Chasing Inspiration: How Life’s Adventures Shape Every Designer Interiors Space
By Chanda Wahl, Designer Interiors
One of my favorite design memories starts at a roadside antique store in Wyoming. I spotted a sunburned sign, weathered and chipped, and instantly pictured it hanging above a kitchen table back in Red Lodge. Moments like that crop up all the time. I might catch a flash of color from a roadside wildflower, discover a handwoven runner at a market in Santa Fe, or find a stone plucked from the banks of the Stillwater River.
This room from our Tree Top Traditional project in Kenai, Alaska shows how a bold red palette can turn everyday living into a vivid memory.
Explore more vibrant, story-filled spaces in our project gallery
For me, this is where personalized interior design really comes alive. A home should reflect more than magazines or mood boards. It should gather your adventure stories, each one finding its way into a detail or a display.
I often sit down with clients and ask about their road trips, the gifts they’ve brought home, or the small things they picked up along the way. Someone’s river stones become a playful accent in a powder room. A well-loved mug from a New Mexico artist becomes the starting point for a kitchen color scheme. Sometimes a painting from Glacier Park lands in the entry, welcoming every guest with that remembered view.
The best western home decor finds are rarely brand-new. They’re the pieces you stumble across at a flea market, a family heirloom, or an impulse purchase that just felt right in your hands. I recently helped a young couple style their living room around a pair of chairs bought from a Bozeman antique dealer. Each one had a different backstory. Their living room now serves as a kind of travel-inspired decor journal, honest and layered.
Road trips and new places always teach me something about beauty. Sometimes a montana interior design project calls for saturated jewel tones. Other times, I recommend soft sage and creams, much like the hills outside town. Every landscape has its own tempo. I always remind clients that a handful of meaningful keepsakes can shape a space more lastingly than a full room of matching accessories.
What I love most about this journey is the surprise. You might find your next inspiration while hiking, or while sharing coffee in a neighbor’s kitchen. The trick is letting these discoveries shape the design in a way that feels right for your home, not just for the story.
Thinking about weaving your own adventures into your rooms? Start small—a photo that makes you smile, a textile from a place you loved, a little piece of local art. My job is to help you bring that thread through the whole space so it all feels genuine.
If this kind of lived-in, memory-rich style sounds like you, reach out. I love the puzzle of helping families and friends build homes that reflect their own personal adventure.
