I love decorating my home. My creative juices start flowing when I move furniture around, swap out wall décor or update the arrangement on my mantel. It’s really like therapy for me. I love that my house is functional for my family yet still reflects my sense of style. Things don’t usually stay the same at my house for very long though. A need for how a room is used may change, I may have a freshly painted piece of furniture that needs a home or I might just feel like changing things up. Whatever the reason, my home is constantly evolving.
Occasionally I get in a rut and run out of ideas for decorating a wall or figuring out furniture placement. I’m not on Pinterest (GASP!) but I wanted to share with you some of the other places I look for ideas and inspiration.
One of the easiest places for me to find inspiration is in catalogs. I’m not talking about department store catalogs where everything is matchy-matchy and full of room setups that couldn’t possibly be functional for day-to-day living. I’m talking about stores that reflect the same style I’m trying to achieve in my house. For me, those are catalogs like Pottery Barn. Typically, I can’t afford to shop at Pottery Barn but I do love many of the things they sell and I especially love how they decorate rooms. It’s worth flipping through the catalog and “window shopping” just to get ideas or come up with knock-off type projects that I can afford.
Here is a page from the Pottery Barn catalog I saw awhile back. This spoke to me because, at the time, I was trying to figure out what to do with the wall behind our ginormous television. I wanted the TV tucked away in a cabinet with doors. My husband, however, wanted a big TV that couldn’t fit inside an affordable entertainment center. I lost that battle but was determined to make it look good. There’s no way to hide the TV but I knew I could camouflage it a bit and make it blend in more. Here’s my copycat version. I took the same idea (and even copied some of the placement) and added touches that made it personal to my home. I made the signs to reflect names of places we have traveled to and gathered the other items from around my house.
Blogs are also a big source of inspiration for me. I follow several DIY & home décor blogs that I try to read at least once a week (usually after my kids are in bed and I have some time to unwind from the day). Reading these is probably what gives me the most confidence to tackle DIY projects and update my décor. Here are my top recommendations…
- Shanty 2 Chic:: These ladies make every project look so easy! I’ve done a few of their projects already and have plans to do some more.
- Miss Mustard Seed:: You’ve probably heard of her line of Milk Paint. She blogs a lot about painting furniture (which is one of my favorite things to do) and she shows a lot of before and after pictures as well as pictures of how she arranges and uses furniture and rooms in her own home.
- All Things Thrifty:: She does a lot of DIY projects around her house (sometimes with the help of her husband). She has a lot of great ideas and isn’t afraid of color. She also shares recipes and other non-DIY things on occasion.
- Thrifty Décor Chick:: She shares projects for all levels of DIY…from spray painting a lamp base to tiling around a fireplace. She also does a lot of before & after pics (and also shows pics of how her home looks on a daily basis with her kid around which I think is fantastic…I don’t think anyone should feel like their home needs to be spotless and magazine quality all the time in order to be stylish).
- Refunk my Junk:: She is local to the OKC area and is very inspirational to me (I’ve never actually met her but I would love to someday!) She quit her corporate job to pursue her furniture-painting hobby. She now has written a book about furniture paining, she teaches hands-on classes on painting furniture and she has booths at a few local marketplaces including The Feathered Nest in OKC and Serendipity in Edmond. Her blog is full of great projects and pictures.
There are many places to look for ideas and inspiration. The most important thing to remember is that your home should be comfortable and functional for your family.
Where do you get your home decor inspiration?
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Meet Krista!
My husband Jason and I met at church after we had already graduated from college and started on our own career paths. We were married in 2009 and settled down in Edmond, OK. I am mommy to our son Gavin and daughter Greta. They are crazy toddlers that keep me on my toes all the time! By day, I am an Oil & Gas accountant. By night, I’m a self-proclaimed DIY-er and am constantly changing things at my house. My husband and kids are good sports about this and usually roll with it when I up and change something without warning. I am excited to share some projects with you as well as share ideas and inspiration.
