Ask any designer to name their greatest sources of inspiration, and travel will almost always make the list. Exploring architecture, colors, and culture can create new points of view and references that you wouldn't otherwise find. And, while I can see how a trip to Marrakech or Milan would do a lot to open up one's aesthetic perspective, 'travel' doesn't necessarily have to mean visiting the other side of the world, or even getting on a plane. One of my favorite places to go for design inspiration is actually just an hour's drive away from where I live, in Litchfield, Connecticut.
Litchfield and the surrounding towns like Morris, New Preston, Woodbury, Washington, Kent, and Falls Village have long been a hamlet for artists, antique dealers, curators, and the design-minded. It's also one of the most charming, historic parts of the state. Hence, the area has always drawn a certain sophisticated, yet low-key crowd of New Englanders and New Yorkers out to its idyllic downtowns, where you'll find a shop selling local dairy next to one selling fine art and Persian rugs.
In the last 10 years (and maybe even more so since the COVID pandemic), the interest in the Litchfield Hills has grown even more, and has brought with it new designers and developers who have added, in my opinion, even more of a reason to visit. The Mayflower Inn & Spa opened in 2018, designer Bunny Williams opened her store in Falls Village in 2019, and textile house Sister Parish added a showroom in Litchfield in 2022, just to name a few.
One of my favorite new additions is right in the heart of downtown Litchfield: Belden House Inn & Mews. The boutique hotel opened in the spring of 2025 and won a Michelin Key just a few months later. It sits in an 1888 building a block from the town's center, and aside from being convenient, it's one of the most beautiful properties I've ever stayed at. The bones are Victorian, and the interiors preserve that character in a way that feels fresh and cheeky: confident color choices, a mix of modern and vintage, and so much detail that you want to stop and really take in every space.
One of the things I find most inspiring about travel, near or far, is hotel design. Spending time in a well-designed boutique hotel, where intention and thoughtfulness show up in every detail, is like language immersion for interior design. Most of us don't have access to homes decorated by top designers, but a chic hotel is open to anyone. Belden House, designed by New York-based firm Champalimaud Design, is the kind of hotel that demonstrates firsthand the power of a color combination or how a textured wallpaper can transform a space.
Outside of the hotel, the shops are where I find inspiration in the Litchfield area, and not just for what they sell. A well-curated boutique can also function like a mini decorating lesson, with insight about how to put things together, how to style a surface, and how to make disparate objects feel like a collection.
There aren't a ton of boutiques in downtown Litchfield, maybe twelve to fifteen at most, but they cover a nice range, from high-end clothing to home decor to fine art and antiques. You can cover it in an afternoon, which is all I had on this trip. If you have more time, the neighboring towns are worth the short drive, because almost every village in the Litchfield Hills has at least one shop that people make the trip specifically for.
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If you happen to find yourself in the area, these are the ones that are most renowned:
There are plenty of others, but even this list is probably more than you can absorb in one trip.
Shop the Litchfield Look Online
The patterned lampshades at Belden House were one of my favorite details.
A new idea I saw on my visit: transferware and vintage dishes propped up on small art easels.
Fringe trim elevates a pretty sofa into one that makes the whole room feel special.
Vintage rugs are one of my favorite antique store buys. This Rejuvenation version is new, but has a vintage feel.
I'm thinking of putting my coffee maker on a lacquered tray will instantly make it feel more intentional on my countertop.
While not every area has a 'Litchfield' an hour away, there is plenty that can spark an idea in any day trip; the way a drink is served or a meal is presented, the spine of a book in an old bookstore, a thrift shop in a church basement. You just need to get out and look around.
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