Defining Your Personal Design Style

I’m a girl who likes, ahem needs to have a plan.  For everything.  This doesn’t just apply to the way I tackle design projects.  If the gang’s going out Friday night, I need firm plans in advance.   None of this “Eh, we’re not sure just where or what time yet but Benny’ll send out a text sometime Friday with details”. No way. That kind of free-wheeling, loosy-goosy living is just not for me.  I need ALL the details and the sooner, the better. 

I know that I could probably benefit from a little spontaneity here and there but the oldest child tendencies in me finds immense security in planning.  In design, having a plan is so important.  While it’s not the most glamorous or exciting part of the process, if you skip this stage you will live to regret it.  Mark my words.  On install day, you do not want to waste time running out to retail shop for odds and ends because you didn’t take the time to plan well in the beginning.  Trust me, it sucks.

Which brings me to the latest item on my “To Do” list (yes there really is a list and yes I know that is beyond geeky but I just can’t help myself!) – defining my personal style. 

My theory is that being able to define my personal design style is going save me time, aggravation and money as I go about designing & decorating my home.   Sounds easy enough, right?  Now, how do you go about discovering and naming your own style? 

You can scour shelter magazines, ripping out pages you are drawn to and making your very own binder of all these pictures.  You can scour the internet and build an inspiration board by copying and pasting rooms, furnishings and fabrics you love.  Or, you can try what I’m in the process of doing – scouring your own home, gathering all the things you really love and already own in one place.  Then, examine your various treasures and try to determine what overall theme is being conveyed. 

To make it easier on myself, I just used accessories but you could do this with furniture, fabrics and art added too.  Here’s my loot:   

 What do my choices say about my style?  Well, I sure have a thing for ceramics and natural textures.  There’s a little bit of cultural influence going on with the green dragons and the pagoda-looking box in the center. I also like pieces with a bit of history mixed in with modern elements.  I am clearly drawn to rustic woods, natural textures, modern geometrics and accents of bold colors. 

So I’ll put all of this data into my personal style generator, wind her up and see what comes out.  Based upon my collection, I’m going to call my personal style:

Modern Coastal Rustic with a dash of World Traveler

Having a clear style concept and being confident in your likes and dislikes provides direction and makes the initial design process feel just a little less overwhelming. Now that I’ve identified my personal style, I can make decisions easier and with more confidence.  If something doesn’t fit into “Modern Coastal Rustic with a dash of World Traveler” then I’m moving on rather than wasting valuable time and energy stewing over it. 

My next step is to create a style board for each room utilizing my newly-named theme.  Some rooms might be heavier on Modern Coastal and lighter on World Traveler or vice verse.  We'll have to see where inspiration strikes!

So give this a try and let me know what it reveals about your own style.  If you’d like a little help just email me your pictures and I’ll happily give you my opinion.