I still like good ole magazines to flip through. And Pinterest, blogs, Instagram. If you start saving images on Pinterest, you can look back through your boards and notice things like all your living room pictures have a similar color sofa, or you enjoy dark wood etc. Alternatively, you could hire an interior designer. But something you don't want to do is buy a matching set of furniture. It takes time, and even the pros sometimes put a piece in a space and decide it doesn't work. If you want to post a picture of your room, you'll get some good advice here.

I've loosley hired an interior designer but i'm supposed to bring her ideas of what i like. I don't even know where to begin. i've checked pinterest and insta and they keep serving me the same type of pics that are not my style. Any hashtags on insta that would serve up different styles? Any insta accounts that i could look at? thank you!

Don't forget that one of the most important considerations when purchasing upholstered pieces is how comfortable they are. Comfort is very personal - everyone doesn't like the same thing. If you're in an area where you can go to several different furniture stores, go sit on sofas until you find the one you like. They are usually available in several neutrals. Look for the rug next and then you will know which neutral to order the sofa in. Based on your inspiration picture maybe you would like a wood accent wall. Post a picture of your space and people will let you know if that will work in your space. Not all rooms are really suitable for an accent wall. Natural colors are really popular now so you are not out of step with trends and thus shouldn't have too much trouble putting something together. Mid to high end furniture stores do sometimes have helpful salespeople, so pick their brains - it's free and you don't have to buy everything they suggest. Once you have something to sit on you can layer on other decorative items over time and repost for suggestions.

Have you tried looking at photos on Houzz? You can filter by room, color, floor type/color, style, etc. Start building idea books with photos you like. If you find a photo you like you can swipe up for more info and it may show you similar photos or photos from the same projects.

The insta accounts are hard to recommend without knowing what your style is. Mark D Sykes does some lovely work (does have a lot of blue, but I think his are more timeless than trendy).

Houzz has a bunch of styles to look at:

‘So Your Style Is’:
Traditional | Arts & Crafts | Art Deco | Hollywood Regency | Old World | Cottage
French Country | Transitional | Contemporary | Midcentury Modern | Industrial | Eclectic
Coastal | Preppy

I think there's rustic, too. Most of the styles are too restrictive for me, but even with a style that isn't you, you can pick out some elements. For example, in the Rustic style

So Your Style Is: Rustic (houzz.com)

You might find that you like some of the "style secrets" --- maybe organic forms and warm, earthy colors, and textural fabrics. While you don't like other elements --- rough-hewn beams and barn-related objects for example. You might look at the Coastal and decide you like the natural fibers, open space and casual furniture.

Having a list of things like that will help your designer. If you can't decide, you can consider whether having some style elements in one room different from another room might work. I, personally see no need to pick one stye for a whole house, a surprise in a different room is nice.

I'm a fan of white walls, although my house has no white walls. The thing is, white or off white serves as a neutral background for art and decor. You can get your color from art and decor. You probably want to pick your wall color after your furniture and curtains.

Start with the architecture of your house. Is it a modern house? Traditional? Victorian? Something else? I often use the cues from the house itself as a starting point, and then go with furniture styles that work with that architecture. For example, if you live in a center hall Colonial, I'd go in either a traditional or transitional direction. If you live in a modern farmhouse, look up rustic modern interiors. Look up those key words in the search function here and start an idea book of the rooms you like, or color schemes you like, or certain elements you'd like to include. The idea books here are easily shareable with your designer and both you and she can add comments to various pictures.

Two things that hotels use extensively....

1. Widely separated zones, each with its own function and seating arrangement...one for the view, one for the fireplace, one for a cozy corner, etc.
2. Direct, indirect and task lighting, including washes of light and uplights, table and floor lamps, and spots for art, plants, architecture, etc.

Here are some residential inspo photos I found on Houzz using search terms "Zoned Living Room" and "Living Room Lighting"

Austonian Luxury Condo · More Info

Danalda Residence · More Info

Desert Wing interior · More Info

Icehouse Loft · More Info

Morningstar Residence · More Info

Decatur Contemporary Renovation · More Info

Basin Ledge Residence · More Info

Living Room 10 · More Info

Whenever I see Archdigest on Instagram, I’m intrigued. If you look through, you may come across a combination or even just pieces that resonate with you. The designers are usually identified, so you could then research their work.

Great art, colorful patterned rugs, deep rich fabrics, unique pieces and layout have a big influence (and just imagine a different wall color if you like the feel of a room). Show your designer the elements you are drawn to, as finding the perfect room will be difficult and a good designer should be able to come up with a design.

The hotel thing is a good start! I'd encourage you to get on Pinterest again. It's probably feeding you generic shiplap and other things that it thinks you might like. Once you start pinning things though, it will feed you images more in line with what you're pinning. I just did a search for "hotel lobby living room" and got some images that you might like. Then it lets you choose from different looks to further narrow it down. But you've got to spend a little bit of time looking so you can start to discover what you like.

