How to Find Inspiration for Your Renovation Before Meeting a Designer
5 Practical Things to Do First (With a South Australian Focus)
Meeting with a designer is exciting, but can also feel overwhelming.
You don’t need a complete vision or perfect Pinterest board, but, it does help to do some preparation to clarify your taste, needs, and priorities.
Here are five simple, practical ways to find inspiration for your renovation before you sit down with a designer in Adelaide, or anywhere for that matter.
1. Pay Attention to Spaces You Already Love
Inspiration doesn’t have to come from magazines or Instagram. Start with real places.
Think about:
• Homes you have visited and admired
• Hotels, cafés, or restaurants you felt comfortable in
• Past homes you loved living in
Ask yourself:
• What did I like about this space?
• Was it the light, layout, materials, or mood?
• Did it feel calm, cozy, dramatic, or minimal?
Write these observations down. Even vague notes like “felt warm” or “lots of natural light” are useful. Designers are very good at translating feelings into design solutions.
2. Collect Images Without Overthinking It
This is where Pinterest, Instagram, and Houzz shine, but the key is not to analyse too much at first.
Do this:
• Save any image you are drawn to, even if you don’t know why
• Ignore whether it is realistic for your space or budget (for now)
• Aim for quantity first, clarity later
Once you’ve saved 20–30 images, review them and look for patterns:
• Do you keep saving light or dark spaces?
• Lots of wood? Stone? Color?
• Modern lines or more traditional details?
These patterns reveal your natural preferences—and that’s gold for a designer.
3. Walk Through Your Home With Fresh Eyes
Before thinking about finishes or furniture, focus on how your home works.
Take a slow walk through each room and note:
• What frustrates you daily
• What works surprisingly well
• Which spaces feel cramped, cluttered, or disconnected
Ask practical questions:
• Do we have enough storage?
• Do we use this room the way it was intended?
• Where do people naturally gather?
• Will our needs change over time and how does this impact the spaces?
Design inspiration is not only about how things look, it is about how you want to live. Clear functional goals help designers create spaces to improve your day-to-day life.
4. Clarify What You Want to Change (and What You Don’t)
Many renovation projects go off track because everything feels up for debate. Narrowing your focus early makes decisions easier later.
Try this simple exercise:
• Make a list of must-change items
• Make a list of must-keep items
For example:
• Must change: dark kitchen, lack of storage, awkward layout
• Must keep: original floors, natural light, budget limits
This clarity helps your designer balance creativity with reality, savings time and money during the design process.
5. Setting a budget and timeline
This is not the most glamorous step, but it is one of the most important.
You don’t need exact numbers, but you do need a realistic range
• What are you comfortable spending?
• Where are you willing to splurge?
• When do you realistically want the project completed?
Being honest about budget and timing allows designers to:
• Suggest appropriate materials and solutions
• Avoid ideas which are not feasible
• Design efficiently from the start
Think of this as giving your designer helpful boundaries, not limitations.
You don’t need all the answers before meeting a designer, you just need a starting point. A few notes, a handful of images, and some honest thoughts about how you live will go a long way.
And remember: inspiration isn’t about copying a look, it’s about creating a space that feels right for… you.
If you would like to discuss your project, inspiration or anything to do with home design please contact the team at Sfeer.