I’m not an interior designer. If you are, I envy you! It’s been a lifelong passion and I am so hopeful I’ll join your ranks one day. Until that happens though, I still want my house to be aesthetically pleasing to myself, my family and to others. I know there are things I don’t yet understand about the design process, but one thing I feel like I’ve mastered is starting a room design.
I feel confident in saying this process has served me well twice. I still have a few rooms in my house that aren’t quite finished so I won’t claim yet that it worked in every space (soon though, I’m sure of it!), but in the two spaces I’ve designed that I love and look on with adoration that I did that, the way I started the process was the same.
Are you starting on designing a room? I love browsing Pinterest for ideas and inspiration. So many gorgeous spaces are out there and there’s likely to be many that fit your idea of “perfect” for what you want in your home. Unless you want to mimic every single detail, like seeking down those paint colors, sourcing out the same rugs, knick knacks, art and furniture, how do you translate it? How do you get to that end result?
Of course you can do some basics. Like clearing the room out, decluttering, and searching out spaces that inspire you. But there’s something deeper you can do that will really inspire your journey through the design.
If you’re a home junkie, you’ve maybe heard this suggestion before. I’ve read articles written by interior designers and watched shows featuring stylists and many of them suggest finding an inspiration piece. Something that speaks to the essence of the space you want to end up with. Sometimes it’s a rug you can pick colors out of. Sometimes it’s a piece of art in a style that inspires the type of furniture and decor you’ll buy. Other times it could be a bowl, lamp, or fabric. It’s the piece that pulls the whole room together when it’s complete and pulls it together when it starts.
For my bathroom, that piece was the rug. I bought a vintage rug in navy and dark red. I knew going into it that I wanted metallics and teal in the space, but this rug set the tone for the space. I used global accents since the rug was Afghanistan in origin. I also bounced the color blue around the space and let the red be a contrasting pop.
See more of the bathroom here.
Then for my dining room, it was a bowl I’d found at a thrift store. The colors were exactly what I was starting to think I wanted for the space. Again I used global accents because the bowl is made in China. I chose to pull in lots of plants and tropical elements like rattan because of the botanical paintings on the bowl.
See more of the dining room here.
It’s really an easy way to start a space no matter what your style preference is. And while this helps most when starting from scratch with a space, it can also help bring direction to a space you’ve simply been stuck on. Give it a try!
Ariel says
Great idea! Plus, that bowl is darling.
Amanda says
Great tip! It can be so overwhelming to get started sometimes.
Tee @ Beauteeful Living says
I definitely agree about starting with one thing and building upon it. Love your rug and that bowl is gorgeous!
Roxanne says
Starting with an inspiration piece really helps the process, especially with the color choices. This all looks so pretty!
Stephanie @ Casa Watkins Living says
Great tips!!! Love love that bowl!!!
Nadia says
Corinna,
absolutely agree with what you said in the post! this approach works for me as well! your place looks beautiful!!!
Maria Brittis says
Love the bowl, love the rug and the turquoise color combo looks amazing together. Building up is the key, great job you are a natural designer.
Maria
Kati says
This is exactly how I start every room. One piece or a fabric that inspired me and the rest seems to come from that.