Is there such a thing as having too much inspiration? I was reading a fashion design book over the weekend and learned a new perspective that I found extremely beneficial for my own work and perhaps you'll have a few comments to leave here with thoughts on this topic as well.

While it's important that designers always have a finger on the pulse of trends from music to art, street culture, films, fine art movements, and beyond it's also important to avoid absorbing too much at once. The key according to what I read is to be selective with your research and disciplined in developing only a couple of well-chosen themes so that you can produce designs that are cohesive but also from the heart.

I'd like to ask you, as you click through tons of blogs, read interiors magazines, search through Flickr -- can their sometimes be too much inspiration? Does it overwhelm you? Do you sometimes stand still because your choices are a bit daunting? I'd love to hear more from readers on this topic. Also, how do you stay disciplined in allowing in only what you want to inspire your creations -- whether it's your living room redesign or a painting that you're working on?

(image from living etc)