Places to Find Inspiration That Will Make You a Better Interiorscape Designer

Inspiration—where does it come from?

When I started my business in 1988, I already had three years of experience working for an interiorscape company in Houston, Texas. On my own, I wanted to shake things up. I was constantly on the lookout for innovative designs, spending hours and money at newsstands buying subscriptions to magazines like Better Homes and Gardens, Architectural Digest, Fine Gardening, and Southern Living. I can still remember searching on my ancient desktop computer, typing in phrases like tall+plant+striped+footcandles. My, my, how times have changed.

The Digital Age of Design

Behold the 21st-century “search engine” and platforms like Houzz, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and more. Searches are lightning-fast, delivering a dizzying, distracting barrage of visuals on anything you need or want to know about plants. We dissect and embellish, adding our own creative touches, but sometimes we simply replicate what we see because it’s an effective visual. For many of our clients, that aesthetic is essential. But not all inspiration comes from the digital world. For me, nature has always been a powerful source of creativity.

Nature as a Muse

Since our work revolves around plants, natural elements, and a variety of textures, we’re not just responsible for something living—we’ve turned it into an art form. When I was commissioned to create three large preserved moss wall panels for an office lobby, my inspiration came from an area not far from where they would be installed. My city has some amazing greenbelt trails with large limestone rock formations oozing water from internal aquifers. Small pools lead to crevices covered with live moss, lichen, and maidenhair fern, spreading in beautiful patterns.

During my visits to these areas, I studied the colors, the smells, and how the light or breeze changed the textures. This connection helped me form the foundation for this particular interior project. It was a very rewarding experience for both myself and the client.

Where does your inspiration come from? Does someone in your organization have untapped creativity?

Finding Inspiration Outdoors

I encourage you to explore all the platforms mentioned for inspiration, but I also urge you to get outside. Spend time on a nature trail, visit a botanical garden, or simply sit a spell on a bench or a blanket in a park. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, art galleries and descriptive naturalist books can also be great sources of inspiration.

The following passage from “Riverwalking: Reflections on Moving Water” by Kathleen Dean Moore speaks volumes:

“I wish to speak a word for the art of poking around. Although the art can be practiced in libraries and antique stores and peoples’ psyches, the kind of poking around I am interested in advocating must be done outdoors. It is a matter of going into the land to pay close attention, to pry at things with the toe of a boot, to turn over rocks at the edge of a stream and lift boards to look for snakes or the nests of silky deer mice, to kneel close to search out the tiny bones mixed with fur in an animal’s scat. People who poke around have seeds in their socks and rocks in their pockets. They measure things with the span of their hands. They look into the sun when they see a shadow pass across a field. They spit in rivers to make fish rise.”

Go poke around. You never know what might spark your next great idea.