before you decorate – lookbook
Save yourself from endless trips to At Home, Kirklands, Homegoods; spending hours walking in circles trying to decorate your house. Have a plan and start with your home lookbook.
When my husband and I moved into our new house last year, I was overwhelmed when I thought about decorating. For one, it was a modern home, and all of my décor was traditional. I had to start from scratch.
I began by going to At Home and Homegoods to look for “stuff” that I liked. Have you been to At Home? Homegoods? When you walk in do you immediately forget everything you are there for and just walk in circles? This was me. I would walk in and be so overwhelmed that I would see one thing I liked, buy it, and leave. Never making any progress on my house.
Luckily, after moving in, my mailbox was flooded with catalogs with hundreds of great ideas. It gave me a starting point. Being a planner, I began to plan each room one at a time. Cutting out pages and pages of ideas and creating my own home lookbook. This was such a life saver for me! After creating ideas for each room, I could walk into At Home and know exactly what I needed to recreate the catalog look, at half the price!
This works for every room in your house. I even use it for Holiday decorating.
You can argue that Pinterest is the same thing. Yes, I use Pinterest. But it’s not the same. There is something to be said about putting your ideas down on paper. Seeing them all in one place, not just on your computer screen or mobile device. I even print pictures from my Pinterest and add them to my home lookbook. I also print pictures from HGTV online and some of the decorating blogs I follow. Old school, yes I know. Print and tape!
Creating a home lookbook is very easy. First you will need to order some catalogs. You probably already get some. These are FREE. Any of your favorite places have them and it is very simple to order them.
Below are some of my favorite catalogs. Click the links to request your own free copies.
You will also need a large spiral or notebook. I found that a large sketchbook works best, I got mine at Barnes and Noble for $10. Using tape to attach your images works well, but the crafters tape from Hobby Lobby works even better. I use that stuff for everything!
So what are you waiting for? Have a project in mind? Start cutting and taping your ideas down before you shop. I promise it will save you so much time. Do you already lookbook? Let me know how it works for you!
