For the Love of a House blog has been my No. 1 inspiration blog. I don't own nearly the antiques she does, but I appreciate her use of high/low (she has valuable antiques alongside IKEA), her neutral backdrop, her appreciation of the useful as well as the beautiful, and her hard work in creating and maintaining her home.

I also enjoy many designers on Instagram. So many are fun to discover and follow. I'm an IG addict.

I prefer books..sometimes-magazines.

I read twice-first I read. Then I look at the pictures..:)

I'm very swayed by the language, especially when there's a lot of it and I enjoy it, and I need to take it in first..then I'm ready to take in the details of the illustrations.

I do follow a few blogs, some regularly, some from time to time-some for how they are written, some for visual inspiration. There are couple that I feel are giving me both. I love Laurel Bern most of all I'd say, and Lauren Liess..even though Lauren Liess moved to Instagram mostly I believe, and I don't want to Instagram. It's overwhelming enough..:) out there

I love Abigail Ahern and Justina Blackeney for the interiors. Well, and they both are incredibly sweet, each in her own way, which plays its part too. Mostly it happens so I see the book/magazine first..then in several months or years I stumble on a blog.

I learned about all these blogs last year only..:) I never read blogs before.

I do love Pinterest. I don't check the feed, or very rarely..I pin from the sites I like..or I start looking for a certain something, and then I find more, and more, and more.

I believe art, movies, and nature inspire me a lot too. I can remember something for years..then it strikes me, and I guess it gets translated somehow. In some way.

Oh, and people too of course. Can be as simple as somebody's outfit. Can be much more intangible.

Can be somebody I really know. Can be somebody I briefly saw in a crowd.

I still remember a girl..we were riding the same subway. One time. I did not know her. She sat across of me. She was older than me (I was maybe 16?) She was incredibly beautiful. And incredibly sad. And she didn't care.

It was more than twenty years ago, but I remember her as if it was yesterday.

All the portraits I can't help but buy-remind me of somebody I met. For real, or not, doesn't matter.

I didn't see yet a portrait that'd remind me of her

But I have a feeling I'll see it. One day.

april, I read books twice too, but in reverse order -- first I look at the pictures, then I go back and read : )

I'll preface my sources of inspiration by saying that I love pattern and color, and relaxed English and American country house style.

Some of my favorite books: Ben Pentreath (I have his second is on order and should be arriving next week), Anna Spiro, Robert Kime, Lauren Liess, Bunny Williams (especially Affair with a House is my favorite), Tom Scheerer, anything by Ros Byam Shaw, any of Leonie Highton's books for House & Garden.

I used to buy more magazines, but there aren't as many around any more. And since we're building a new house, blogs and IG are cheaper and more Pinnable : ) .

I still read some blogs, which are either non- (or barely-) sponsored bloggers, or designers who blog, like Laurel Bern (thanks to an old post of april's for the recommendation); Lauren Liess, whose book I also like; for the love of the house, especially for her vignettes; Tokyo Jinja (archives, since there are few new posts); Rosa Beltran, in California; Tara Dillard, a garden designer who takes a holistic view of interiors and exteriors; Suzanne and Lauren McGrath at McGrath II; Cote de Texas (which I read on a feed reader which makes it so much easier) because Joni covers designers and their projects in depth like no one else, and the befores and afters are great fun. Oh, and Belclaire House, I love Jennifer's sense of humor. I also like the blogs with roundups of designers' work, and several times a year highlight the new design books coming out -- Quintessence; Jennifer Boles at Peak of Chic; Chinoiserie Chic.

Also a lot of Instagram accounts; I don't have a phone or an Instagram account of my own, but don't need either. One way I find new-to-me IG accounts and designers is by looking through the comments of IG accounts for favorite designers. Some of my favorite IGs: Ben Pentreath, his husband Charlie McCormick, Schuyler Samperton, Lauren Liess, Amanda C. Brooks, Carolina Irving, my new favorite William McClure who's an artist as well as a designer and incredibly creative on a budget, Rita Konig, Anna Spiro, Anna's mother Jane Spiro, Adelaide Bragg, Style Court, Bailey McCarthy, both Bunny Williams' and John Rosselli's IGs, author Janelle McCullough, Lucinda Wharton, The Land Gardeners, Elfreda Pownall, interiors photographer Simon Upton, Michael S. Smith, Mark D. Sikes, Peak of Chic, Tom Scheerer, Suzanne and Lauren at McGrath2, Serena Crawford, William Yeoward...

Also the Architectural Digest website (though I find it very busy and clunky to navigate) and The New York Times "T Magazine" design and interiors section online and blog.

