With so many home design styles popping up on social media, magazines, and even TV shows, it leaves you wondering “Where do I start?” or “Do I even know my own style?”. This process can be so overwhelming and can leave you not loving the pieces you picked out. We’ve found that honing in on your specific design style or, more importantly, styles makes decorating your home so much easier and will make you love your space in the long haul.
There’s no need to limit yourself to only one style. In fact, we hate limits, labels, and boxing ourselves in when it comes to design. We feel that the most beautiful interiors pull multiple styles together, and our job as designers is to make them cohesive while creating a beautiful space that is uniquely yours. We love the artful layering of different looks, but we have found that it is important to discover and narrow down what you love (or don’t love which is equally helpful) so you that aren’t overwhelmed with zero direction in the design process.
Here are a few helpful tips:
1. Create a Moodboard- Gather inspiration from social media, magazines, or when you’re out on the town. Find rooms that make you “feel good”. Don’t focus on the little specific elements, but instead the room as a whole. It either makes you feel good or it doesn’t. After you have gathered this inspiration, look at the pictures as a whole. Can you find a pattern in all of them? See if you can find a trend, a color scheme, or overall theme of the room that speaks to you!
2. Take a peak in your closet- Yes, that’s right! The clothes you purchase or those outfit repeats that you love can help design your home! Do you typically shop for neutral colors, and maybe add a pop of color in your shoes? Then you might love a neutral palette at home with a pop of color in your pillows! Or, do you love those bold colors that totally stand out? Then you might love a trendy, vibrant wallpaper moment in your home! Also, take note of your fabrics, you can copy that in your pillows or window treatments.
3. Look at your favorite celebrities homes- We all have those favorite celebrities whose home interiors we swoon over. Pick a couple favorite celebrities and look at pictures of their homes. Is there something you love? Or something that resonates with you? Sometimes its easier to look at someone else’s home and clearly be able to describe what you do and don’t like to help you narrow down what styles fit well for you!
4. Create your own inspiration- this one is fun! Take a walk around your house, find a couple items that you LOVE! It might be a little quirky clock you have on your nightstand, or a beautiful textured vase you have on your dining table, or your favorite artwork (or that random bunny head named Eric that hangs on your wall). Gather those items that you love, and arrange them to tell your story. This can help you figure out how you want your home to look and feel and further help you carry that look into the rest of your home. When you start to wander and get overwhelmed by all the choices, circle back to this and it will help you remember the mood and style you want throughout your space!
5. How do you want to feel in your space? Perhaps more important than the specifics of how you want your home to look, we want to know how you want your home to feel. Do you want to come home to a sanctuary of relaxation? Do you want your home to feel light, bright, and airy? Or moody with a lounge vibe? Do you want it to be filled with quirky conversation pieces that make your home feel fun, heirlooms that tell stories of your family’s history, or do you like open space and minimalism so that you can breathe easy? And again, you aren’t limited to just one “vibe”… perhaps you want your family room to be light, bright and airy while you want your bedroom to feel like a moody cocoon surrounding you. The sky’s the limit when it comes to design, but narrowing it down to a particular feeling can be helpful when client’s aren’t sure what they actually want or how to describe a particular style.
In the end, our homes are our sanctuary and we want to depict your story through the interior choices in the home. There are very few rules when it comes to expressing yourself through your home which takes a lot of pressure off of fearing you are "doing it all wrong”. Creating your own aesthetic and discovering how to pick your design style can be an eye opener into self discovery and can be so rewarding.
Keep experimenting and don’t be afraid to change your mind... your design style can (and usually will) change and evolve over time!
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