Decorate

5 inspiring things an interior stylist does before starting a project

Home Beautiful's resident stylist Lucy Gough shares how she gets her best ideas flowing before decorating a room.
Stylist Lucy Gough book The Home Style HandbookStyling: Lucy Gough / Photography: Simon Bevan

I am often asked, ‘Where do you look for inspiration when starting a new project?’ The answer is EVERYWHERE. I have always been one to stop and smell the roses (that was a criticism of one of my old managers). In fact, I remember once being asked, ‘Lucy, would you stop smelling the roses and hurry up?’ I didn’t last long in that role…

I have always been fascinated with what I see in front of me. Whether it’s the font used in a London tube station, the subtle differences in the colours of pebbles on a beach, or the colour palette used in a shopfront window – it’s all there to serve as inspiration.

Here are five ways I get inspired to style a room:

1. Gaze into shop windows

Window dressers have such a creative eye – they need to dress a tiny space for maximum impact, and I am constantly analysing how they have created their mini-masterpieces. The windows of Anthropologie are a huge favourite of mine!

Stylist Lucy Gough book The Home Style Handbook
(Styling: Lucy Gough / Photography: Simon Bevan)

2. Walk through a town or city with a phone/camera

I take many shots of textures, surfaces and colour combinations, then save them into folders on my phone. This becomes a directory of all the things that I love.

3. Spot themes in your things

Walk around your home and gather trinkets you have collected over the years. Is there a colour or textural theme? Maybe you have your definitive style, after all. Use that as the springboard to your home restyle.

Stylist Lucy Gough book The Home Style Handbook
(Styling: Lucy Gough / Photography: Simon Bevan)

4. Visit florists and flower markets

Have a look at the colour combinations that are put together in bouquets. There is a modern trend in floristry to use floral bunches with loose, blowsy wildflowers and foliage, and I think this is a great way to style your home too. Make the space loose, happy and relaxed.

Stylist Lucy Gough book The Home Style Handbook
(Styling: Lucy Gough / Photography: Simon Bevan)

5. Put your phone down

One thing I always do as a stylist is LOOK UP. We can be so hooked on our devices, often looking at maps or messages on our phones as we walk along. As a result, many of us fail to look above us – but there is so much to see! Architectural details, shop signs, cloud formations, neon lights and moss-covered surfaces can all feed your creative ideas when you are styling your home. You just might not know it yet!

Stylist Lucy Gough book The Home Style Handbook
(Styling: Lucy Gough / Photography: Simon Bevan)

This excerpt from The Home Style Handbook by Lucy Gough, Hachette, is published with permission.

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