By Molly Cooper, Cooper & Co. Design
How can watching your favorite TV shows, movies or social pages inspire your home décor?
Do movies inspire you? What types of shows are you drawn to and do those shows and movies have a bearing on the design choices in your home? For me it is a most certain YES!
I am not one to sit and watch a scary movie, and when I see the blacks and dark colors come on the screen, I’ll flip the channel. Do I have a favorite show? Yes, I have several, and each for a specific reason if you get down to it. Do I let these shows, movies or even who I follow on social media, inspire me? Absolutely!
I can’t remember many shows I watched on a normal basis until I went to college. Like most everyone else, I found myself in love with the cast of “Friends,” their lifestyles, their differences and the décor that I saw in Monica and Rachel’s apartment verses what I saw in Joey and Chandler’s place. Do you remember the episode where Joey brings in the ultra-modern sculptures? While he may have appreciated the piece itself, they did not fit into the college dorm style he and Chandler had going on.
Monica and her very iconic picture frame on the door framing out the peep hole. That became a style that you saw in homes, my home even. I had a few empty frames painted a contrasting color hung on my wall around the AC thermostat.
Now fast forward to today, the ever-popular Chip and Jo duo, saving homes in Waco, Texas, one story at a time, or “Hometown” in Laurel, Mississippi. I love to watch these shows, they are different in style, but they both have very common goals in that they want their client to have a home they are proud of and speaks of the styles they love within the home. Joanna is a big lover of shiplap (thank you for bringing it back), and she incorporates that into many of the homes they remodel. Because of her, I have had countless clients of my own ask, “Which wall could I shiplap? I love it when they show it on TV.”
Social media has probably grown into the most influential “show” we see on a daily basis. I mean we now have “influencers” whose sole job (and, yes, they make a nice living at it nowadays) is to influence you. My favorite social page is MyFauxFarmhouse. No, they aren’t paying me to say that! I like the DIY side of what they do. They grew themselves into a “brand” by DIYing their way through countless homes they have owned and taking the spec house basic finishes and completely remodeling them largely by themselves. Just recently they had bought a home without a rear porch. They wanted more living space, so they enclosed it and made a four seasons sunroom. I have just designed a similar space for a client because she wanted to bring her outdoors in more and be able to enjoy her lakefront views more because that’s what she had saw on a social media platform.
No matter where your influence comes from, if something catches your eye and matches your style, don’t be afraid to create a similar form of what you see for your own home. There are so many different styles and so many ways to see them in film and on social, you can pull your style together in your own home with no problem. Then sit back and enjoy what YOU have created.
