Where do you look for your interior design inspiration ?
I bet so many of you dive straight for pinterest or design magazines? Don't blame you I do too. But, and it's a big but, there are soooo many other places to get interior inspiration from that you probably don't think about, or link them together.
I'm going to share some places I look to get inspired and hope they help you too.
Fashion Retail
Now this probably isn't all that strange a place to seek inspiration, but I mean this is a great place for colour inspiration more than anything. Obviously some luxury brands have Aahhmazing interiors and this will inspire all day long. Main high street stores wouldn't necessarily have you diving for a new sofa as such buuut this is a great place to seek colour inspiration. I worked in retail for many years and in visual merchandising where we were constantly pulling together new packages of clothes and creating new colour palettes.
This is a perfect way to see what colours work well together and that can definitely be translated into your home. Remember retail stores create (or try to) a visually appealing environment, albeit dictated by current trends, and the colours of clothes are merchandised into collections that look cohesive and striking. You can find some great colour combinations that you can definitely translate into your home and I bet you find some combinations that you wouldn't have actually thought have putting together.
Great places to check out for more adventurous colour combination is your designer brands, they definitely mix it up.
Also, if you don't have time to traipse around store after store then another area you can seek inspiration for what colours work well is looking directly at patterns. A patterned fabric combines lots of colours, but guess what, they all go together.
A great tip I heard which has stuck with me, and it's SO true, look at what you wear, what colours and fabrics do you gravitate towards? If you tend to wear a lot of pink for example, then why the heck not introduce this colour into your home, you obviously like it! See where I'm going with this??
Restaurants/Hotels/Bars
Great places to seek inspiration for your home is looking around bars, restaurants and hotels that you visit. These establishments push the boundaries of design as they can afford to be much braver than the average person would be in their own home, because most people aren't in them for too long. However they can offer great ideas that you can always tone down for your personal taste, or not if you like it bold!
I've been to some great places where the creativity of the interiors makes you stop and stare, looking around for a while and you just want to take in your surroundings. I mean take a look at the hottest places doing the rounds on instagram, the reason people are instagramming the crap out of them is because they have fabulous interiors.
The hottest hotel in London right now, The Ned, is practically decor porn. It definitely has a nod to the twenties with it's sumptuous velvet and rounded edges reminiscent of artdeco, like glamour of time gone by.
Pink lovers would be in heaven here a Sketch. Definitely one of the quirkier places I've visited and it's now such an iconic set up it's instantly recognisable.
The above photo is fab inspo for monochrome fans. The gold highlights just pop out and the lights create a dramatic backdrop.
Film
The least obvious place for inspiration is film.
One notorious director who's films definitely inspire me is Wes Anderson
There is a reason why he's such an iconic director and why his films, in my opinion, are so tantalizingly addictive to watch.
His films offer great colour palettes that can inspire you, whether the actual decor and design style is to your taste or not, he creates some killer colour combos.
It's not without doubt his films are a retro vintage lovers dream. I suppose if this isn't your style you probably wouldn't be all that interested in taking inspiration from his films but he has created not only cult classic films but a certain design style that has been emulated outside of the film industry and in interiors we can have access to.
The above photo is a perfect example of how Wes Anderson's style has inspired the interior of this cafe. Its so reminiscent of his style yet looks fantastic as a cafe
A retro train in America definitely looks like it could be in one of Anderson films.
This cafe in China definitely has the Wes Anderson inspired quirky features and decor, albeit in a more neutral decor.
However Feast India has fully embraced his design and created a show stopper of a restaurant, I am literally mesmerized by this amazing take on his style. Who cares about what the food is like when the decor is this fabulous!
So there you have it, some other places to seek inspiration for your interior project, whether it's for colour, style tips, lighting etc.
I hope this has inspired you to get inspired!!
Thanks for reading