creative inspiration

I'm often asked where do my ideas come from. Some are truly my own random thoughts (that often wake me up in the middle of the night) or are a result of using what materials I have on hand at the time. But like most designers and artists will tell you, inspiration comes from many sources. Bits and pieces of images, color combinations and clever solutions get catalogued in our minds and we pull from those when creating a design. These days, its made even more convenient with technology. For me, Pinterest, Evernote and my iPad have all but eliminated my stacks of magazines and overflowing bulletin boards. Of course, if Domino were still in print, I'd still be a subscriber! I have several of my favorite issues and still flip through them from time to time.

My Domino collection

I've also been blessed with several naturally creative and stylish friends who have encouraged me, either actively or through observing the confidence they have in their own style, to pursue my passion and listen to my intuition. In my early twenties, my small town of Apalachicola, previously only known for its seafood industry, became flooded with 40-something artist types with the vision to renovate downtown historic buildings and open boutiques, art galleries and upscale restaurants with (gasp!) wine lists. I took it all in, frequented the shops and admired their free-spirited attitudes. 

Downtown Apalachicola

Then in my late-twenties, while living in Port St Joe, I became friends with Melissa Farrell of Joseph's Cottage and Lauren Spring of Fuss Boutique. Both of these adorable ladies were recent transplants from Georgia, had left "boring" jobs and opened their own boutiques. Melissa's passion is interiors, while Lauren's is fashion -- and each of their styles are distinct, their voices clear. Their determination to make their businesses succeed and brush off the naysayers helped keep the wind in my sails!

Lauren Spring :: Owner of FUSS Boutique

I also craved inspiration from outside of my small town and poured over magazines like House Beautiful and Elle Decor. Then one day, I found Design*Sponge and instantly became a fan. From her DIY posts to the informative "Biz Ladies" column, I visited the blog daily.  I also began a collection of design books that became like encyclopedias to me. Of course I purchased Domino: The Book of Decorating the moment it was available, but my next favorite is Vicente Wolfe's Crossing Boundaries: A Global Vision of Design. It was a lesson in taking inspiration from your surroundings and travels and interpreting those in a unique and beautiful way that wasn't too literal. Living near the beach, I could easily hang pictures of tropical fish or glue seashells to everything, but what's inspired about that?

One of my favorite little DIY projects came straight from the pages of that book. In Crossing Boundaries, Wolfe handily dealt with the bain of every decorator's existence and mounted a large flat screen television to a fabulously sturdy studio easel. Just last year, maybe inspired by Wolfe's ingenuity as well, Restoration Hardware introduced a similar TV stand. 

TV Mounted on French Easel :: Vicente Wolfe

Here's how I interpreted the idea for my space using my smaller flat screen and a wooden studio easel. I made it several years ago and got a great deal on the easel -- only $99 at Hobby Lobby! Here's the same model for $194. Still not a bad price considering what you typically pay for a standard TV console. The steps were very simple. I assembled the easel using the directions included. Then, I marked and drilled holes into the wood so that I could attach a TV wall mount. I used a simple Sanus tilting wall mount that I picked up at Best Buy. I found similar ones online for around $40.

Tilting wall mount attached to easel frame

With the help of an extra pair of hands (thanks to my always willing son, Dylan), I attached the TV to the mount, made a couple of adjustments and that was it. Super simple!

A bonus of this kind of easel is the bottom shelf, which in my old house, held the receiver and DVD player. Its important to note that this size easel works for small to mid-size flat screens. I would err on the safe side and chose a larger easel for anything over 32".   

Deemed way too small for the living room, my "petite" TV now resides in my office. I'll use the handy shelf to hold a few design books...maybe come full circle and place Crossing Boundaries there.  

Have an inspiring day and stay warm! The South is having quite a winter event and this morning we woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow. Typical for a good bit of the country, but exciting for residents of North Florida!