Have you ever met those people (or maybe you are one of them) who knew exactly what they wanted to be when they “grew up”? Knowing what they wanted to be provided them a clear path to achieve their goals. It made the decisions of where to go to school, what to major in etc. a lot easier!
Then you may recall others (or maybe you were one of them) who had no idea what they wanted to be. They knew they were interested in health stuff, they knew they liked working with kids, they knew they liked helping others, and being creative but no profession stood out more than the others. Picking a major was a lot harder for this person.
I can completely relate to the latter scenario and I was always envious of those who knew exactly what they wanted to be because it made their other decisions so much easier!
Similarly there are those “lucky” people whose decorating styles fall into ONE of the determined decorating genres: Farmhouse/Rustic, Traditional, Modern, Bohemian, Coastal, Mid-century, etc. Having that ONE decorating style that they love makes their decisions of what to purchase for their home and how to put it together SO much easier!
via Beazly Home
Well, if you aren’t one of those “lucky” people you aren’t alone! I definitely feel like a decorating mutt of sorts. There are a variety of decorating styles that have things that I love about them but not one that I love in it’s entirety.
via Ballard Designs
It certainly can make decorating your home a lot more confusing and difficult!
So today I want to share a trick that will help you pinpoint your very own unique decorating style. It doesn’t matter how many decorating styles you love after learning this process you will have a very specific course to take to achieve your personal style (making decisions of what to buy so much easier).
I am a visual person so what really helped me is to make a chart.
Start by taking out a piece of paper and listing all of the styles that ‘speak to you’ in one way or another. As shown in my example below.
After you have identified the styles, take time to think about and ask yourself what are the specific characteristics that I love about that style?
For this step you may need do a google search on a particular style to find out what all the characteristics of that style are in the first place.
For example if you know you like aspects of the Farmhouse style you may want to google “what are the characteristics of the Farmhouse decorating style”. Then look through the answers and photos that come up and write down what you love about it.
Be sure to only write down the characteristics that you truly love and would want to incorporate into your own home. Do this for each style that appeals to you.
Below is my list!
Now once you have this list you can cross out the names of the styles you started with and circle just their characteristics that you love (as shown below).
This is your own personal home decorating style!! I have to tell you it feels so good to have it in writing instead of bouncing around in my head in an unorganized, confusing way!
The circled portion on your chart will be your personal guide to decorating your home! These are the characteristics of the furniture and decor items that you will purchase and bring into your home so become very familiar with it (you can even create your own name for your style).;-)
To create harmony just be sure to use each characteristic that have incorporated into your at least one or two other times.
For example, If I use the “natural materials” characteristic with a jute jug I would also want to include maybe a sisal basket and/or a piece of driftwood in the decor.
I have found that it is helpful to have pinpointed my personal decorating style when looking at inspiration photos. Now I can more easily pick out what I like about the room or what doesn’t work for me and why.
For example in this room I love the mix of curved and straight lines (Traditional), the comfortable looking furniture (Traditional), the gold floor lamps (Glam), the natural material of the X chairs (Coastal), the light walls (Farmhouse), and the use of blues (Coastal). In the decor they use books (traditional), art (modern), and a picture of a beach (coastal), The black drapes are just a touch of bold color (Modern).
My only complaint would be there may be a few too many pillows and decor items for my taste(Modern).
via Serena & Lily
Before completing my chart I may have known that I liked the photo below but not known what was missing. Now I can put my finger on what I like about it and what I don’t. I like the light colored walls, the traditional pieces, the striped rug, the black and white art.
via Serena & Lily
What is missing from my list in the photo above? The texture, natural elements, more pretty details like gold accents or glass vases, and maybe some white woodwork like crown molding or board and batten.
Researching out characteristics of different decorating styles and filling out your own chart might take some time (maybe 15 minutes to an hour) but I promise you will be so happy you did and will be able to make decisions about what to buy for your home more easily and with greater confidence (not to mention all the money you will save from not buying things you don’t truly love or just because they are a good deal).
I hope this post is helpful to you! If you are interested in Design 101 posts you can find 11 more, Here.🙂
Thanks so much for being here and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week!
P.S. Thank you SO much to those who filled out my blog survey last week!:-) If you haven’t yet and would like to still, you can Here.
