15 Easy Ways to Get Out of a Home Decorating Rut

A decorating rut is a very real thing, even for someone who loves to style their home and dabble in interior design.  Help get yourself out of a decorating rut by trying any of these 15 favorite ways that help me when I’m stuck in a decorating rut myself!

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Here is the honest truth: I’ve felt stuck in a bit of a decorating rut for a little while now.  Even though I love the creative process and I love styling our home, the decorating rut is a legitimate thing.  To be even more honest with you, falling into design ruts happens every now and then.  I think it is just part of what happens when you do a lot of something!

However, there is good news!  If you ever find yourself in a home decorating rut too, there are some tried and true ways that I know will help me not only get my creativity back but also get back my excitement for decorating our home.  

Lately, I’ve been using some of these tips to help myself get inspired and have some fun with some home decor around our house.  So, I can honestly say these ideas work for me and they can for you too!

Thrifting With the Gals

This month has flown by way too fast but a silver lining is that it is time for Thrifting With the Gals again!  So, before we do a deep dive into some ways to get out of a decorating rut, let me introduce you to Thrifting With the Gals! 

Each month, I love joining up with some fun and talented home decor bloggers to share favorite home decorating ideas, tips, DIY tutorials, and all things home decor related!  Of course, all of it relates to our love for thrifting in some way or another!

One of the things we will talk about today as a way to get inspired if you are in a home decorating rut is to look for inspiration online.  Certainly, any of these blogging friends will have lots of creative and inspiring ideas for you!

• Rachel from The Pond’s Farmhouse
• Ann from Dabbling and Decorating
• Lora from Create and Ponder
• and our guest host, Anna, from Skylark House Lifestyle

At the end of this post, you can find a sneak peek of the decor inspiration each blogger is sharing to help you out of a decorating rut!  You can simply tap the link to go straight to each of the blog posts for many more home decor ideas!

How to get your home out of a style rut?

We are going to do a deep dive into five of my favorite ways to get myself out of a decorating rut and hopefully one of these ideas will resonate with you also.  There are many more ways to get inspiration when you find yourself in design ruts and here is a list of a variety of favorite ways to get that creative inspiration flowing again!

• Declutter and deep clean the room
• “Undecorate” the space – keep reading for more on this!
• Create a mood board or design board to give your room a focus
• Get outside and let nature inspire you
• Swap decorating magazines or books with a friend for some fresh ideas
• Choose keywords and browse online design and decor ideas
• Go thrifting!
• Browse a favorite boutique, vintage shop, antique mall
• Visit a nice, even “high-end” home store to see what’s new out there
• Focus on one room at a time rather than thinking of the entire home as a whole
• Try an easy DIY with something that goes with your general decorating style to jumpstart the creative process
• Refresh one small vignette with a mixture of old and new pieces
• Consider updating one outdated thing in your home, such as the wall color, light fixtures, or window treatments.
• Give new life to a favorite decorative item
• Rearrange the living room or swap a piece of furniture with another room
• Try adding a decorative item in a complementary color to give new life to your style

5 More Easy Ways to Get Out of a Home Decorating Rut

1. Get out of a decorating rut by “undecorating”

A fantastic way that helps me to get out of a decorating rut in our home decor is to undecorate a room.  Other than the main furnishings and staple items such as window treatments and rugs, the first thing that I do is to clear the space.  

Even if I’m not ready to start redecorating, creating this blank canvas in our home helps me to take a deep breath and start moving out of my decorating rut.  It gives me space to start adding favorite home decor back in and making small changes as they come to mind without having a pile of stuff in the way.

This is also a great step to help you clear out any clutter.  If your home is anything like mine, it seems like the clutter can build up faster than I can put it away some days!  Deep cleaning a room can give you a lot of inspiration to help you get out of a decorating rut too!

