You're artsy. I'm as graceful as a lump of coal.

November 9, 2011 7:44 AM

How do you develop a sense of aesthetics in interior design?

We have a beautiful, spacious second floor with no walls. It's old, it has wooden floors and is full of light. In other hands, this would be a stylish, artsy bedroom. In mine, it's just an attic where we keep records.

I have these very ambiguous ideas of what I would like it to be, our attic, but I really cannot put these colors or styles into tangible actions. The attic just one example. with the rest of our home we have gone with white walls and black furniture, to play it safe. It looks good, but it's nothing special. We're not into clutter, and that's pretty much the only rule we have.

My dad (an architect) always did wonderful things with cheap stuff that was lying around (shelves made of concrete bricks, bedroom doors taken from abandoned churches) but I just can't seem to have that inspiration! or the eye to find these treasures...

How did you develop creativity and a sense of what looks good and what doesn't? this question is more about interior design, but fashion advice is also welcome.

posted by Tarumba to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

Best answer: Look and look and look at what other people are doing. Spend time with home and garden magazines, peruse the home section at the bookstore and library. Check out some the great resources on the web.

Eventually you will figure out what components make up the looks you like and be able to replicate them.
posted by MadMadam at 8:10 AM on November 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I struggle to figure out how best to use and decorate my living spaces, too, and Apartment Therapy has long served as a source of inspiration for me.
posted by vespertine at 9:41 AM on November 9, 2011

Best answer: Here are some blogs that might give you some ideas and/or inspiration:

Home:

Design Sponge

The Selby

Fashion:

The Sartorialist

Into The Gloss
posted by seriousmoonlight at 9:42 AM on November 9, 2011

Best answer: Look at these blogs. Don't worry about designers or prices. Look at the way things are arranged and the basic elements of the designs that you like and recreate within your budget.

desire to inspire
sfgirlbybay
The Brick House
Door Sixteen
posted by mimo at 10:02 AM on November 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Yes, Apartment Therapy! I especially like their house tours, because you can see how a homeowner/renter's design sense is carried through the whole house. There are also often source lists, where you can see which type of paint the person used and where they bought their furniture.
posted by zoetrope at 11:38 AM on November 9, 2011

Best answer: I used Pinterest (pm me if you want an invite) to compile inspiration pictures from the sites others have already mentioned. I just added everything I liked. Then, I started looking for common themes or things that would look well in the space I wanted to design.

For example, I figured out that most of my photos had a particular color palette. I couldn't replicate some of the materials I saw on the photos, but I could use those colors to give a similar mood.
posted by clearlydemon at 11:58 AM on November 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Look at lots and lots of things, and then try to start analyzing what you like about them and what makes them work. Also lighting can have a huge affect on how a place feels, even with the exact same items in it.
posted by sepviva at 5:48 PM on November 9, 2011

Response by poster: I started a pinterest account with the help of clearlydemon, and I'm on my way to developing actual taste with all of your wonderful suggested sites.

Thank you!
posted by Tarumba at 7:37 AM on November 10, 2011