Finding Your Personal Style
Multiples. Do you have various items of the same color, shape, or style around your house? Using these elements together is a definition of your style.
Form over function. Do you work from a desk which is too small, but cannot bear to replace it? Have a couch that is uncomfortable, but it is still sitting in your living room after all these years? How about that broken clock that’s still up on the wall? Take a seriously long look, because this is a surefire giveaway of your personal style. There’s something you love so much about this piece that you have chosen its form over your need for function.
Where you shop. Do you look for items at the same store all the time, even when you are not looking to buy? Does a flea market make your heart pound with excitement? Where you shop for your furnishings will speak volumes about your style. New, used, found, handed-down from family; where your furniture comes from represents your style.
Art. What you have chosen to put on your walls really says something about you. Art is purely personal, and it is not generally tied to function or need. This is most often the best indication of your style. A vintage movie poster says that you likely prefer classic lines in furniture, while an abstract lithograph likely shows that modern design is your bag. Are you attracted to flea market oil paintings of someone else’s relative? Eclectic is your style.
Most recent purchase. A French-Country dish towel that caught your eye in the store or an impulse buy of a Tiffany-style lamp that you thought you would never like but do. The final item you purchased for your home is often a viable indicator of what your style is.
What unites your stuff? Are you attracted to terracottas, rusts, and warm yellows all around your house? These happen to be the vibrant colors of Mediterranean design, so you should look for rustic wood tables, terra-cotta lamps, and vases to spruce up your style. Does all your furniture possess lean, sharp lines, and you don’t currently have a single thing on your mantel? Your style is modern. Whether it is color, scale, shape, or era, these uniting element in your home are the best place to begin when looking for your style.
What’s your favorite hotel? Do you like to stay in those cozy-country B&Bs? Do you prefer the modern city, highrise hotel? Or are you attracted to more traditionally furnished environments? Hotels typically have clear design styles, so use them to help you find YOUR style.
The odd man out. If there is one piece different from everything else in your room, take note. Chances are, this is one style you like but are afraid to venture into fully.
Travel. Where you choose to spend your vacations, and what you bring back with you are significant style indicators. Do you like to go to Mexico on your holidays, and you possess a full set of cobalt-blue wine glasses? You like the hacienda look. Do you love family vacations at the beach and have jars of seashells in your bathroom? Coastal cottage is your style.
The best room in the house. What’s your favorite room in your home? Look at your best design work and then repeat it. There is nothing wrong with having your rooms designed similarly. It can generate a calm and serene feel to your house.
