could be missing out by taking this approach.
You do not have to copy the decorating style of your neighbour’s homes exactly. Looking at your neighbour’s rooms can still give you ideas, which you can use in your home. Because the layout and dimensions of your neighbour’s homes are similar to yours it can really help you when trying to decide whether you have room for a table in the kitchen, or a home office on the landing.
It is also great for judging how a new piece of furniture may look in your home. The last thing you need is to buy a lovely super-sized sofa with chaise only to find that whilst it fits into your lounge it overwhelms everything else.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of home decorating ideas inspiration sources, but these are my favourites and I am sure you will find using them helpful.
Disclosure: This post was written in collaboration for Emblem Furniture, but that doesn't stop it being fun to read