I get inspiration from Italian design magazines, although I admit that I have not bought any for a while. I used to buy Casa Vogue and Interni frequently, but I think Casa Vogue has been out of print for a while. I also used to buy L'Uomo Vogue, but that is pretty expensive, and I bought it mostly when I was designing clothes instead of furniture.

Otherwise, I get inspiration from books, and I have several on Jean-Michel Frank plus a couple of MCM furniture. I do not follow current American trends at all - I find most of them boring, repetitious, and uninspiring - at least since the 1960s, which is the last decade when I liked American design. I was very influenced by the Memphis movement in Italy in the 1980s. I think Italy is about 10 years ahead of the U.S. in design, both in furniture and clothing, but that's my personal taste/preference. I would move to Italy, but I would have too much competition, since there are so many great designers there.

I have also been inspired by Latin American architecture, especially in Mexico, as I have not yet been to South America.

When I was doing a small update of my house some months ago I would google topics like "exciting traditional style", "colorful traditional style", "eclectic traditional style", and then click Images, and hundreds of interiors would appear. The ones I really liked I would post to Pinterest so that I had a gallery of pictures to study more closely. I would also google designers whose work I admired and save those pictures too. "Gallery walls" was another subject, as was "Oriental rugs" or any subject that interested me at the moment, such as drapes or modern art in traditional interiors. I don't know whether many people are aware of the wealth of pictures you can find in this fashion on a huge variety of topics.

I forgot to mention another source I like for reviews of design books -- Artie Vanderpool's "Color Outside the Lines" blog. While the reviews aren't very in-depth, he posts enough photos to give you the flavor of the book, plus he seems to get the latest books quickly and reviews them just as quickly : ) .

Thank you everyone for the great leads on places to refill my visual dictionary of design!

Lisa, I agree, the mix of high and low, old and new keeps a house fresh and real.

Aprilneverends, interesting about the order you read in, because I find myself easily swayed by language as well. So, I look at the pictures first, then I read, then I look at the pictures again. Your sensitivity to beauty makes me wonder if you are not an artist as well- in the literal sense- not just in the sense of how beautifully you put together rooms- though- you know that counts in my book big time :-)

Becky, thank you for the great resources for those of us who are not pattern averse. Mixing those up can be tricky.

Annie, inspiration from experience and loves. I am pretty thrilled with the library in my new house. Still probably need more room for books- a good and a bad thing.

Lars, grazie mille per le riviste.

Ingrid, great tip on creative Googling.

The house we currently live in has given me the most inspiration. We move every few years cross-country for my husband's career. No home has ever given me inspiration before this one. When I first layer eyes on the kitchen my husband said that he knew he would be buying this home because of look that he saw on my face. I just fell in love at first sight. The previous home owner had everything made custom to his taste, and somehow although it wouldn't be my first choice if I were building a home, I still fell in love. We have a fireplace in the kitchen and it's so homey and charming, I just fell head over heels.

Sabbath, that is a seriously lovely kitchen- it oozes warmth and charm.

Thank you, Abby, you're too kind. No, not an artist. I guess(actually I was told lol) I'd be good with colors and composition..drawing lines is another matter:) I can draw a decent pigeon though-at some point our art teacher was putting a model of a pigeon in front of us, and turn it around, so we could draw a pigeon from all the angles possible:)

I think it's a lovely kitchen, Sabbath. "Although it's not my favorite style, I fell in love with it"-is very telling. Same happens usually with marriages..:)

I don't know what you want to repaint, which is usually a good sign lol..very nice kitchen.

(I'm usually the same with pics..takes time to feel OK with leaving them all by themselves for the night..))

I can't believe they didn't cook! What a lovely, warm space though.

Thank you for sharing, Sabbath. I appreciate your time, and will delete my comments, too.

sabbath, I can see you cooking up so many meals in that kitchen! What a large, well-appointed space to play in : ) . And I love the idea of a fireplace in the kitchen.

It's the 'land of counterpane' for me. It's a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson involving books, and a bed. I love reading in bed, especially my decorating books, so will pile several on the bed and browse thru them for whatever inspiration I might need at the moment. I have several books written by Oklahoma designer Charles Faudree, who could make my heart sing from the very first page! His 'speciality' was French Country and since i'm also very drawn to the style, it was just a matter of time before I would 'meet' him thru his books. Unfortunately Mr. Faudree passed away a few years ago, but left us 'inspiration beyond belief' thru the pages of his books.

Although he is my *very* favorite, I have a 'collection' of almost 200 books on everything from architecture to gardening, as well as eveything in between, aka, wallpaper, fabrics, hardware, antiques, landscaping, lighting, upholstery, draperies, etc. You can never have TOO many decorating books.....or magazines. ;)