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One of the most difficult things when designing your own space, at least for me, was to find out what do I truly like. Do I like it or do I like it because I want other people to think that I like it. There is so much influence and so much information out there, at times, it almost felt like it's impossible to draw the line somewhere. I've done a tone of "find your design style" tests with different results, because one day I liked this and the next day I found something else more interesting.
Welcome to my blog post about finding your design style. Thank you for dropping by and I hope you will find this post useful. For years I've been interested in interior design and for a long time I've been following trends, mixing cushions and throws depending on the season, finding it very hard to stick to something that I actually liked. Then in 2020 when the concept of lockdown hit us all, I wanted to make the most of the newly found time on my hands and so I've read lots of books and finally got myself an "Interior designer" certificate. 2 years worth of studying I've crammed in to 5 months and after all the confusion, things have finally started to settle.
“It's been a journey of self discovery”
Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram - Interior designers are everywhere. You watch a couple of renovation shows and you can't help but think "I could do that..." And then when the opportunity finally comes, you struggle... something just doesn't feel right.
5 steps that actually helped me define my design style
1. Our styles will always evolve and change and you have to make peace with that
Once I stopped beating myself up for going round the house changing things, and learnt to accept that I am changing in who I want to be, my lifestyle is changing, therefore my design style will evolve with me, my visions became clearer in what I wanted to achieve in a space. As long as you are conscious of what direction you are heading towards and your purchases are supporting that, you should always feel happy about it.
2. The Little Book of Colour by Karen Haller
I probably should have put this book at first place as reading this book was actually life changing for me. All those colours, all those styles mixed in my had - all of a sudden everything just made sense. When I thought that I've got conflicting styles and nothing will ever work because I love so many different things, thanks to this book I've realised there's a reason behind all of that, and I'm allowed to love all the many different colours.
This book has made me discover that my personality is actually very well defined and I know exactly what I need to do, to express the true me. We have all heard that red is aggressive and green is calming and yellow is the happiest colour of all, but there is so much more to those colours. I've learnt lots of rules on my interior design course, but I can tell you this much: My designs would never be the way they are without reading this book. And it's not just my home that's changed. This book has helped to find my personality and I've changed my wardrobe too! (Any excuse for new clothes eh???).
I absolutely swear by this book and can't recommend it enough if you are at all interested in designing a space. You will discover your colour personality and those colours will lift your mood and you will feel better than ever! I you are interested, you can buy the book, clicking on the picture, or here.
3. Decide what's most important in a room - What is the behaviour you want to see in the room?
This is one of the questions in Karen's book and it's so true I've had to share it with you! Cosy and relaxed is a mood and we never really know what that means and that's because it means different things for everyone. If you can answer it, without being influenced by the thought of:
"what will other people think of me" then you are on the right track. I wanted my home to look cosy, cottagey but elegant and sophisticated at the same time. I wanted to feel relaxed and forget about the outside world as soon as I lock the door behind me. I wanted to be able to listen to the silence, curl up on the sofa next to the fire and fall to sleep. Or sit on the chair and read a magazine whilst the fire is crackling. I wanted my friends to come over and have a real conversation and not just swipe our phones or watch tv. It's so much easier to choose those colours once you've decided what do you actually want people to do in each room.
4. Dig deep in those Pinterest boards
I personally love Pinterest, even though at times it can be overwhelming seeing so many different styles, but if you categorise your boards, you should be able to see the commonalities in the pictures you are saving. To give you my example, every living room I've saved had exposed beams and had a fire place. Every bedroom had to be white, the kitchens were shaker style and the bathrooms had a roll top bath in. It turns out I'm also obsessed with vintage furniture and botanical prints. Now that doesn't mean I've had to have those things, or I can't mix things up, but they are very indicative of what styles am I more likely to mix. We are all a combination of many styles and that's normal. Spend time and really study those pins that have inspired you in any way. Is it the colours? Is it the furniture? Is it the lighting? Is it the wooden flooring?
5. Don't be afraid to mix your styles
You may have guessed, I've watched countless videos people describing all the wonderful influential design styles of the last many years and for whatever reason, they keep recommending you to pick 2 that you are most drawn to. And there you are, taking notes of the must haves if you are this or that and then off you go and it all just turns into a shopping exercise of buying pretty things.
I personally don't agree with any of that - Those design styles were there for many years and like it or not, we are all influenced by them one way or the other. Some elements we absolutely love and some just make you ask the question: "what the hell were those people thinking?!" Yes, it may help to get you started, but you really are limiting yourself and that's when you start thinking that something is still missing... you keep accumulating things but the space still won't come together. I couldn't possibly narrow my style down that much. I love the simplicity of a minimalist style, the neutral colours of a Scandinavian style, the cosiness of the rustic, the fun of a bohemian, the blues of a costal, bold geometry of art deco or the brickwork of an industrial style and for me, a good interior designer can make anything work. Make everything work! That is the challenge. Buying pretty and expensive things, carefully place it in a well defined room - a lot of us can do that.
Take everything that you like and twist it in a way so they compliment each other. More often than not, it will all come down to the colours to be tonally harmonious.
Now for me, that's the challenge - that's where we need to excel, and that's what's going to define your style.
Bottom line of it all, what I always say - whatever you do, do it PiriStyle - do what makes you happy and don't live in a place that you hate, hoping that others will love!
Should you need any help, I'm only a message away :)
Until next time,
Piri
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