Decor Inspiration – Methods for When You Feel Stuck
Today I want to share 5 methods that help me whenever I feel like I need some decor inspiration.
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We all have times where we feel stuck when it comes to decorating. We are playing with decor and trying to bring a space together, but nothing we do ever seems to “click”.
If you watch my YouTube video linked above, right now I’m feeling this way in my living room. It’s probably my least favorite space to decorate, and I’m especially struggling with it for fall.
Rather than calling it quits on a blog post for today, I thought I would address this issue since I’m sure I’m not the only one who deals with “decorating block” as I like to call it!
I realize that there are more important things in the world than how my home looks for fall. In the big scheme of things, this doesn’t matter a bit!
At the same time though, our homes matter to us. They are our havens, and the last thing we want is for them to make us feel anxious or uncomfortable.
Here are five methods that I like to use when I’m hoping to feel inspired in my home.
Decor Method #1 – Play some Music
One of the first things I love to do whenever I’m playing with my house is to play some music. Turn on something that really inspires you! I personally love movie soundtracks, especially if it was a movie that had an impact on me in some way.
The 1994 version of Little Women comes to mind. As a little girl, I loved that film and I loved the film score just as much. I loved Orchard House. I loved seeing pregnant Meg in her gardens surrounded by stone and wildflowers as Jo ran up the muddy path to meet her.
When I turn that soundtrack on, I can’t help but smile and feel so inspired! Another musician that I have been loving lately is Paul Cardall. I will listen to his station on Pandora, which plays similar music to his that is absolutely beautiful.
So give music a try! It might just inspire you to finish that space you’ve been struggling with.
Decor Method #2 – Look through books, magazines and Pinterest!
The next thing I like to do when I’m feeling stuck with a space is to look through books and old magazines that have inspired you over the years. I still have Pottery Barn magazines that are ten years old! And I have kept them because they truly inspire me.
Some home decor books that I have really been loving lately are Home Body by Joanna Gaines, and Patina Farm by Brooke and Steve Giannetti.
Pinterest is another great option when you feel confused with a space in your home. You would be amazed at the inspiration you can find there, and I’d love for you to follow me if you aren’t already!
There is something about looking through a book or magazine, pausing, looking up at your space, then back down to the book, that can really help to bring clarity. Study the rooms that you love. Study the wall decor. Study the greens that were placed in that place. Look closely at every detail, and it will help so much!
Decor Method #3 – Leave the space.
Sometimes the best thing to do is just walk away. Get out of the house, go for a walk, get some fresh air, come back another day.
When I leave the house and take some time away from the room I’m working in, somehow when I come back I feel so much clarity! If you stare at something for too long, you can begin to feel confused. So leave the space for a little while.
Decor Method #4 – Make BIG Moves
Don’t be afraid to MOVE things around! Sometimes people take their homes too seriously. Try new things. Nail something to the wall. If you don’t like it, thats okay! It’s just a little bit of spackle to fill the hole.
Often I have more success when I clear the room, try new things and move furniture around, then I do when I try to work and tiptoe around what is already there. Moving things around can be therapeutic, and doing so might inspire you so much!
Decor Method #5 – Go Shopping
The last thing that I would suggest to you is to go shopping, and there’s a reason why it’s last on the list today. So often it’s the first thing we do when we feel stuck with a space, but we don’t even know what we’re looking for and then we spend more money than we should.
I talked a little bit more about this in a post called “5 Simple, Practical Ways to Save Hundreds on Home Decor” if you’d like to check it out! Always shop your home first and play with what you have before you go out and buy new.
Honestly though, sometimes there’s nothing like a good old fashioned shopping trip to get you in the mood to decorate. Maybe it’s the store displays, or just finding something new that you’re excited bout.
When I went on that fall shopping trip a few weeks ago with my mom and sisters, that was exactly what I needed to get me in the mood for fall! I felt so inspired and literally the moment I came home I started playing with my new finds.
So while my thrifty self doesn’t recommend shopping all the time, every once in a while it’s just what I need.
Method #6 – Take a Photo or Video of the Space
There’s one last method I have for you today, and that’s to take a photo or video of the space you’re working on! Sometimes you see things on camera that you don’t see when you’re standing there in person.
