Where to get interior design inspiration (full resource list!)
Where do other interior designers get their design inspiration?
I polled the designers in my Instagram community of nearly 100,000 designers and asked them where they go to get new ideas, find new products, learn about the latest trends, what’s coming next and to simply keep their creativity alive.
I had hundreds of responses and in today’s post I’m collating what they told me and sharing a long list of resources that you can use to find new design inspiration whenever you need it.
This is a great page to bookmark and come back to next time you want some new ideas!
Where interior designers get their design inspiration
The responses I got from my community fell in to a number of categories, which I’ll break down in sections below.
The majority of designers who responded said that they get most of their design inspiration from Instagram.
I’ll list some of the accounts that people said they enjoyed and followed but as we all have different styles and tastes as designers it’s likely that only some of these accounts will be worth you following.
Instead - to find more accounts to follow on Instagram based on your own unique tastes here’s what I suggest…
If you find someone you like following as you scroll around on Instagram (or from the list below) then look at the suggested accounts that Instagram gives you to follow on their page. These are the accounts that will have similar content or a similar audience to that account - which means you’ll probably enjoy it as well!
To do this on a desktop computer:
Inside Instagram on the account of a page your enjoy click the drop down arrow that you will see next to the ‘follow’ button on their account. This will open up similar accounts that you may also like to follow :) Go through the accounts and follow any of those that you like the look of.
To do this on your phone:
Click on the followers of the account you like and scroll across to ‘suggested’. You’ll find a list of accounts that are similar to that account that you may like to follow. Again, go through the list and see which ones you may like to add to your follow list.
And here’s a list of some of the accounts that designers sent over to me that they love to follow (in no particular order):
Thank you to those designers who also suggested my account :) It’s full of tips and tricks for starting, growing and scaling your interior design or architecture business plus some design tips and ideas as well.
Websites and Blogs
Lots of designers mentioned their favourite websites and blogs to go to for new ideas and inspiration. Here’s a list of those that were mentioned:
Most of these websites/blogs also have Instagram pages that are probably worth following as well.
YouTube Channels
Quite a few designers mentioned YouTube channels that they enjoyed. The suggestions included a mix of not only design inspiration itself but also channels that helped them learn about the design process and how to work as a designer:
Clare Le Roy - thank you to those who mentioned my channel :)
Other sources of inspiration
Finally, lots of designers told me they get their inspiration from sources outside interior design specifically. Responses I got included:
Local and daily inspiration - some examples mentioned included:
how a retail store is designed
how a local cafe is designed
new fashion in the stores
food (and how it is presented)
textures we see as we go about our day
Design conferences and events - some mentioned included:
Salone del Mobile (Milan Design week)
Highpoint Market (USA)
Stockholm Furniture Fair
Denfair (Australia)
Travel
architecture and interior design around the world - how it differs to what we see in our own country, how we can use ideas we see in our own work - also visiting historic buildings and houses
art - the chance to visit different museums and art galleries
high end hotels - often design pushes boundaries in these spaces and can trigger ideas for projects
restaurants and cafes you eat in - how they are designed
experiencing different cultures - fashion and way of life
a few designers mentioned that they take copious amounts of photos when travelling - of colours, textures, places that inspire them - and use these once home again to inspire their projects
Fashion
runway shows for upcoming colours/shapes/trends
fashion magazines
fashion museums
latest jewellery design
Nature - here’s a few things people mentioned:
colours of nature - e.g. sunrise colours, bush walk colours and textures
ideas that you can have when just being out in nature on a walk
the work of landscape designers (and bringing ideas they have in garden/outdoor spaces in to interior design work)
Design coffee table books
Podcasts
Using search terms on Google images (particularly if you know what you’re looking for - e.g. for historical research or specific design styles/periods)
Art
colours, textures in art
visiting art galleries for inspiration - one designer mentioned gallery experiences not only for the art itself but also for the architecture of the buildings as well
Photography - either taking their own photos or studying photography of others
Colour trends and forecasts - e.g. Pantone colour of the year, new paint colour releases by large paint brands
Film and TV - people mentioned set design, fashion and using period shows for historical research. There are also heaps of reality interior design and architecture shows on Netflix and TV that were mentioned.
The work of other interior designers and architects - both famous ones and smaller up and coming ones.
One message I heard from lots of designers was that they feel like design ideas are everywhere if we open our ideas to look for them. Even in our own local areas and going about our daily business we can find new ideas to try if we are always looking for them.
How to capture and remember your ideas
The best way to find design inspiration is to always be looking for it and then to have a way to capture your ideas so you don’t forget them.
So set up a system and always be collecting ideas as you come across them.
I would suggest the simplest way to do this is to start a new folder in the notes app on your phone and every time you find something that inspires you you can drop a new note in that folder - e.g. keep a list of websites you come across, take photos while you’re out on a walk or visiting a new cafe, take photos of things you find in books or magazines.
Next time you need some new inspiration go in to your folder and see what you’ve collected!
I hope you have got some ideas from this post of new places to find design inspiration.
And if you have other resources you love then please put them in the comments below so we can keep this list alive and growing for other designers in our community!
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
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