what’s inspiring me right now…

I always have a collection of pictures on a giant cork board in my room at home. I like to look at it before I sleep and get inspired to solve design dilemmas in my subconscious.

I thought I’d share some of the pictures I have up now.

From House Beautiful 2008. Interior design by Jeffrey Bilhuber. This montage of images has inspired me all year long. I love the furniture, the subtle plays of color, and the feeling that this house has all these corridors to tuck furniture,sculpture, and art into.

This stairway is so brilliant, it just really moves me. Featured in an Elle Decor from earlier this year, I LOVE the interplay of organic vs. mod. The image below is from the same spread. At first I loved the oversized “mantle,” but now it seems a bit too imposing for me. Still the composition of this room is very masterful.

Below, this article about Barbara Barry in the August issue of Traditional Home really DID inspire me. The lesson I learned from it is that mastery has to do with taking what you do to the most absolute level you can. Barry lives and breathes design and her life is all about aesthetic pleasures. What I wrote in my journal after reading this: “Worship at the altar of aesthetics.” The page is on the board to remind me.

Shifting gears for a minute here, below is an image from a recent Anthropologie catalog. Of course this made me think of how little Aadi is always hanging on a leg, or using me or Michael as a play “tunnel.” But then of course there is the sub-text of Paris and the joie de vivre.  I just love everything about this. I tried on the coat at Anthro last week too : ).

This image inspires me because lifestyle is part of the work of a designer and shop owner and this encapsulates a feeling that I’d love to translate into a room. Here is another set of images of Paris from an old Cookie magazine that is on the board:

Again, this series of images captures that sense of “life experience” or worldliness that I love to incorporate in my design work.

OK. Let’s finish with the most recent design images to make their way onto the board. This first one is from a back issue of Domino mag. I really LOVE it and resurrected it from an old pile of clips.

It is tacked up right next to this one from a 2009 summer issue of House Beautiful.

What strikes me most about these two photos are the similarities in design approach: neutral wall color, the primacy of a single color in the scheme (copper tones in the first one and blues in the second. They are both rather simple and pattern and embellishment is brought in through the furniture and accessories rather than through fabrics. They also both have a dialogue with nature in their own way.

Something in these two images speaks to me about future directions in design. You will hear me talking about this a lot as we approach the new decade! Be sure to sign up for my newsletter at www.furbishhome.com to get the full scoop!