A Designer’s Home Design Inspiration

I’m HERE, I’m INSPIRED, but WOW, so many lessons were learned with this one! 

If you’re just tuning in, I’m officially taking my own MMDH home furnishing course to complete the home office project that I’ve dreamt about for years!

You can read more about my recent home design revelation HERE. The gist: After years of designing for others and neglecting my own home design, I’ve decided to dive into The MMDH Furnishing Method. Yep, I’m buckling down and tackling my living room/home office full refresh project [with you right here to keep me accountable!].

Key Tips for Gathering Effective Home Design Inspiration

Reflecting back on my inspiration, I can see many consistencies throughout. I love bold… it’s clear. I naturally pull a definite mix of traditional bold and modern bold, but all personality-filled eclectic. There are always a lot of design elements in what I gravitate towards, and I love seeing validation in what I’m drawn to in my home already.

I’m officially pushing the limits of where my head has been to date in my home. It is a challenge to see beyond the obvious box of this 50’s colonial home, but join me as I push outside of my comfort zone.

Starting My Home Design Refresh Journey

You can visit my last post here, if you haven’t already, to check out where I am at today in mindset and “before” pics!

I am sitting in here as I write. Our original 50’s fireplace surround and built-in shelving unit to my right, neither of which I have even remotely liked since we moved in twelve years ago [LOL… the things that drop to the bottom of the priority list when you are making a full home YOU!].

I hung old leaded glass windows over the mantle a decade or so ago. I found them in my parents’ garage when I owned my first condo. They used to hold the roll of a headboard in my condo, now they are here. They tell this story. They will forever be part of my world because of that. Maybe just not over a mantel anymore…

I bought a cheap fireplace screen to keep my kids out of the fire when they were born. It was never something I loved, but it sure did the trick for the price and purpose for years!

I invested in West Elm drapery panels with all of the “Design Dollars” I had to my name at the time. Again, they always needed to be lined and hemmed (!) and I never got around to budgeting for it or doing it, and now, I’m over them [legitimately laughing out loud again… is this a fun summary for anyone else?].

I’m reminding myself right now that twelve years is a solid run for any design selections! These puppies have stood the test of time, and they may even find a home again around here, but we’re all ready for a refresh in this space!

We painted the room [and every. single. surface. in this entire house] before we moved in. The wall color is Benjamin Moore, Puritan Gray. A chameleon of a gray tone that endless visitors have asked me for over the years. It has been a great backdrop for this ever-evolving space for over a decade, and I am still specifying it regularly on projects today [mudroom cabinetry coming soon!], but I am ready for a change in here on the walls.

Space Planning Preview Vibes

This space has been rearranged in-full no less than four times in the past three months. Mostly because my design brain is now in full motion on how it can best support us as an office AND living room. Space planning is a major part of the design puzzle, which is why it has its own entire module in our course. Stay tuned for my “Planning Module” coverage, coming up next!

Rearranging is not something you have to do to solidify your layout, although if you have existing furniture that you are going to use [or not] moving forward, rearranging it will help you scale and visualize your ideal layout. Seeing how everything works within your space [even in layouts you weren’t sure were possible, or missing pieces you know you will add] is a great tool. I know I want to focus on built-ins around our fireplace, and I need a solid gallery wall in this space!

Back To My Inspiration Mood Board Vibes

As I try to document the color palette I’m honing in on, I looked through my “product” Pinterest board instead of my “paint” or “color” Pinterest boards. I found a rug that had all of the colors that I pulled out on the upper right of my mood board. Each color grounds the others while sticking to my bold comfort zone. They are also a unique combo that I have never brought together in a space before. I love that. They won’t all end up as a predominant color in the space, but they all work together so well that I don’t want to take any one of them out yet… or maybe ever.

As I worked through this mood board, I wasn’t overly processing the layout of the room. Maybe that’s a good thing because I organically gravitated towards lounge seating areas and table/combined desking. 

Feeling Inspired Start This Exercise Yourself? 

Our Mood Board Method “mini-course” gives you a quick [FREE] and thorough taste of my teaching style through five video tutorials. I’ve poured all of my mood board-building tips into this mini-course, so you don’t waste another minute dreaming without a tangible visual that has the potential of bringing your wildest dreams to life.

If you don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to mood board it up with my step-by-step guidance walkthrough, grab our FREE mini-course below!

xo,

If you‘re looking for more tips for your home design projects, check out these posts:

3 Tips for Designing A Home That You Can Be Proud Of

3 Ways To Maximize Your Room’s Potential

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