What’s your personal design style? Is it shabby chic, French country, global eclectic? Or maybe you prefer a cottage, coastal, or contemporary look. Stop at any newsstand and you’ll count at least half a dozen home décor magazines, and on the web there are more design blogs than you can shake a stick at. Finding your personal decorating style is not always easy. In fact, with so many home furnishings and decorative accessories to choose from, it can be downright overwhelming to put together a harmonious look.
Here at Guild Hall we love the challenge of helping you create an environment that beautifully reflects your personality and tastes, while also meeting the needs and demands of your home or office. But not everybody has the time or inclination to spend hours studying fabric swatches or shopping for fine furnishings. If you want to start an interior design project but don’t know where to start, here are three easy tips to help you hone in on your decorating style.
1. Take inventory of your home furnishings and accessories. Walk from room to room with pad in hand, making note of pieces that you love and those you wish you could replace. What speaks to you? What do you love? What would you be more than happy to donate? This simple appraisal can tell you a lot about the colors, textures, materials and overall aesthetics that make up your personal style.
2. Find inspiration in photographs. This is a time-proven technique for gathering inspiration and coming up with concrete images of your dream home or office. Go through magazines and catalogs and clip any pictures that you find beautiful or interesting and stash them in a file folder. Take your time with this project until you’ve accumulated several dozen images of home furnishings, custom window coverings, paint and wallpaper design, and decorative accessories that you absolutely love. Pay no attention to price tags. You aren’t putting together a “to-buy” list, but rather compiling findings that will help you unearth your preferred design style.
3. Review your design style findings. Look for common elements in all those pictures you clipped. This can include colors, styles, themes, textures and materials. Are you drawn to wood, wrought iron, or steel? Do you see a lot of bold, jewel tones in your pictures, or do you seem to be drawn to softer pastels? By now you may be noticing certain design styles popping up: Bohemian, Old World, eclectic. These are strong cues that can help guide your interior design project.
Naming your design style can be helpful in guiding you towards paint combinations, finishes, textiles, accessories, furnishings and hardware that you’ll love and that fit your style preferences. Just be careful not to become restricted by these labels. One of the most satisfying aspects of interior design is integrating different elements into one coherent and uniquely personal style.
Need more help? With a huge assortment of fine home furnishings and decorative accessories, Guild Hall Home Furnishings have style options to match your preferences. Our team of experienced design interior consultants can help you define and refine your style to get you the home or office of your dreams.