5 Steps to Find Your Room Design Inspiration Outdoors

Drawing inspiration from nature is as natural as it gets. In a lot of ways, as we have advanced as a species we have become more and more separated from nature. A certain part of us still craves it though. We can draw upon those craving: utilize natural elements in our design and empower a space with intrinsic human emotion.

You feel a certain emotion when you sit at a real solid hardwood dining table, place your palms down against the warm color of the wood and examine its unique grain pattern. Compliment this against the cool tone of a brushed steel or a iron dining table base and how do you feel?

When looking for inspiration outdoors, you can go as literal as a live edge rustic walnut dining table with it’s open pits and knots or as subtle as vibrant blue upholstery and chrome accents to impart the feelings of an open sky.

Here are 5 easy steps to find inspiration outdoors to create that beautiful space indoors.

1. Think about how you want the room to make you feel.

Different places have very different energy. How does a playground make you feel? What about a secluded pond? Search for places that make you feel the way you want your room design to feel.  

2. Get close and then step way back.

Can’t see the forest for the trees? Don’t focus on the detail or the individual pieces within a design. Step back and see how the details relate to the larger design and then draw those elements into the bigger picture. Bringing small patterns and details that can only be seen up close to larger elements within a room.

3. Search for texture and pattern.

Nature is all texture. Pay attention to how different texture interact and compliment each other. Look at the deep grooved bark of a maple tree and how it plays against the fine veins of its leafs.

4. Find motion.

From a sunflower dancing in the wind to swirls of water in a stream, different elements change with motion. A room or space may feel different with just a slight breeze. Think about how the feeling of a room might change if you were to open the windows to allow the summer breeze to rustle and flap the drapes.  

5. Look at the same place in different lights and from different views.

Different places and different spaces can carry different feelings and emotions at different times. Think back to the playground. On a beauty Saturday afternoon it will feel bright, alive and bubbling with energy. Early in the morning you might feel refreshed seeing the sunrise sparkle off of the dew covered grass and after a snow you might feel a peaceful and calm.

Whether it’s your backyard, the park or a forest, inspiration is just out the door.

What’s your favorite place to draw inspiration from? Please share them with us by leaving your tips and comments below.