Let’s Finding Your Decorating Style!

I’m always surprised when I go into someones home and their house doesn’t at all reflect the person I know. Their house is bland and boring. Believe me, I don’t spend time with bland or boring people. So why are they struggling to inject their own personality into their homes?

For many it’s overwhelming, and frustrating.  They don’t know how or where to start.

Maybe they’ve been looking for decorating ideas in all the wrong places.

You don’t need to be an artist or have a design degree to find great design ideas. All you need is a little bit of patience.  Finding your inspiration might take some time but you will find it.

Spend Some Time in Your Space

Grab a notebook and get comfortable in your space. Think about how your family will use this space.  Will it be a gathering place for friends and family? Will you be watching TV?  Do you want a game space? A reading area? Write down any ideas  that come to mind. Getting clear on how you use the space will help you narrow your focus.

Define Your Style

Next thing about designs you’ve see that you like. I don’t follow trends so my style tends to be eclectic.  I don’t skew farmhouse or modern, instead I incorporate all styles in my home, but you might have strong feelings about some styles. Think about the clothes you where. The colors your love. The patterns you love. Write them down.

Time to Daydream

Now it’s time to start hunting ideas. This is the fun part! Don’t think about budget at this point. Now is the time to dream of what could be and do that you need to do a little searching.

There are tons of resources available online and they are free so for me it’s my number one go to, but I also like those glossy designs magazines (yes, I still have subscriptions to Elle Decor, Country Living, and a few others). Below is a list of resources.  Choose a few and start browsing.  If something grabs your attention take note. Start a Pinterest board and save your ideas. You can also get ideas when you visit your friends and family BUT be careful you don’t want to copy someone else’s style exactly. You want to find your style. Also, make a  note of things you don’t like or things that are not functional in other people’s spaces (ie- bad traffic flow, incorrectly sized furniture, etc.).

• Apartment Therapy House Tours – I love these virtual tours. All styles are represented so you’re bound to see something you like.
• HGTV’s Website & Magazine – HGTV is now mostly renovation shows (is that just my opinion) but the website and magazine still have great design ideas.
• Housebeautiful.com – House Beautiful is another magazine I subscribe to but their website has a bunch great designs ideas (and shameless plug an article I was feature in).
• Pinterest – The best part about Pinterest is you can put in your favorite colors, patterns, or any other descriptor and add “home decor” at the end and you’ll get thousands of ideas.  Once you start clicking on things that grab your attention, Pinterest will automatically start showing you images it thinks you will like based on past searches. Their algorithm gets it right 9 times out of 10.  Don’t forget to follow Peony Lane Designs while you’re their!

Start Building Your Room

Time to shop! Once you have a good idea of how you’ll use the room and the styles you like you should start to have a clear picture of what you want in that room.  Decide what pieces of furniture, decorating items you already own that can be used. Once you have that make a list of the pieces you still need and figure out the dimensions or size for the pieces you’ll need like area rugs, curtains, mirrors, art, etc.

Remember when I said don’t worry about the budget? Well now you need to think about how much you want to spend. Don’t worry though if you’ve watched any of my junking videos (if not you’ll want to check out my YouTube Channel) then you know treasures can be found without spending a lot of money.

Finding your decorating style isn’t about money anyway. Seek out the pieces that make you happy. If you love them then they will work in your space.  Soon you will have a room full of personality and not bland, boring space.

What are some of your online or other resources for finding design ideas?  Share your ideas in the comments below!

Many blessings to you!

~S