Interior Styling: From Inspiration to Action

Do you see lots of pretty styling you would love to copy, but don’t know where to start?  I have 5 simple steps that will help bring your inspiration to life.  Follow this easy process to get ideas off your Pinterest board and implemented in your home!

1.  Choose Your Inspiration

I bet you are already doing a great job at collecting inspiration…maybe too much.  It can be easy to fall into the trap of collecting inspiration, and more inspiration, and never putting it into action.

Stop collecting inspiration.  Take a break.  Instead, spend your time going back through the inspiration you already have and choose what you want to implement in your home.

I have been collecting lots of decorating ideas on this Styling Tips Pinterest board.  There are lots of great ideas, and it is time to put some of them into action.

2. Break It Down Into Shapes

To get a similar look in your home, you do not have to copy your inspiration exactly.  Don’t focus on the specifics, instead focus on the shapes and sizes.  Once you start seeing your inspiration as shapes, you can look past the colors and styles of the pieces and focus on the styling and arrangement.

If there is more than one image that inspires you, try to look for the common elements that make each look work.  You can mix and match different elements from your inspiration images.

Translate your inspiration into a list of shapes and sizes.  This will give you a simple list of what you need to recreate the look.

I am a very visual person, so I like to sketch out the shapes I see and then create my list.

To replicate this inspiration image, the list looks like this:

• Big rectangular wall decor – art or mirror
• Big curvy lamp with straight drum shade
• Stack of rectangles – books or decorative boxes
• Cylinder – lantern, vase, or jar
• Rectangular tray
• Small potted plant
• Something round – plate on stand, decorative sphere, or round vase
• Simple console table
• pair of x-bench stools

3. Shop Your Home First

With your list in hand, shop your home for the right shape and size objects.  Gather everything you have that might work together near the area you are planning to style.  If possible, have a few alternatives for each item.

4. Shop to Fill the Gaps

After shopping your home, go shopping to fill in any missing items.  One of my biggest tips to avoid unecessary home spending, is to shop from a list…no aimless browsing.  You may want to do some pre-shopping online to save time running from store to store.

Advanced Online Search Tip

Instead of browsing a store’s entire online catalog, try using their search function to look for the specific item you need, like “decorative sphere”.

For even quicker online shopping, use advanced search operators.  To search multiple sites at once, use this trick.  In the Google search bar type:

[your search term] site:[site1.com] OR site:[site2.com] OR site:[site3.com]

You can add as many sites as you want, just put the OR operator between each site and start each one with “site:”.

A real search might look something like this:

decorative sphere site:westelm.com OR site:urbanoutfitters.com OR site:dwellstudio.com

Since I am visual, I like to browse the image results for my search, by clicking the Images tab.

Once you have found the missing pieces, you can order them online or go to the store, with specific list in hand, and pick them up.

5. Get Styling

Arrange the decor you collected according to plan.  Use your inspiration image or sketch as a reference for how to place objects.  Try out a few alternates for each object until you find a mix you like.  Make any necessary adjustments to make the arrangement work better for your space.

Over the next couple weeks, I will be showing you how I am taking my inspiration to action in my home by creating several styled spaces.

Click here to read more Interior Styling tips!