I admit I have an addiction (a healthy one on my book) to magazines.  My addiction is not with just any magazine but with design magazines.  Despite the fact that it’s my business to look through magazines, I love holding a glossy in my hands, flipping through the pages and getting caught up in the stories the images tell.

Design magazines are meant to educate and inspire, and for someone who’s decorating their home there are lots of lessons you can learn from the pages of your favorite magazines.

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• If you are trying to define your design style, magazine images can help you flush out what you like and don’t like.  As you go through the pages, flag rooms that appeal to you, circle design elements that you like and identify color combinations that speak to you.  Once you gathered up a handful of images, review them and look for the common threads and consistent elements within each photo.  The images will point you towards your style and create a clear picture that will help yo decorate your home.
•  Magazine images depict the latest style, color and design trends and will keep you up-to date on what products you’ll be seeing on store shelves and give you ideas for incorporating those trends into your decor.

• You can learn how to style and accessorize your home from the pages of magazines.  As you look at room images, take note of how items are placed on tabletops, grouped on bookshelves or how artwork collections are hung on the wall.  Most design magazines take an artistic approach with their room layouts so you’re bound to see some really creative accessorizing ideas that just might inspire you to try something new in your own home.
• If you’re struggling with the layout of furniture in your home, look at magazines to gather ideas on space planning and how furniture groupings are laid out.   Take note of how different furniture styles are used together and how rugs and textiles are used of the room layout.

• If you’re not comfortable with pattern mixing, magazine images are a great way to hone your skill.  Take not of how different pattern styles that are combined, the scale of patterns and the color combinations.  The more you study room designs that include multiple patterns, the more you’ll begin to see the art of pattern mixing come to life.
• Look through magazine pages for lighting ideas and take note of how different styles of lighting are used to enhance the decor of a room.

• Home decor magazines are one of your best resources for picking paint colors.  While you might not find the perfect paint color, you’ll be able to focus in on the family of colors you like for the different room images you see.  Once you have a clear color direction, you can narrow down to more specific colors choices  to look at for your home.

• If you’re lucky enough to have a woodworker in the family, magazines can supply you (and them) with amazing DIY project ideas.
• And finally, magazines can make shopping easier or at least make it easy for you to outline a shopping list when you’re ready to decorate your home.

The next time you pick up a design magazine, enjoy the pretty pictures but also spend a little more time studying the images and see how they inspire you.

p.s.  All of the magazines shown above are my go to publications and all of these can be found at your local Barnes and Noble.