I know. Ads are so annyoing, popping up everywhere. They wouldn’t just let me read a blog post! But you know what? Some ads are good.

Ads can be very informative, because sellers are no joke. They’d do literally anything to make a sale, so home decor item sellers often do a very good job displaying their items in a decorative way. The end result of sellers’ efforts–the brochures–therefore become a good source for us to learn about home decor.

The following are some brands whose brochures I often resort to.

1 Ikea

Source: Ikea

Ikea may be referred to as “no, that’s too cheap” or “their designs are not that special.” Even so, I still believe Ikea deserves the top place in the list for the sake of their variety, affordability and quite nice durability.

Ikea has been in business for a long time, so they’ve accumulated a diverse selection of items. Their lookbooks also showcase a lot of scenarios, so It’s likely that at least one of them will catch your eye. Another good thing is, since the lookbooks consist of the items that you can actually buy, they can really be useful. No need to like an item and look for a seller.

While the product listings do show some sample images, I’d like you to check out Ikea’s Stories page.

This is what their stories page looks like. I found their ‘Roots’ archives especially helpful. When we–or I–think about home decor as laymen, we tend to resort to what we have seen our lifetime. We don’t know much about 1930s home decor. Maybe to mimic, or to avoid the past, I found it very resourceful to look back at the old home decor ideas.

Source: Ikea

Look at the image above, which Ikea included in the 1973 Design Flashback article. I was impressed by the combination of white-tiled wall, black chairs and yellow cabinets. I think it’s what people these days call ‘mid-century look.’

Source: Ikea

And it’s fun! Look at the old computer screen above! This image is from Ikea’s 1984 catalog archive. I remember having this huge computer monitor for the first time. My uncle brought it home, and all family members looked at this giant machine with awe. Sometimes I can’t wait to get old… Imagine 40 years later, you look at the top notch technology pictures of 2024, and think “ah… that was some vulgar time.”

There’s a list of previously printed Ikea catalogs. Here is the link. When you open up a catalog, on the left side menu you can choose to print it out in PDF format.

2 The Socialite Family

Source: The Socialite Family

A lot of available home decor ideas are centered around the US, I feel. Famous netflix TV shows, like Dream Home Makeover by Shea and Syd McGee, or Get Organized with The Home Edit Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin are all American. Many images shared on Pinterest show American style houses, unless you add extra keywords like “Japanese” or “European” in the search.

The thing is, American houses are huge. Even city apartments are huge. I mean, I heard people complaining city rents are so high, but their actual sizes are very big in my Korean standard. My first first apartment was about 100 sqft. I’m not kidding. A single bed, kitchen cabinets with stove top and built-in laundry machine, and a small bathroom were all fit into this 100 sqft ‘apartment.’ Literally, there was no place for yoga mat. It’s quite common in Seoul. Many young Koreans still start with a room like that. Oh and the rent was about 500 USD per month, utility bills not included. I want to complain much longer…

Anyway, if you have a small apartment or if you want to maximize every bit of space you’ve got, diverting to European and Asian design ideas does help. Because the sizes of houses are smaller, furniture pieces come in smaller sizes and ideas focus on size issue.

The Socialite Family website has lookbooks. This is a french brand, so things are written in French but Chrome browser can give you free translations. Or, we just want to look at pictures.

Source: The Socialite Family

Outdoor eating always reminds me of Peter Mayle’s book A Year in Provence. This guy, Mr. Mayle, happened to spend a year in Provence, France. He plainly describes the days he had in Provence. It is very delightful to read. He talks about how pigs go find truffles, how much his French neighbors value good food, etc.. I love narratives that are just plain honest. I guess sometimes the way this world works is just humorous by itself.

Source: The Socialite Family

I digressed again. What I wanted to say was that the table linens in the picture above seem very Frenchy, which could be a good theme for your outdoor barbecue day. You know, with the Sun, warm weather, friends and family gathered, some make jokes, your nasty Uncle makes dismissive remarks. It’s just delightful.

Source: The Socialite Family

And I find French or Spanish sources to be more colorful, which could be useful if you are trying to brighten up your home, like I am these days.

3 Zara Home

Source: Zara Home

Speaking of Spanish sources, here’s Zara Home. I do find their editorial selections went down in volume, compared to a few years ago when I started looking at them.

Fortunately, Zara Home stores a lot of images on their Pinterest account. There are certain characteristics of Zara Home photos, that could be both pros and cons depending on your taste. They do feature some usage of photo filters. They show more dynamic color combinations than Pottery Barn or West Elm. They seem to like staging photo shoots at rustic villa, with rough building materials shown as they are.

At the end of the day, I conclude that I like to keep an eye on Zara Home, for beautiful scenery in Spain(I presume, because Zara Home is originally from Spain) and their preference of natural materials. It is quite inspiring!

4 Pottery Barn

Source: Pottery Barn

Ah, Pottery Barn. I always have a sweet spot for Pottery Barn. A bit rustic, sometimes urban, very homey… Their pictures always inspire me to dream a big family. Maybe two daughters and three sons… which is impossible because education costs are like hell in Seoul. Not to mention the cost of living. Where would I find money for a big ranch house like the one in the image above? (Maybe this blog will make me super rich!! Um Ha Ha – evil laugh)

But the problem with Pottery Barn in terms of finding-good-sources-for-inspiration is that their lookbook urls seem to be a bit unreliable. On the main page of Pottery Barn website, I couldn’t find the menu button that links to the list of lookbooks. But when you search in google “Pottery Barn Lookbook,” they give you links, categorized by season. So I will paste them down, but I worry that they will change soon. If they do, or if you find a better way to access their online lookbooks, please leave a comment or let me know in a way you’d prefer.

• PB Spring Lookbook: https://www.potterybarn.com/pages/lookbook/spring/
• PB Summer Lookbook: https://www.potterybarn.com/pages/lookbook/summer/
• PB Fall Lookbook: https://www.potterybarn.com/pages/lookbook/fall/
• PB Winter/Holiday Lookbook: https://www.potterybarn.com/pages/lookbook/holiday/

That’s it! What do you think? This process is basically eye shopping. It’s very fun for me, but I wonder how you feel. Leave me comments!