I have no idea why that is, but it’s true. I felt so stuck with my bathroom earlier this year that I decided to share a “progress” post with you guys, and the moment I watched that video back and saw the pictures, I knew exactly what to do! I seriously cannot wait to share the space with you now!
So grab your phone, take some photos, then sit down and look through them. What is missing? What looks odd? What is your space lacking? Give it a try! 🙂
Well I hope these methods for when you feel stuck with your home really helped today, friends. What do you like to do when you can’t quite figure out a space? I’d love to know in the comments below!
PIN IT FOR LATER
Hell Andrea ,
I always enjoy you channel!
In your most recent video, How to Decorate when your stuck, I noticed
your music was the same as Lisa’s over at Farmhouse on Boone. Was tehat by accident?
Hi Arlene! Haha how funny. Yes, that wasn’t on purpose! We both use a lot of the same music that YouTube provides for creators. 🙂
I just love your artwork and how light, airy yet rustic your home is. I can’t wait to print your pumpkin picture. I haven’t felt like decorating at all lately for fall, but your pumpkin picture is just the right touch of fall I’d love to add to my living room. Maybe look up Scandinavian fall decor ideas on Pinterest, maybe it will go with your style a little more. Keep up the wonderful work. Love and blessings from BC Canada. – Sandra
Oh my goodness, I am so happy to hear this. I will look that up too as well. Thank you!
You have a beautiful home. It was nice to see that you get stuck with decisions when it comes to decorating… I second guess myself when it comes to repositioning my furniture… but in the long run I’m glad I try new things and think “out of the box”.
I think the purple flowers/accents will look nice in your home. Thank you for being honest and sharing.
Thank you so much for your suggestion and your kind words! I love sharing with you all!
Do you have posts that describe all those gorgeous cuttings in your sink? I would love to start growing some of my own flowering bushes. I just don’t know where to start.
Hello! Here is my post on those, I hope this helps! https://www.pineandprospecthome.com/foraged-clippings-for-simple-autumn-decor/ I also have a few different posts on gardening, if you want to search for those.
I just discovered your YouTube channel and decided to check out your blog. You have some really good points. I really need to take time to just rearrange the furniture and group similar things. I have a lot of musical instruments, for example, and I need to gathern them together into a “music” section of the room rather than having them scattered everywhere. Decluttering really helps, too. Less is often more, as they say. That goes for stuff as well as furniture. Too much furniture really crowds a room and makes traffic flow a problem. I appreciate your honesty that everyone gets stuck. I got stuck months ago and quit working on the problem and at that point, I stopped really looking at any of it. It just became “the way things are” or part of the scenery. I need to walk in the door and see things the way someone else would see them for the first time. That would definitely get me inspired to change things!!
Hello, I am so happy that you were able to find my blog and YouTube channel, I hope they are a help and encouragement to you! I agree with you on less is more as well, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me!
When I feel stuck, I donate more. Sometimes it is the feeling of too many accents, and when I simplify it, I often feel better. I have been donating items I like lately but don’t LOVE. I want to have only my very favorite things and reduce clutter. Even cute things can be clutter I “like”, but is clutter. Lol. I also am donating things that are not consistent with the style I love, things that break up the harmony. I had a coup!e items that were just making your eye stop on them and not in a good way or a natural, pretty way. I thought it was just getting adapted to seeing them in the space, and I switched up decor looks around them to try to get them to work, but they just didn’t fit no matter what I tried.
I think feeling stuck can be if you go for something outside the natural fit for your style or home. You could be going for something simple and Scandinavian and your heart is bright bohemian. You could have a very traditional item but really you are more of an industrial type. I think mixing styles can be good, certainly, but if you aren’t the “mix it up” type that may be a mismatch for you to do. I live in a small updated ranch house, and it has small rooms, a nice open main area with vaulted ceiling, white walls, simple layout, and a cozy cottage vibe. It looks its best with subtle vintage type accents like white milk glass, and details that are light and airy. The new and shiny type look is wrong for me. A lack of harmony can be the jolt of a wrong color item, too.
The stuck feeling can be something I think is the whole room, at times, but alsoreally it can stem from ONE noticeable item in the space that just doesn’t work but gets a lot of attention so it feels like it is the ROOM when it might not be.