How to gather inspiration for your projects
Before starting any interior design project it’s very important to gather inspiration so that we know what we actually want to do! If we were to think of this in terms of baking, let’s say you want to bake a red velvet cake. You are not going to go and buy random ingredients and cross your fingers hoping it will turn out a red velvet cake now, will you? You’ll make a list of the ingredients needed before you start anything.
Think of gathering inspiration as the same thing, but for interior design projects.
Now there are 2 ways in which you can do this process. One is by falling down the Pinterest, IG, magazines, Google, blogs, etc. rabbit hole and saving all the photos that you love. Or, another, more systematic way.
Let’s take Option 1 - the Pinterest (or any other channel) approach.
Create a special folder where you can save, pin, and/or download all the photos that you like. If you are limited by time, choose a certain amount of time for this step (i.e. 2-3 hours, or a week, etc), to do this step.
Let’s say you end up with 600 photos in this folder. Create a second folder and add in it all the photos that you absolutely love, that you find striking. Those photos that whenever you see them you are so in with them. The ones that are just cute, or meh, leave them where they are (you can delete them later).
Repeat this process until you are left with 15 - 20 photos that you absolutely love every time you see them. Those will be the foundation inspo for your project.
©Detail Movement
©Detail Movement
©Detail Movement
Option 2 - Finding your WHY
Whatever the reason for starting your design project, good (up-levelling your life) or bad (a problem/issue that needs fixing), it’s important to understand that your WHY is always connected to your emotions. Ok, so now what?
Now you start creating a list of words that represent your Feelings, Values, and Personal Rituals. Start by writing down what FEELINGS you want your new home to have. It might be that you want your new space to feel calm and peaceful. Or perhaps you prefer a space that inspires and energizes you.
You can also write down what your VALUES are. This is a great insight into what is important to you in your life. For example, a value can be centred around family, which means that having the space to enjoy quality family time is important to you.
Don’t forget to also include some daily RITUALS/ROUTINES. This can be a daily yoga practice or a skincare routine that makes you feel happy and relaxed. Or perhaps it’s working out first thing in the morning.
All of these things will help you create the theme that you want for your home. For example. “a calm, spacious, and comfortable home for me and my family”.
Once you have this, start looking for photos that represent exactly these things to you. And if you end up again with 600 photos, you can use the process in Option 1. And that is it! This is the exact process I use when I gather and create inspiration for my projects too. Only I swap the values, feelings, wants and needs with those of my clients. I know we haven’t covered your needs, wants and wishes for your project. That would be the next step and perhaps a future topic to cover. But for now, just have fun with it.
If you are thinking ok, that is all good but gosh this feels overwhelming to do, don’t worry. I am here for you. I have different design services specifically designed to help you with what you need, no matter where you are in your design journey. If you just need help to come up with the design idea, put together a design budget estimate, or literally help to design your home, chances are I can help. So don’t be afraid to get in touch. It would be my pleasure to help you if I can!
Let me know your thoughts below or you can always share your experience on Instagram. Just tap @detailmovement and leave your message there.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Raluca x
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All images that are credited as '©Detail Movement', are done by Raluca Vaduva for Detail Movement. All rights reserved. All pictures that are not my own, I credit them to the best of my knowledge & research, to their offline/online sources. I do not claim ownership over them in any way. If you see your picture on this site and do not wish for it to be displayed, please get in touch and I will remove it or add additional notes at your request.