5 Unique Ways To Find Design Inspiration For Your Home

Whether you’re staging your home for sale or you’re getting a little bored of your current interior, you might be wondering where to start looking for new home design ideas. The good news is that there are plenty of unique ways to find design inspiration other than in magazines or on Pinterest.

So if you are feeling a tad bit overwhelmed by the amount of great designs available online and having a hard time narrowing things down, having more specific places to look can be useful, especially if you’re designing or redesigning your home for a particular purpose.

#1 Look at successful Airbnbs

Airbnbs are known for having eye-catching and unique designs.

To find inspiration from an assortment of listings from different countries and cities, look for the ‘Places to stay around the world’ section on their homepage.

Dreamy Tropical Tree House in Fern Forest | Source: Airbnb

It makes even more sense to look for design inspo from successful listings if you’re keen to rent your place on Airbnb. On top of looking at inspiration from all over the world, it’s also important to look at listings on offer in your area to get a grasp on which designs are doing well. It will also help you design a unique ‘home away from home’ so that you can stand out from the crowd.

#2 Go to furniture and home department stores

Furniture and home department stores rely on visual merchandising to encourage customers to buy their products. This means they often spend a lot of time making sure their displays are designed well. If you’re looking for an adventure, you might even want to spend time looking in your nearby IKEA or local furniture stores. This would make a great weekend activity if you’re redesigning with a partner or with your family.

Dining Room Inspiration | Source: Temple & Webster

Bedroom Inspiration | Source: Zanui

Living Room Inspiration | Source: Temple & Webster

If you’d rather browse through some design inspiration from the comfort of your own home, many furniture, and home department stores will also have an inspiration section on their website.

#3 Look at interior design and home staging sites

If you’re looking to take your home design to the next level, looking at interior designers or interior design agencies websites can help you to narrow down the style you’re going for.

On a similar note, portfolios from home stagers and home staging agencies are another great source of inspiration Home staging intends to appeal to the widest range of people, meaning that even if you aren’t looking to sell your home any time soon, you might find value from their work if you’re hoping to please a large family or group of housemates.

#4 Look at recently sold listings in your area

If you are looking to redesign your home because you’re putting it on the market, a great place to look is on the recently sold sections on property listing websites. This will give you an idea of the type of lifestyle people in your area are aiming for and the types of listings that have been successful.

30 Brown Street, Newtown | Source REA

14/2-14 Pacific Street, Bronte | Source: Domain

For example, if you’re selling a property in Newtown, prospective buyers in the area might be looking for a more colourful and unconventional design compared to if you were selling a property in a suburb more popular with families.

#5 Go to open homes and auctions

Going to open homes and auctions is another option to look for interior design inspiration. Even if you aren’t in the market for a property, heading to Saturday afternoon auctions are a great way to see what the market is like. If you’re selling, you’ll also be able to scout out your competition.

Going to open homes and auctions might also be a great way to find out what potential buyers in your area really like. You might overhear some opinions or you could strike up a friendly conversation to ask a few questions. This is definitely one of the most out-there ways to find design inspiration for your home, however, it could be quite fun!

Looking for design inspiration is the first step to a new home you’ll love! So even if it feels a little bit overwhelming at first, finding new and exciting ways to figure out what you like, no matter what they are, will definitely make the process easier.

Guest author: Ellen Orton is the Head of Business Operations at OpenAgent.com.au, an online agent comparison website helping Australians to sell, buy and own property.

Need some help decorating your home? Get started on your design project now on Milray Park eDecorating platform.

Milray Park gives all Australians access to personalised interior design services for one simple $299 flat-fee price.

Learn How it works and Get started on your design project.