Where do you get your decorating Inspirations

[sweetpeas]

I need inspiration for the interior of my shop 2008 . I have a few new lines of silks and gifts arriving also need more interior space for fresh flowers. I am in a slump, and cant seem to get a handle on ideas for interior. Any ideas????

 

[Seasonals]

Because we had the drunk driver drive into our shop in Oct we had no choice but to completely redo our shop. Ceiling, floor, walls, windows, displays everything!
Our biggest comments coming from customers have been our tile floor and the paint colors we chose. Changing your floor may not be an option but paint can be a huge change to your space at a low cost. Table cloths can also be the foundation of beautiful displays.
You may want to post some pictures of your shop here and I'm sure you'll get some very constructive ideas.

 

[Twila]

I have a yards and yards of fabric..probably 10 medium to large rubbermaid containers full. I hang them from the ceiling (bishops steeve at the top) and then bring the rest of the fabric down through the display units. I find that the fabric gives the displays an entirely different look. I have purchased from quality upholstry types to Walmart. I usually blend two to three different colors per display.

Just one suggestion...hope it helps

T

 

[RWK]

The short answer that I use for ideas is I take notes of store and store dispays whenever I go out. Since I don't have a good digi-cam....If I'm out with a friend, he has a great picture phone.....I get him to snap off a picture or two. Or I sketch a quick diagram. I also regular peruse magazines, old design books, catch some of the home and garden tv shows.......some of the decorating shows.....I even get ideas from watching some of the episodes of American Chopper...( and they focus on motorcycles ). Keep a digi-cam, or a notebook with you at ALL Times.......whenever an idea hits, or you see something neat.....snap it, draw it, sketch it, note it, jot it down.

I actually had a boyfriend break up with me on that account. We would go to the malls, different stores, and I would always have my sketch notebook.....An idea or a display would hit me and I'd stop and sketch it out, or write about it, or note, it or something. He would get so aggravated...He asked me, begged, me, pleaded with me to "turn off the creativity"..."turn off the idea grabbing". I told him that I can't. It can't be turned off. It was a Christmas season quite a few years ago......one of the stores in the mall had done a fantastic display with hollowed out silver balls......and I could see various designs perched in and spilling out of a similar display. I went in and talked to the manager......turned out, the store was going to dis-assemble the display the next day and I could get those big hollowed out spheres. He got so amazed that I had the nerves to do something like that that he said he had had enough. He broke up with me a day or two after that. I still used those spheres and did a gorgeous display.

 

[teresa]

My husband is like that eveywhere I go I am looking for ideas he maintains a very large cemetary so he is always teasing me about him stoping at cemetarys to see if the spray around headstones or weedeat and what the policy is about flowers being left at the grave we have fun with it

 

[Tuberose]

My hubby has always been pretty good about me doing that, my whole family is used to it, besides, they know I bite back lol. I'm always taking notes on napkins or whatever I have handy if I forgot my notebook. I get lots of ideas online too since there are many sites that sell large pieces for commercial displays, or they have rooms pictured that are more of a display than an actual room someone might live in.

 

[leah]

I thought I was the only person who constantly sought out inspiration in my every day travels. Our shop used an idea I got from a small coffee shop in NYC for our Christmas window last year - we got rave reviews. My sister and her husband love to travel and always stop by a flower shop in whatever city they happen to be in. My husband tis forever emailing me pictures of things he thinks will catch my eye. Fortunately, he knows my taste pretty well. The colors of red / orange / yellow pepper that are piled up at the grocery store may inspire the items we dress our fireplace mantle up with. Be open - be adventurous - be willing to stretch out of your comfort zone. We now have a file cabinet drawer full of iphotos, snipets of ideas, paint samples (excellent tool for inspiration), paper napkins, bits of ribbons - you name it. Our "system" works for us.

 

[RJD]

Spend a little money here--if you're stuck, hire an interior designer or architect, especially one with experience with retail shops. You'll probably be amazed at what a few fresh ideas can do. They're not as expensive as you'd think, especially if you're honest about the financial resources you can commit to the project.

 

[RWK]

Spend a little money here--if you're stuck, hire an interior designer or architect, especially one with experience with retail shops. You'll probably be amazed at what a few fresh ideas can do. They're not as expensive as you'd think, especially if you're honest about the financial resources you can commit to the project.

That is NOT a bad idea at that. Entrusting this to another professional would not only get you a great space, It would also give the decorator a chance to see you, your work, talk to you, and possibly become His or her florist of choice for his or her clients homes. :idear: