Good place for house decorating ideas?

[Blue Aurora]

We own our first home....and we're have bare bones furniture and no decorations so I'm completely starting from scratch. We have wooden floors and wood trim and doors and lots of windows that need some curtains. I have no idea how I want to decorate stuff. Where are your favorite places to go for inspiration?

[BlessedBlue]

:cup

[Drew]

I was in the same situation 2 years ago. It is hard to create a style out of nowhere. :yes

My style is pretty eclectic so I'm all about coordination without matchy-matchy sets. For furniture I scour furniture websites (love overstock.com for tables and lighting at decent prices) and local resale shops for pieces that I love. It's more of the actual pieces creating inspiration for style rather than the other way around.

Wall color, accessories, etc are more of a struggle for me. I watch a lot of decorating/redecorating shows on DIY and HGTV as well as peruse magazines (usually Better Homes and Gardens) for inspiration. I tend to pick and choose certain elements that I like in a given layout and incorporate them into my house rather than try to emulate an entire look.

I use to like the Rate My Space website but now so much of the site revolves around the show you really have to dig to see pics of real people's houses. In another thread B Hope suggested roomzaar.com for inspiration and it looks like a pretty cool site from the little bit I've had a chance to look at it.

[RiverRock]

I haven't done this in awhile, but touring show homes in new developments usually gives some good ideas, especially if you are looking to change out counters, flooring or paint. If you read a lot of magazines or watch home decor shows you will start to pick up on general rules of home decor. A lot of these shows also have websites and Q&A forums. I recently hired an interior designer to give me a walk through of my home because we are almost at the point of needing to repaint all but a couple bedrooms, and we are in the process of doing minor renos in the laundry and main bath. She charged $100 for a 2.5 hr. walk through and her insights already saved me more than that much money by talking me out of travertine tile. I'm not sure how soon some of the recommendations will be followed, but now I have better ideas of what to do when the time comes.

[crunchymum]

i like going to borders or barns and noble, grabbing a bunch of design books/mags, and browsing through them and taking note of what i like.

i am also reading "the emotional house" right now, which helps you figure out your design style.. it's been very good. :)

[RiverRock]

i am also reading "the emotional house" right now, which helps you figure out your design style.. it's been very good. :)


Ohh...that sounds like a good book!

[crunchymum]

:yes it is. :)

[Blue Aurora]

I'll add that to my list...thanks!

[ShangriLewis]

Check your library to see what they do with old or donated magazines or check goodwill. Load up on a bunch of recent ones. Then cut out everything that strikes your fancy.

When you are done sort them around for different rooms till things start to match. If you have three bathroom decors and only one bath ask your husband which one he prefers.