Where do you get home decorating ideas and inspiration?

[Biscuits & Gravy]

We are moving into a new house and starting from scratch with the decor. I need some inspiration! Paint colors and decorating in general. I am not kidding when I say we have nothing. I've gotten rid of almost all home decor except for photos.

[busymama77]

We are big fans of the DIY network and HGTV. Watching the before and afters - whether it's decor, paint colors, rugs, furniture, etc., gives me ton of ideas of things that I could possibly find locally. I browse stores like Marshall's, TJ Maxx, Kohl's and some thrift stores. 3 piece shelves, some pictures (not prints), mirrors, and metal artwork.
Also, take a color from a new rug or pillow, find a paint color that compliments it, curtains/blinds to match, etc., That's what we did for our family room and I love it. Walls are a very pale yellow (top part) bottom is white (wainscoting), couch is green, pillows are red, rug is floral with blues, green, browns and reds. Wall decor is simple, but compliments everything in the room.

Good luck and have fun!

[Miims]

What fun! One place to look are the websites of magazines like Country Living, Martha Stewart, Better Homes & Gardens, any house magazine, etc. They have galleries of house pictures that you can flip through. This is not so much fun if you have dial-up, however. Also, home improvement stores often have a rack of annually published decorating/inspiration "magazines" that are just pictures of house interiors based on a theme (like cottages or historic homes). Also your library might have some books on the subject (start browsing in the 720s and 740s sections). I personally love Google image search for more specific things.

[rere]

Flickr is great inspiration for me.A lot of times I like to see real homes instead of professionally staged photos.

[beanma]

What style are you drawn to? I sometimes find things I like in Country Living (more on their website because I don't pay for the mag). This surprised me at first because I'm not into gingham and ducks with bows on their necks, but a lot of their stuff is more rustic and flea-markety than Kountry Kitchen. Some is even modern.

Speaking of modern, there's always Dwell.

You could lose hours at Apartment Therapy, too. Great site with all kinds of cool rooms, and not just apartments, etiher.

Wanted to add, there's always IKEA, too! We're in the middle of an IKEA kitchen remodel. If you need to buy stuff (like a kitchen, or bed, etc), , they will deliver to the triangle from Charlotte anything that will fit on the truck (big like a moving truck) for $99 extra if you go to the Charlotte store and buy it there. Online shipping not so cheap on a whole kitchen.

hth

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Originally Posted by beanma

What style are you drawn to? I sometimes find things I like in Country Living (more on their website because I don't pay for the mag). This surprised me at first because I'm not into gingham and ducks with bows on their necks, but a lot of their stuff is more rustic and flea-markety than Kountry Kitchen. Some is even modern.

Speaking of modern, there's always Dwell.

You could lose hours at Apartment Therapy, too. Great site with all kinds of cool rooms, and not just apartments, etiher.

Wanted to add, there's always IKEA, too! We're in the middle of an IKEA kitchen remodel. If you need to buy stuff (like a kitchen, or bed, etc), , they will deliver to the triangle from Charlotte anything that will fit on the truck (big like a moving truck) for $99 extra if you go to the Charlotte store and buy it there. Online shipping not so cheap on a whole kitchen.

hth

My style is eclectic. I definitely lean toward the Country Living style rather than the super modern, but I do like some of the modern looking stuff. I like things in my home to feel warm and cozy, traditional but with a unique twist. We actually went to Ikea last weekend to poke around and it was awesome. I could see a lot of the stuff there in my home, adapted to fit our style. There was a good mix, which surprised me. I'm doing the playroom with a lot of things I saw there, like the bright colored table with stools. That is great to know about delivery! DH goes to Charlotte often, but stuff would have to fit in the back of his Forester.

Great ideas here for me to start with! Thanks!!

[Ola_]

I'm a big fan of blogs. I have quite a collection in my bookmarks, some of which I go to every day, others I just read once in a while. The key with this I think is to choose ones that match your style or what you want your style to be, that way the ideas are relevant to you.

I started a thread once to get some more ideas too:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...190&highlight=

And one thing I do a lot is when I'm reading a blog that I like, I check out the links on their blogroll. It's a good way to find other similar or complementary posters!

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Originally Posted by Ola_

I'm a big fan of blogs. I have quite a collection in my bookmarks, some of which I go to every day, others I just read once in a while. The key with this I think is to choose ones that match your style or what you want your style to be, that way the ideas are relevant to you.

I started a thread once to get some more ideas too:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...190&highlight=

And one thing I do a lot is when I'm reading a blog that I like, I check out the links on their blogroll. It's a good way to find other similar or complementary posters!

Thank you!!

[candycat]

Maybe I'm weird but I like international theming. That sounds corny, but oh well. Each room has its own theme but they're not really integrated - and I like it that way! Our kitchen is kind of French country - except it's painted bright red by the previous owners and we loved and kept it. Our living room is (or will be, once we get the shelving in)... Oriental? Moroccan flavored decor and low furniture, but also with lots of plants and dim lights. Our bathroom upstairs is Japanese-themed (bamboo, fountain, some paintings, etc.) The master bedroom is "Tropical/Hawaiian". I'm not entirely sure if I'm making much sense without pictures, but I like to try lots of bold styles out but without making a commitment to just one.

I guess minimalist/uncluttered yet with lots of decorations and color goes throughout the house though. Functional and comfortable but the styles are different. Paintings and tapestries and such everywhere, some rugs, etc. But each room still has a different feel/theme.

[ChristyMarie]

I definitely watch home shows and browse stores but I also like looking on realtor.com. Find an area that fits your style and browse the pictures of homes on the market.