How to Get Through a Home Decorating Creative Block

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Do you struggle with feeling overwhelmed and stressed out when you start a decorating project? Even the words “interior design” put too much pressure on you? We’ve all been there. Styling a bookshelf or hanging a gallery wall should be enjoyable, right? You love your vintage items and collections and they should be on display. I’m going to share my best tips for working through that creative block and getting you decorating your apartment, house or wherever you call home!

Start with being compassionate with yourself

It’s so easy to be hard on yourself while decorating. Saying things like,

“Why can’t I get this room to look right? I’m not very good at this.”

“I used up all my ideas and I have nothing left.”

Those mindsets and scripts in your head do nothing but hurt you. You are capable of creating something incredible even if you’re stuck right now! Give yourself patience and kindness. Start with a fresh and positive mindset before moving on to the next step.

Throw decor items around and see what sticks

This may sound crazy, but haphazardly put decorations up and see how it looks. I know that probably sounds horrible, but trust me, it’ll help. Give yourself a short window of time (Like 5-10 minutes depending on what you’re decorating) to put it all together. Throw your vintage tins on the shelf, move that thrifted chair in a corner you never tried before, scotch tape a picture to the blank wall you’ve been staring at for months.

It may not look great, it may look like a disaster, but look at what you’re capable of in a short period of time! Hopefully you’ll get at least one (But maybe a lot more) great ideas from doing this exercise. Like that you never thought to put orange and pink together but somehow it works for a 70s display. You end up loving how random and eclectic the shelf looks when you put it together quickly. You never know what ideas you’ll spark with this exercise!

Search for interior design inspiration

Use Pinterest and Google to inspire your home decorating. Last year I got really stuck trying to decorate a vintage Halloween themed bookcase. I searched “Halloween bookcase” in Pinterest to see how other people were doing it. I was inspired to use items that aren’t necessarily “Halloween” but could be creepy if you use them during Halloween. Like using black binoculars, vintage cameras, black tins and old photographs. I wouldn’t have thought of that on my own without searching around.

Set a time limit

Setting an uninterrupted decorating time limit can help take the pressure off. Saying, “I’m going to dedicate 30 minutes to trying to decorate this room” and see what happens. If 30 minutes goes by and you put a chair in the room, be proud of yourself. If you surprise yourself and get a lot done you’ll probably feel really motivated to keep going. I set a 30 minute time limit on decorating for Christmas last year and I ended up decorating 75% of my living room in a few hours.

Ask for help

Find someone you can confide in or, better yet, help you with how you are stuck. If you have a significant other, family member, friend or even a virtual Instagram friend ask them for help. Don’t keep going alone! Even just speaking your problems out loud to someone can help break down the creative block.

Hopefully whoever you share your struggles with will be supportive and remind you that you ARE a creative person, you are capable and you can do it! They might have an idea of where to put a furniture piece or will push you to try something new. Listen to them, even if you think the idea is a bad one. Just try what they are suggesting and see what happens.

Limit the amount of decor

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made while decorating in the past is bringing all my vintage items up at once and making my living space a disaster. Then I feel an insane amount of pressure to figure everything out right away so I can have my house put together again. I’m a vintage maximalist so I have a lot of cute retro items and I can get bogged down with trying to pick out the right stuff.

Instead, take out a limited amount of items and try to work with those few things. Go into your basement, attic, garage, wherever you keep your decor items. Pick out a few things you need to start out, like books. Or a focal point you love like one of your favorite valuable vintage pieces.

Less is more so you do not feel overwhelmed while decorating. And don’t feel shame if you can’t make the pieces work that you grabbed, just go put them back and try out some new items.

Take a break from decorating

When I decorated my spring garden mantel I had to take a break for a few days that turned into a couple weeks because I could not figure out a solution. Then inspiration struck me when I walked past my vintage gnomes and I knew what to do!

It’s okay if you can’t figure it out and need to pause and ponder. Allow yourself to be patient with the process and don’t force yourself to the point where you hate decorating. An idea will come to you!

Find what relaxes and inspires you

If sitting in silence while staring at an empty room stresses you out then find a way to remove the pressure. Light a seasonal candle if you’re decorating for spring, autumn or Christmas. Put on an ABBA record to loosen yourself up.

What works best for me is listening to podcasts, audiobooks and watching TV that inspire me. I started watching Escape to the Chateau where they are fixing up a 45 room castle. Wow did I feel like my small house was a lot easier to tackle after I saw that! Making It is a great show too that gets my creative juices flowing. For podcasts I love listening to Design Time and A Beautiful Mess while I decorate.

Or eliminate all pressure by decorating while you watch a guilty pleasure TV show. I’m going to watch 2 hours of The Bachelor no matter what, at least if I decorate a little bit it wasn’t totally wasted time. Haha!

Give yourself a reward

Finally, put a carrot on the end of a stick to motivate yourself. If you finish that gallery wall you get to buy yourself a vintage mug on eBay. If you work for 30 minutes on decorating then you get 30 minutes to watch pointless Instagram Reels or TikToks. Think of a motivating reward that you can work towards.

I hope you found these tips helpful. Be proud of yourself for trying and for caring about how your home looks. It will take time and practice but you will get through it. I’m proud of you! For detailed decorating formulas check out my blog post on Symmetrical Shelf Styling Tips.

If you’re still struggling through a home decorating creative block, let’s chat! You can book a virtual consult appointment with me and I’ll help you find a solution to what you’re struggling with. I want to help you get through this block so you can make the home of your dreams happen.