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Interior design is a dynamic, highly creative business, which is part of its allure. But just as other creative professions, even the most prolific designers can fall into a rut, whether that is due to burnout from the stress of running a business, an overbooked schedule, or a slew of projects that didn’t fill the proverbial cup. “Running my own firm is a dream come true, but it often gets a bit stifling as the operations and project management take precedence,” notes Bridget Chirigos, lead designer and owner of Chirigos Designs.
When the inspiration well runs dry, sometimes the best thing to do is take a pause from work and gain fresh perspective. Next time you feel stuck, return to insights from these three Minnesota interior designers, who share some of their tried-and-true strategies for breaking through creative slumps.
Take a Trip
Sometimes finding new perspective requires a change of scenery. “I often feel most creative when experiencing a new place and taking in its culture, architecture, colors, textures, history, and natural surroundings,” says Theresa Lamb, CEO, creative director, and principal designer for Dwell & Gather, a full-service interior design firm in Minneapolis. “Having lived throughout the Southeast coast, Northeast coast, and the Midwest, I’ve gathered inspiration from the character of each place and the different ways people live.”
Going beyond the U.S. borders can be a rewarding experience for creatives, where the value is in discovery. “I just got back from two weeks in Sweden, and I came home with more ideas than I know what to do with,” says Kristen Schammel, senior interior designer for Ruby+Suede, a full-service interior design studio in Savage. “The architecture, the way color and wood are used, how much intention goes into everyday objects—being somewhere unfamiliar resets what you think a space is supposed to look like, like a tile pattern, a doorway proportion, or the way light lands in a courtyard.”
Melissa Oholendt, founder and design principal for Oho Interiors, also finds travel as a way to refill her creative tank. “I’m constantly filing away little details without necessarily realizing I’m doing it,” she says. “Sometimes it’s an incredible historic exterior, but just as often it’s a tiny detail like a color combination, a piece of millwork, an old floor pattern, or the way a hotel has layered art and textiles.” Sometimes, the inspiration can strike in the unlikeliest of places. “I was recently at DisneyWorld with my family, riding ‘It’s a Small World,’ and found myself completely distracted by the rooms—the colors, patterns, shapes, and all of these wonderfully whimsical little details. I remember thinking, ‘of course I’m in Disney mentally designing a room right now.’ But that’s the fun of being a creative person: you never really know what’s going to spark an idea.”
Travel not only opens a door to new cultures, histories, and people, but it also is an opportunity to pause. The design industry can be a demanding one, especially if you own your own firm. When the stress piles up, a vacation can be the perfect reset. “I think a big contributor to being inspired when on vacation is what we notice more. When I am relaxed, I take in everything from nature to shopping,” Chirigos explains. “I’m not focused on work that is in front of me, so my mind gets to absorb all the beauty around and be creative.”
Get Outside the Office
During her most recent vacation, Chirigos visited a botanical garden, and was reminded of the power of nature’s palette. “I paid close attention to the color tone of the lavender next to the creams and the yellows. Not just a quick pass by, but a real concentration on how God has created this incredible color story right in front of us,” she recalls. “We don’t need high fashion to show us what is in style or what goes together. We only need nature to show the beautiful array of texture, color, and pattern that play so well together.”
While travel is a successful strategy for many designers, reality is that schedules or budgets may not always be able to accommodate it during times when inspiration is lacking. However, often a simple break from the office or your typical work setting can be all the separation you need.
“When I feel creatively stuck and can’t necessarily hop on a plane, just stepping away from the screen to be outside, take a walk in nature, get lost in playing or listening to music, look through a magazine (like Midwest Design!), roam through an antique shop, always gets the ideas flowing again,” Lamb says.
Oholendt finds stepping away from the computer is one of the easiest ways to get ideas flowing again. Among her favorite ways to reset is antique shopping. “There’s something about finding a strange little piece, an unexpected color combination, or something with a bit of history that immediately gets my wheels turning. Textiles are another huge source of inspiration for me; sometimes one great fabric can unlock the entire direction of a room.”
Remember the Project’s North Star
Sometimes, the best way to gain fresh perspective on a project is by revisiting the words of your clients. Keeping their stories, lifestyles, and personal interests at the heart of everything you do can move a project along more than almost anything else. Whenever Schammel starts to get stuck, she returns to her conversations with clients.
“Clients are where every project actually starts—their stories and their design preferences give me a direction no mood board could,” she says. “Someone tells you about the house they grew up in, or hands you a fabric they’ve held onto for 10 years, and the room starts to write itself.”
Read this next: 4 Tips to Help Designers Secure Repeat Business
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