Decorating Dilemma: What is My Style?

 

I’m sitting here this morning with a cup of coffee in hand, surrounded by the silence of an empty house (now that the kiddos are back in school), flipping through my project journal and feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the notations inside it reading ‘half-complete’ or ‘delayed’. When we bought our home three years ago, I had a vision in mind to update this eighties style split-level into a modern family farmhouse. Now I’m gazing around at the grey walls and unpainted trim wondering if that’s still the direction I want to go.

The problem is, I’m not sure what my design style is or for that matter if I ever had a particular style to begin with. Of course, I love farmhouse décor, mixing old and new elements together, that is something I have always done. Yet, mixing those pieces together in a cohesive manner to make our home flow has never been my strong suit. Usually, all the stuff just looks thrown randomly around the house without a purpose or intention of adding to my ‘style’.

With autumn quickly approaching, I’m dreading decorating, again. I used to love decorating for the seasons and holidays. Now, I feel like everything is the same, and every season requires me to run to load up on the latest trends. Why? I don’t really know. I don’t remember my mother or grandmother buying cutesy signs or knick-knacks to display. Although, grams did have an impressive hand-blown glass collection we weren’t allowed to touch. That got me to thinking – what do I remember the most about their homes?

Honestly, my memories center around three things: comfort, flow, and smells (fresh linens, baked goods, lemons, good scents!). That’s all I really want in my own home! A warm, inviting, comfortable home that smells amazing (even with four pups, two cats, and five kids!).

I also feel like I need a direction. There must be a design style that would help me achieve those simple things and right now, looking around, it doesn’t feel like I have achieved that just yet.

How do you know what your design style is?

Here’s some tips to determine if your decorating style needs a reset:

1.    What styles are you pinning most on your Pinterest boards?

 

Using Pinterest is still one of my favorite ways to save ideas for an array of things, but especially for decorating and home styles. I revisited my home décor pins and I was still drawn more to modern farmhouse, but I noticed more traditional styles here and there, too. Lots of my favorite inspiration pins were of oversized couches layered with throw pillows and throw blankets, distressed furniture pieces, gallery walls with family photos instead of signs and paintings, and even some boho elements. Interesting…

 

2.  Take an online quiz.

 

This is a fun and helpful way to see what your style is or if it has changed. Just Google ‘home décor quiz’ and a ton of free quizzes will pop up. I took this HGTV quiz and was surprised to get ‘Cottage’ as my results. Then I started thinking about it, and I do tend to love the idea of a quaint cottage nestled in the woods! I’d rather be cozy and comfy more than anything with soft, garden inspired colors, fresh clean scents, and pieces of furniture with loads of character.

 

3.  Make a design inspiration board.

 

Just like a vision board, a design inspiration board is amazing at helping you reveal what styles you feel most attracted too. Flip through interior design magazines, weekly shopping ads, and home and garden publications. Cut out any pictures or words that grab your attention and glue them to a poster board. Or make a digital inspiration board! I just used my photo software to design a collage of layered ideas. Here is what mine looks like:

 

4.  Pick out your favorite pieces you already own.

 

Another great way to see what you prefer is by simply looking at pieces you already own. Pick out your favorite piece of furniture, artwork, floral arrangement, bedding, etc. and examine why you like that piece. Is it the color? The texture or way it feels? Is it sentimental? This is helpful at purging pieces you no longer find appealing, and it also can help you get an idea of what you gravitate towards. Use these pieces to design around. Pull from the colors or textures and find complimentary décor. Ever watch a design show and they hold up a pillow or vase and say, “It all started with this one piece!” They’re not lying – one pieces can inspire an amazing design process.

 

5.  Look to your closet for color inspiration.

 

I dread picking out colors for furniture or painting because I often second guess myself. By peeking in my closet, I have learned that I prefer muted earth tones and neutrals. Creamy whites, soft greens, dull yellows, varying shades of blues and sandy browns with staple jet blacks and warm grays. There are some pastels for spring and summer months but then I also noticed there are certain colors I avoid entirely like reds, purples, and colors that are bright and overly vibrant. This has given me the confidence to rethink the color scheme we currently have in our home. It may not happen overnight, but here is the colors I’m leaning towards:

 

6.  Watch home tour videos on YouTube.

 

YouTube home tours are some of my favorites to watch because they are more personal than a general tour. You get firsthand information from the homeowner about how they pick décor items, techniques they use to create feature areas, color choices, and more. The idea is to gain inspiration from them to use in your own home but don’t think you have to duplicate their décor. Take that inspiration and make it your own! Maybe one day, I’ll get my house in order and share a tour, too!

 

7.   Start small and build from there.

 

There’s no right or wrong way to decorate your home. If you like it and it’s functional for your needs, then the rest is irrelevant. But – don’t think you have to tackle it all at once. Maybe just start with a fresh coat of paint in one room or add a few throw pillows to that old couch you can’t replace just yet. Sometimes, just rearranging a room makes a huge impact on the overall feel of it. Work with what you have on hand and mold it into a design you love!

8.  Seasonal décor should be timeless.

 

A downside of seasonal décor for me is that I always feel like I want to buy new pieces with each passing year. This got me to thinking, maybe it makes more sense to buy traditional pieces that are timeless than $200 worth of décor that I probably won’t use more than a season or two. I needed to rethink how I was decorating for the seasons, for holidays and for special events. What really makes seasonal décor timeless? Think of the classic pieces that you see every season. Bright whites and pastels during spring, fresh cut tulips and floral arrangements in clear glass vases or pitchers. Summer usually focuses our attention to the more patriotic displays, to the outdoor areas of our homes, and includes more vibrant colors. Autumn is full of cozy thoughts, flannel blankets, acorns and pumpkins. This is the time for deeper colors. Classic winter décor is reds, greens, and golds, with lots of pine cones and fresh evergreen trimmings. 

 

Spring: Fresh flowers, greenery, pops of vibrant colors with classic whites, and open windows all come to mind. Here’s my photocollage for inspiration:

 

Summer: A variety of floral arrangements in an array of rich colors, patriotic red-white-blue bunting, flags, classic white stoneware. Here’s my summer collage:

 

Autumn: Rusty reds and burnt oranges, fall foliage, pinecones, textured pieces, layers, warmth. Here’s my autumn collage:

 

Winter: Poinsettias, reds and green, tartan plaid, bright whites, golds, winter greenery, layers. Here is my winter collage:

 

For holidays, the best advice I have learned is to make them your own. Start or continue family traditions and add pizzazz everywhere! I remember decorating our bathrooms for Halloween one year and a friend teasing me about it. At first, I thought she had a point, it was definitely on the tacky side. Then I thought, you know what? If I want to be tacky, I'll be tacky, darnit! 

The best part of me coming to this realization, I can still add or subtract a unique piece here and there, but I’ll feel more confident and spend less money (hopefully) by not feeling the need to change with every new trend. Decorating makes me happy but it can also make me go broke! HAHA!

I ordered a few pieces for my fall décor that I believe adhere to the traditional guidelines. As soon as it arrives, I’ll share how I put it all together for the season!

 

Happy decorating y’all!

 

xxoo

Crystal