Put your favorite color into a room for a space you'll love. Photo ©2002 G. Morton, About.com    Email to a friend  Printer friendly version More of this Feature • Part 1: Inspiration • Part 2: More Inspiration • Part 3: Fabric, Designers Related Resources • Before You Build • Hire a Designer FAQs • Terrific Ways To...- Learning to Decorate • Furnishing on a Budget • Decorate in Order • Learn to Read Magazines About Interior Decorating Subscribe to the Free Newsletter Your Email Address:

With endless design choices it can be ultimately intimidating to stare at the walls of an empty room. Should you wallpaper or paint? Put what color where? Go with curtains or blinds? Dark colors or light? You might be tempted to just go out and start shopping.

But, consider this.

So it is with decorating. Just showing up at a furniture or paint store, where you will be presented with thousands of samples, is asking for frustration and may lead to a less-than-desirable outcome.

Start slowly. Figure out what you really want. Then what you really need. But before you buy furnishings for your home, you need a little INSPIRATION. Inspiration gives you a vision, a roadmap, for your project.

Here are some of the ways you can search for inspiration for your rooms:

Put Yourself into Model Rooms
Visit some model homes, take home tours, or go to decorator showhouses put on by local charitable organizations. These showhouses feature the work of talented interior designers and showcase their style and sense of design. Quality furniture stores are another possibility, but do not go to buy just yet.

Stand in each room for a few minutes and question yourself. Don't look at individual pieces so much. Consider the basics (walls, floor, ceiling) and ask yourself: “How does this room make me feel? Are the colors too light or too dark for me? Is it too formal? Do I like white carpeting, or would I rather have something darker and more anchored? Is that stripe wallpaper crisp or just annoying? Is the furniture warm, dark, white, or colored? What do I like (or dislike) about it?”

Design Shows on TV
Television is a wonderful resource for home decorators. Try a few shows to see which ones you like. Tape some to view later. Visit websites such as HGTV for project information. Continue to use the "model home" approach by mentally stepping into each room. Do you like it? What are the elements that "work" best? Be critical, but do it in a way that will refine and define your own taste.

Museums, Auctions, Antiques
If you are interested in period or antique furniture, you might want to visit the decorative arts departments in area museums. Other possibilities would be auction houses, antique stores, and antique shows. Again, you may want to hold off buying anything, but finding out about beautiful items will increase your appreciation for them and educate you in the value of such pieces.

Research
You can put yourself into the pictures by reading to define your style and develop your decorating eye. Browse your local or online bookstore or library for books and magazines on homes and decorating. Read them for inspiration. Read decorating books and magazines to expand your knowledge of the design process and learn about some of the materials and choices available to you. Keep your notes and favorite photos in a file or a decorating notebook.

Next: > Magazines, Themes, Browsing Online

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