“Undecorating” is the easiest way to help clear your mind so that you are able to maybe see your space from a new point of view or different perspective.  If you have had a room styled one way for a long time, it can be hard to imagine a new look.  

However, when the room is empty other than the main furniture and staple pieces, you may find it easier to think of ways to rearrange the furniture, introduce a new color scheme, think of a wall treatment for an accent wall, or simply refresh small accessories as you begin to restyle the space.

What to do if you’ve got too much decor?

This happens to me, too, and there are some ways that you can keep your decor aesthetic feeling inviting instead of overwhelming.

• Daily tidying of spaces
• Only buy what you really love
• Regular decluttering
• Have a yard sale
• Don’t leave seasonal or holiday decor out too long
• “Undecorate” a space and leave it for a few days, then put back only what you really love

2. Get out of a decorating rut by scrolling keywords online for inspiration

Once you’ve cleared your space, the next step is to gather new inspiration.  One of the easiest ways that you can get new ideas is to explore keywords online.  I enjoy using Pinterest and even a simple Google search for related blog posts.  

For my home and personal decorating style, some of the keywords I may consider exploring are “coastal cottage”, “vintage cottage”, “neutral home decor”, “vintage French country”, or “cottagecore”.

You can even get more specific with searches like “how to decorate a coffee table for spring” or “how to decorate a round coffee table” if you are looking for ideas to style certain areas in the room.

This is the perfect way to begin building a mood board and helping narrow down the style, colors, patterns, and textures that you are consistently drawn to for a cozy, inviting home.

3. Get out of a decorating rut by browsing a vintage market, antique mall, or pretty store for ideas

My next tip is a super fun one!  If you enjoy browsing and shopping, this tip may work really well for you also.  I don’t always feel like I have enough time to just browse through a store.  However, if I am trying to get out of a decorating rut, taking my time to meander through a vintage shop, market, antique mall, or even a favorite big-box store can really help me.  

I find that often my creativity is sparked by simply being surrounded by other creative or interesting home decor.  Getting back that spark of creativity is the best thing to help me get out of a decorating rut!  

Our home is filled with thrifted home decor or favorite pieces that I’ve found at vintage shops and markets.  In fact, I’d say that thrifting and “junking” has definitely helped define my style over the years!

Since it is #thriftingwiththegals day, I want to especially encourage you to allow thrifting and second-hand shopping to help you get out of a decorating rut.  Even if you don’t spend any money, you never know what unique treasure will catch your eye and remind you of something that you could use from home to decorate a space.  This happens to me all the time!

If I am in a pretty store, such as a vintage shop, I often see little vignettes and styling ideas that inspire me to get out of a decorating rut.  It is so easy to be caught in a comfort zone and our home decor can feel “stuck in a box.”  

Strolling through a thrift shop or flea market is a great way to clear your head and gather inspiring ideas to help you get out of a decorating rut too!

4. Get out of a decorating rut by shopping your own home

Of course, the most thrifty way to get out of a decorating rut is to shop your own home!  Tip no. 3, which was browsing a thrift shop, vintage market, or even a yard sale, often gives me ideas for my own home by reminding me of decor that I already have and a new way to style it.  

For no additional cost, you can work on getting out of a decorating rut by browsing your own home decor.  

Here are a few ways to start thinking about shopping your own home:

• Something as simple as swapping a nightstand for an entry hall cabinet can make both spaces feel completely fresh and new.  
• You may have a creative spark to combine accent pillows in a way that you hadn’t thought of before.  Do you have a pretty throw pillow in the guest room?  Try making it a focal point on the living room sofa instead!
• A pretty bowl from the kitchen island could make an interesting centerpiece for the living room coffee table!  Check out THIS Instagram post to explain why you need a big bowl for your coffee table!
• Do you have a piece of art in the dining room that you love?  Try mixing up your wall decor by moving the art over the fireplace mantel.  
• Do you have tile floor that you don’t love?  Try moving a rug from your bedroom to add warmth to the living room tile floor.