One podcast I really like is the Ballard Designs one. (It's not about selling the things in their catalog.) They interview really great designers, and I've discovered some good IG accounts through them. Here's the homepage so you can see some names of designers and maybe look up their work.

As for decor, forget style and start with a floor plan. Then choose an area rug or statement art that you love and use that as your inspo to design around. Piece by piece you will find things that go with that inspo item. Then it's just a matter of placing them into the floor plan. Then choose your wall color to tie everything together.

You can add your own architectural interest with a feature wall in an interesting paint color or wood paneling, floor to ceiling bookcases, wall murals, gallery walls, faux painted arches, mirrors that mimic multi-framed windows, a large tapestry, wallpaper, molding, door arches, etc, etc.

Tracefloyd offered up some great examples of residential applications of architectural lighting. That's definitely something that hotels tend to have in common regarless of their style, and something you can incorporate in your home.

Another thing that hotel common areas tend to have that may be out of reach depending on your house is very high ceilings. Some high end new residential construction has this, but a lot of us have homes that are more modestly scaled. But you have to be able to look at a space--or photo of a space--critically to sort out whether it's the decor (something you can imitate) or something like ceiling height that you can't replicate. For me, I realized when I was remodeling my kitchen that it wasn't the white kitchens that I liked, it was the amount of natural and/or photgraphic lighting that they used on white rooms when they took their picture. Once I realized that, I could stop and say, "Oh, only like this kitchen because the lighting is so good" (or dislike it because the light's bad), and step back and evaluate the actual room contents. And then I designed a kitchen with lots of windows and almost no uppers.

Here's another pic of a home that used architectural lighting (uplighting on the ceiling, the concealed lighting in the art niche). This one's got the super high ceilings, too.

Family Room · More Info

Maybe look at Kelly Wearstler’s website (residential) https://www.kellywearstler.com/interiors-residence.html

or instagram account for some inspiration?

I would forget about "style" and focus on the largest item(s) in the room, which is usually a sofa/sectional and a rug. Select a sofa or sectional which will seat the desired number of people and that is, most importantly, comfortable to sit on. The colors of the rug will lead you to the colors of other items in the room. Lighting is also important. In the absence of overhead lighting, which you may or may not have, you will need to select table and/or floor lamps to provide adequate task and ambient lighting. And no living room is really complete without some sort of artwork, but that selection most likely comes at the end of the process.

Eclectic glam renaissance ish?

Even as an interior design professional for many years, I, too, find most lifestyle magazines uninspiring. Your style is as unique as you and your personal lifestyle. However, since interior designers are not mind readers or have a magic wand, you will need to give some guidance, even if it's a vase or piece of art you love and treasure, a favorite dress, scarf or piece of fabric for inspiration.

My guess is that since you are comfortable with fantastical hotels, you would lean toward Classic Contemporary with a 1920s Parisian take. Go to Vogue Living Australia https://www.vogue.com.au/vogue-living/interiors/dylan-farrell-sydney-apartment/image-gallery/30b0bba8b14452af3aa46ff748e69c7f

and look through the Interiors section. I find the approach to design is fresh.

The way to start any design project is to have a a floor plan and furniture layout. You will then have focus as to the sizes and placement of the pieces. The plan will define the use of space as to how the room will be used: TV, game table, reading, how much seating, etc.

Are these interiors you respond to? Notice that the room concentrates on coordinating specific items. A collection of unique pieces placed properly.

If you do a thumbnail sketch of the floor plan with all measurements, I would be happy to scale it for you. Take pics entering and of prominent walls. Take overall dimensions of the room and then start in a corner and go around the perimeter of the room measuring everything: Corner > Window > Window > Window to corner, etc, You get the idea. Also include ceiling height.

I know this group can help!

Forget styles. You clearly have your own style and it cannot be nailed down to the simple world that home design markets to. I would look in high end online magazines like Architectural Digest, 1stDibs Introspect, and Galerie instead of on Houzz, Pintrest, and Insta, which show more marketing than really skilled, unique design.

If your designer is really good, creative, and can think beyond marketed looks then they should be able to take your list of descriptors and come up with something. You could tell them you are inspired by 1970s BMWs and vintage British toasters and they should be able to start picking pieces to show you and pull together a look. However, I find it is usually really high end designers that have these skills, and higher end budgets that can afford looks that aren't prepackaged. Sooo, what is your budget? How big is the room? What will you use the room for?

Answer these questions and give the replies to your designer and see what they do:

1. What are some patterns you like? Look atKravat and see if anything grabs you.

2. Do you like shiny, metal, mirrored, wood, laqurered, glass, velvet, gold, neon, woven fibers, marble?

3. What pops of color do you like - bold black and white, lime, raspberry, deep oranges, bright yellow?

4. Do you like a sparse space, crowded space, balanced space, cozy, inviting, formal, a balance?

5. Can you find a bunch of hotel lobby pics you like even if you don't know why you like them?

6. Are there anythings about your fashion style that relates to what you could like in design?

Also, what about the Four Seasons lobby you posted makes you want to live there? I think the descriptors you can find while answering that question will help hone in on your design.