Finding a Decorating Theme

• Browse through magazines and cut out any pictures that appeal to you. These can be pictures of animals, rooms, accessories, garden, anything--don't limit it. You can keep these pictures in a manilla file folder or paste them into a scrapbook for use later. After you have a good collection of pictures and are in the mood for some creativity, take them out and look at them and see if you can come up with any theme ideas from some of these pictures. Be sure to have a notepad and pen handy for anything that comes to mind. For example, if you have cut out a picture of a cat laying in the grass with some flowers in the background, take note of what colors appeal to you in the picture and why that picture appealed to you in the first place. Was it the flowers in the background that attracted you? Maybe it was their colors, and maybe it was the flowers themselves. The point is to get an idea of what you like from these pictures. If it were the flowers and the colors, a theme idea could be cottage garden with whatever colors you liked in the picture. Maybe it was the cat that attracted you. Or nature in general.

• Browsing through decorating books and taking note of what you like is another good way to find a theme. Take note of colors, ornaments and styles you like. Later, you can use this information to find a theme for your room. If you don't own a decorating book, you can check them out at your local library or purchase them through Amazon.com.

• When at a friends' or familys' houses, keep your eye out for ideas and be sure to take note. Maybe you like how your friend always has fresh flowers, or how they set up some pictures on a wall. If you don't have a notepad handy, write it down when you get home.

• Surf the internet. You can do a search from a search engine on 'decorating'. Visit the web pages and look for ideas there and as mentioned above take note.