You’re starting to get my point!  Really, the main idea is that you do not need to go out and buy all new furniture in order to give your home a desired refresh.  In fact, the next time that you need to get out of a decorating rut, I hope you remember that one of the most simple steps is to take a deep breath and shop your own home!

Likely, you have many wonderful home decor accents and furnishings that you already love.  Combining these favorite decorative accents in a new way and play a little game of musical furniture and decor is an easy way to help you get out of a decorating rut in your own home!

5. Get out of a decorating rut by refreshing one small vignette

Another way to get out of a decorating rut, especially if you don’t have time or energy to devote to an entire room, is to challenge yourself to refresh one small vignette.

This could be the centerpiece of a coffee table, a simple flower arrangement for the kitchen island or dining table, or swapping out a pair of throw pillow covers for a seasonal style.

While you may come across an inspiring piece while thrifting, you don’t even have to purchase something new in order to refresh a small vignette.  Often, I create these small changes for a new look in my own home by swapping out decor from another room!  

For example, when I was decorating for winter in our family room, I needed a statement piece for the sofa table.  Adding an accent lamp that had previously been in my bedroom finished the look perfectly.  Eventually, when I decorated for spring, I ended up moving the lamp back to my bedroom, which helped my bedroom feel fresh all over again too!  

When you want to refresh a simple vignette in a room, start by gathering decor from around your home that might work to complete your vision.  I often have quite a little pile and only use half of it.  But, when I’m decorating, it helps to feel like I have plenty of options.  Even if these aren’t new pieces, they can still give my space a new look when I combine them differently.

You can visit THIS blog post for detailed ideas on how to create a decor vignette in your home!

How to style a vignette?

• Start with a base, such as a tray.
• Use an odd number of decorative items.
• Vary the heights of the decor.
• Use color to connect the vignette to the rest of the room.
• Incorporate natural elements for a seasonal touch.
• Let the vignette tell a story by adding carefully collected and curated items.

Wrap Up:

You may have noticed by now that while I often try to provide you links with some of my favorite decor, this post hasn’t mentioned purchasing a single thing yet!  I point that out because, while I do love helping out by showing you decor at affordable prices, there are great ways to get out of a decorating rut without spending a dime!

When I used to do some interior decorator work for people, my first question to the home owner was always, “What do you love in this room?”  You don’t need a team of interior designers or even a big shopping spree to get out of a decorating rut.  Instead, follow the simple steps in this post to get you started.

THEN, you may decide to make some changes in your space to furniture or accessories that better serve your new vision of the room.  

Over on my storefront, I’ve carefully curated lists of some of my favorite home decor, furniture, and accents (or pieces similar to what I have and love).  You are welcome to browse these lists as another way of gathering ideas to help get out of a decorating rut!

Thrifting With the Gals

Before you head off to start one one of these simple steps to refresh a space in your home, make sure to visit the other #thriftingwiththegals ladies today!  These blogs are another great way to gather inspiration and creative ideas to help you get out of a decorating rut or just an easy way to help you have some fun with your own home decor!

Rachel from The Pond’s Farmhouse

Ann from Dabbling and Decorating

Lora from Create and Ponder

Anna, from Skylark House Lifestyle

You may also enjoy these favorite home decorating blog posts to help get out of a decorating rut:

• 5 Easy Steps for Round Coffee Table Decor Ideas
• 9 Simple Ideas to Decorate a Modern Farmhouse Kitchen
• 5 Easy Tips for Mirror Decorating in the Living Room
• 7 Easy Tips for Everyday Kitchen Table Centerpieces
• 38 Decor Ideas to Fill Awkward Spaces in a Living Room
• 19 Simple Spring Mantel Decorating Ideas for Easy Decorating
• Step by Step Guide for 33+ Easy Console Table Decor Ideas
• Best 25 Favorite Home Organization Ideas for 2025