When looking for design direction and inspiration, people often turn to two-dimensional floor plans and old room expectations—like a living room needs a sofa—but often don’t ever see what may be right under their noses. Design should be inspired by your favorite things and NOT be made to fit into a dictated floor plan.

This is not to suggest that rooms should be random, but rather designed with a purpose around an item you love. Take a recent faucet commercial where an obviously wealthy couple meets with an architect and demands he design a house around a simple faucet. Extreme, maybe, but definitely inspired.

So what inspires you? Whether a seat from old Yankee Stadium, a ceramic bowl you made in 4th grade art class or a shell you found on your last vacation, let these be your guide. Try to stay clear of obvious baseball or nautical themes here though, look at the item’s colors, textures, era and feel. Here are a few inspired examples:

A friend picked up amazing material from India on her last trip, but did not have enough to cover the couch she bought it for.  Her solution—she made phenomenal seating pillows and a throw and bagged the old sofa.

Another example, maybe less extreme, was a friend who had a seemingly horrible old green kitchen set from her grandmother (she loved it) sitting in her basement while her new kitchen functioned without seating since she could not find one she loved as much as the old one. Her solution: she redesigned the kitchen around her grandmother’s kitchen set (and the set around the kitchen a bit). She repurposed the seat cushions into barstool cushions and throw pillows to work with her granite bar. She made the laminate table top into a large serving tray for parties. She also brought the vintage green and floral pattern into fun artwork, rugs and accessories (like a cool stand mixer). Somehow, it all works and the bland but beautiful kitchen is now 100 percent her.

So the tip here is to look around and pick the item or items that you love the most. From there consider a room without boundaries that reflect the item best. And go for it, people will get used to no couch in the living room if the room reflects you and the item best.