Your home should reflect YOU and what you love. However, I know firsthand that getting to that happy place can be challenging, daunting, and sometimes downright frustrating until you get into your own design groove. Fortunately, you can use some common-sense techniques to help find your own personal style.
Look to your wardrobe for inspiration.
Open your closet and look around. Our clothing and accessories can give us great insight into what we like visually for adorning our bodies and, in turn, our homes.
Here are a few examples of how our clothing choices can provide hints as to what décor we may be drawn to.
- A love of colorful clothes can translate to a brightly painted wall or pops of color in pillows and décor pieces. Likewise, if you prefer to dress in more neutrals, you may find a palette of grays, whites and blacks more soothing for your home décor.
- If you love to wear clothing with geometric prints, you may be pulled toward similar patterns when selecting window treatments, bedding, or an accent chair is a great current print.
- If your wardrobe borders on boho chic, you might be drawn to more of an artsy, organic look in your home. Similarly, if your personal look is more pulled together and tailored, you may lean toward traditional home décor featuring pieces that hold up to the test of time.
Think about how you want your space to “feel”.
Stop trying to identify a specific “label”, such as farmhouse chic or modern, to describe your style. Instead, focus on articulating how you want your home to “feel”. Once you pinpoint the “feel” you’re after, you can make better décor decisions.
Think about words such as…
- Artistic
- Chic and glamorous
- Crisp and clean
- Cozy and layered
- Light and bright
- Ordered and organized
- Quirky
- Simple and natural
- Sophisticated and posh
- Stately
- Tailored
- Warm and inviting
- Whimsical
This list of words could go on and on. Latching onto a couple of descriptors will help you capture and create that feeling in your home.
Tame your Pinterest boards and get inspired.
Most of us are guilty of pinning hundreds and hundreds of photos featuring beautiful homes and stunning décor. The sheer quantity of pins that we see and, subsequently pin, can be overwhelming. However, these pictures – when culled to what matters most to us – can provide wonderful inspiration for decorating our homes.
One easy technique to narrow down what you really like is to go back through and carefully edit your pins. Take any pin that truly shows how you want your house to look and feel AND re-pin it to a new board. Include only those things that you truly love and want, not just what catches your eye.
In addition, you can go a step further in honing what you like. Simply write a brief comment with each pin to identify specifically what it is that caught your eye, such as the style of sofa, the choice of flooring or the design of a backsplash.
Ultimately, you will end up with pins that have a common style thread and can guide you in your décor decisions.