Related Posts From the Blog:
Designer Spotlight: Brooke Wagner Design
Design 101- 8 Tips to Becoming a Bookshelf Styling Pro
Design 101- Why it Works
Design 101- 2 Important Questions to Ask Yourself Before you Begin Decorating
Design 101- Repetition of Pattern
Going Coastal
Design 101- Creating a Focal Point
Design 101- Decorating with Heirlooms & Antiques
This is a great post! I think it is really a good starting point to figure out what I like and what isn’t my style. You e made it simple and I’m a visual person as well, so the chart and the pictures are wonderful!
So happy to hear it, Sally! Thanks so much for the feedback!:-)
WONDERFUL post! I like so many different styles, yet find myself saying “I like farmhouse, but I really wouldn’t want that, or that, or that in my house!” It’s a better strategy to identify what you do like about a style. Thanks.
It really can get SO confusing! My pleasure, Dy, glad to help out a fellow multi-style lover.:-)
Design 101 is my favourite part of your blog. And this post is great, there is no need to make my own list because I can simply use yours – I like exactly the same things 🙂
:-), Val!
Thanks for all of the design tips. Very practical to identify styles!
You’re welcome, Suzanne! Thanks for being here!
Tamara, thank you so much for this information simplifying your decorating style! For me it gets so confusing. You helped me tremendously! Thank you!
I’m so glad it was helpful to you, Cheryl!:-)
I love your presentation.
It helps me to get out of the intersection and to identify a personal decorating style thank you for this enrichment.
You are very welcome, Wadii!:-)
Best “define your style/ find your decor style” post I’ve ever read. It’s so simple and spot on. Love the simplicity and your visual example. I’m a visual learner, too, so I appreciate it. Beautiful day in Cincinnati today, eh? :0)
So glad you liked it, Janey!! I’m in Columbus now and have enjoyed the beautiful weather today even though it’s been while cleaning out the garage and doing some yard work!:-) Thanks for stopping by today!!
I think this is such a straightforward and easy way to determine one’s decorating style! (Wish I’d thought of that.) I’m making my chart now!
Oh good, Pam, so glad you found it helpful.:-)
Great tips! I think so many of us don’t even know what our personal style is, or it might be a combination of a few mixed together. Sometimes that can cause problems with deciding how a client wants to decorate.
This is very nice post
And all over points in chart are great. 🙂
I can see how this could be helpful, but you listed trends which change. Remember “Tuscan” or “English Country Cluttered” or “British Colonial”? They came and went just like Farmhouse came and will eventually go out. Plus you left out, steam punk, gothic, Boho, mid century modern (which isn’t “modern” today), transitional, minimalism, industrial, Scandinavian, French Country, Swedish Country, Shabby Chic just to name a few. 15 years ago everyone wanted more “warmth” in my “cold” room but now everyone is piling on with wanting my wonderful cool blues, and back then even coastal decorating wouldn’t have included green with the blues. That combo went out with the 60s and came back a decade or so ago. The really difficult part is figuring out what is you apart from the trends which is what your chart is supposed to help people understand but so many people would have chosen warm colors 15 years ago and now they choose cool. I have read so many tearful blogs who go through a crisis when she is sick to death of shabby chic and hopes she never sees another pink rose as long as she lives, and now she really feels reborn knowing she was always supposed to live with modern urban Farmhouse decor. That poor blogger thinks she is found but she has never been more lost. I don’t know how to tell someone how to find their style. I think some people don’t really have a style and they just want to be current. If you do have a personal style, I think it will come to you by being honest about what you love and how you want to live apart from decorating at all. I hope you aren’t annoyed by my comment. This subject interests me intensely and I wish I had an answer. In this age of consumerism fatigue, we all need to work hard to find what is worth buying and what should be left behind. Your chart is a good start, but not the end.
Hi Tamara!
I just came across this and I greatly appreciate your advice in this particular post. Clearly, you were trying to help those of us who like aspects of many different styles find what we like and what appeals to us about each of the styles we like. Using your examples of what you like made it clear how to use the chart. Your likes do not take into account all the other styles listed in the “comments” above because they are YOUR likes. Anyone who reads this should understand this concept and not expect you to list every style of decorating, as this was not the purpose of the article. In addition, we should aspire to decorate in styles we like, and not worry about the opinions of others who feel some of these “fads” may or may not go out. So what, if we like them??? We can always change our decor, that’s the beauty of decorating. Thank you for an informative post!
This is just what I need. I love way too many styles so writing what I like about each one down is very eye opening. Thank you for the advice!
You are so welcome, Myra! Glad it was useful to you!!:-)