What would this blog be without inspiration? Frankly nothing. As evidenced by my weekly “Pinspiration Monday” feature, the majority of my projects and house updates come from getting a healthy dose of inspiration from places like Pinterest every day. It’s been a good long while since I recapped where my go-to resources for ideas and projects come from – I don’t know about you all, but those resources often change throughout the course of even just a month. One day it could be a particular blog, only to shift to a new favorite design show on television the next – And then back to that blog again.
The last time I really chatted about my inspirational resources was in this post, where I mentioned my favorite design show – i.e. “Secrets from a Stylist.” Emily Henderson is still my fave-y, but I’ve also grown to really love a couple others. Besides “The Bachelor” on Mondays with girls from work and “The New Girl” with John on Tuesdays, I usually turn on the TV only hoping to see something good rather than timing it just right. So I don’t anticipate my favorite shows, but rather get happily surprised when I catch them randomly.
Case-in-point, a couple days ago I happened to flip to HGTV and caught the tail end of a FABULOUS make over by Genevieve Gorder of “Dear Genevieve.” The room featured a gorgeous ikat-inspired stencil on the wall (white stencil on top of a lovely rich gray), colorful textiles and flea market finds. There were two gallery walls featuring the home owner’s artwork, photos and even a special letter written to her. I loved how the frames were all different shapes and colors – I have embraced the concept of different styles but not all different colors, as is evidenced by my entry way gallery wall of spray painted white frames. It literally took only ten minutes of catching the final reveal to get pumped about future stenciling projects, expanding on the idea of a gallery wall and breaking out of my color shell.
Of course I have been unable to track down a photo or screen shot from the particular episode I speak of. But to wet your whistle so to speak, I snagged a few images via a quick Google image search. Gorder’s work is apparently pretty hard to track down in general, but I think you’ll be able to pick up on her eclectic style.
All of the rooms she designs tend to have this “been there for ages” look, as though they are truly lived in even though they took a show’s worth of footage to put together. She has this really fun way of pairing vintage finds with custom pieces that, again, looks seamless and timeless. Nothing really looks all that new, but the end result is always sophisticated, intentional and home-y.
And we can’t mention Genevieve without talking about how darn cute she is! Love her.
Speaking of “cute”…Another favorite HGTV show, this one a more recent add to my list, is “Property Brothers.” The show is hosted by two made-for-tv-looking brothers (the charm of which is minutely killed by their excessive cheesiness on camera) on a quest to teach home buyers the value of buying an old home and turning it into their dream home through renovation. I think the appeal for me here is that they take viewers through a home search, a renovation project and the final decorated product. For all you HGTV buffs out there, it’s sort of like cramming “House Hunters,” “Disaster DIY” and “Candace Tells All” in one one-hour show. So far, I have been able to look past the nerdy in-camera conversations the hosts have with the viewers by drooling over real estate, projects and final designs.
Luckily, the HGTV website featured a good collection of images to promote the siblings’ work on “Property Brothers,” so feast your eyes on this…
First a “Before and After” to make you say “ohh” and “ahhh.” Here’s what the home’s original kitchen looked like – Honestly it’s not that bad, at least from the “waist” up with the white cabinets and glass doors. But the ugly flooring, outdated appliances and sink and the brown under cabinets kill the overall effect.
This is the stunning “After” – I don’t even need to list the things that make this kitchen an inspiration to me. It speaks for itself.
Here are a few other finished product images to get your design heart pumping.
But design shows certainly aren’t the only thing that have me feeling the need to decorate – Believe it or not, I get a ton of inspiration from catalogs. Yup! Free little booklets of thin paper, chalk full of really really expensive furniture, accessories and lighting. But if you look past all of that, they are also chalk full of idea potential. I can’t afford anything in the catalogs I get, but I have kept them coming for the random moment when I spot something that I could mimic on a budget.
For instance, take this West Elm catalog image below – The designer has put a modern (and gorgeous) spin on paneling by turning the wood horizontally. I feel like this could be easily achieved with a tiny splurge on wood at the hardware store, a bucket of stain and a nail gun. If I ever go bold enough to give this brilliant idea a try, you know you guys will be the first to know.
The styling in the bedroom below could easily be mimicked in our home – From the gallery wall over the bed, to the gray, white, cream and hot pink color scheme.
And here’s another thought for a gallery wall, using black frames instead of white, with graphic art. Could be recreated for next to nothing with an assortment of thrift store frames painted black and colorful images printed from a quick Google image search for “color abstract.”
I have been dying to build an art ledge. The image below could very well be the kick in the pants I need to get that project underway.
Still another place that I have been finding inspiration for our home is shop window displays. We don’t have an Anthropology in our town ::sigh:: but whenever we make the hour-long trip to Charlottesville, I swoon over the lovely and creative displays behind their glass. I know it might seem a little strange to get home advice from a shop window, but these displays in particular are literally works of art and typically incorporate materials that we all use (or could use) in our home – Fabric, twine, embroidery hoops, wood and boxes of ornaments. Confused? Just scroll through these images.
Love.
So where do you guys get your inspiration?
(With the exception of the first image with sources linked below it, all source information for photos can be found by clicking on them)
