How to break out of your decorating rut

Posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2018

Many people who pursue artistic endeavours – including, perhaps, yourself – will be able to vouch for the therapeutic value of creating something new. However, sometimes, the well of inspiration can suddenly and unexpectedly run dry. This can apply to decorators as much as writers or fine artists.

If you have hit upon the decorator’s equivalent of writer’s block, rest assured that your next major spark of inspiration could be just one new trip or purchase away, as the following tips attest.

Peruse magazines along with Pinterest and Instagram

These might be obvious remedies to suggest for the challenge of unearthing fresh inspiration, but they bear emphasis because of the wealth of intriguing interior work on which they shine spotlights.

The next time you are in a dentist’s waiting room, there might be some home interior magazines piled up on a nearby table for your ready perusal. Meanwhile, your favourite designers might maintain Pinterest or Instagram pages where you can see even more of their work.

Browse the art at a local gallery or museum

Fortunately, you probably do not have to journey far to find a gallery or museum where fascinating artworks are displayed in abundance. Part of the beauty of perusing art in this way is the possibility of coming across pieces that excite, but you might never have come across through other means.

As your eyes scan various pieces of art, you could soon be thinking about the imaginative scope with colour, perspectives and styles. The art could also give you valuable insight into historical trends.

Buy something that you would not typically

Wacky though it might initially seem for you to simply close your eyes, point at a random object in a shop and then buy that item, that technique – or something close to it – could work surprisingly well when you are struggling to mine further potential from your existing pieces of decor.

Even if your new item fails to aesthetically match the rest of your home in the slightest, focusing on this would be missing the point – for now, you just want to get your brain’s cogs effectively whirring again.

Enter an unfamiliar retail store

Locally, you might struggle to find a home decor store that has managed to escape your notice so far. However, you might find that such a store would blunt your thinking anyway. A better move, perhaps, would be to simply explore any retail store of particularly inspiring or quirky design.

In that store, observe what colours and materials have been used as decoration, advises Apartment Therapy. Even an Apple store can hugely inspire when you take your eyes away from the iPhones.

Limit your home decor to items you love

You can probably easily categorise particular items in your home as “loves” or “likes”. However, for each of the pieces you just like, try to find a replacement that you love, suggests Better Homes & Gardens. As furniture, art and other pieces are replaced, expect to emerge from your decorating rut.