How to find your interior design style.

More often than not, unless you build your home from the ground up, you will probably be stuck with interior design ideas that are the choices of someone else.  You may decide to live with a royal blue dining room or magnolia wallpaper. Inadvertently, you may actually start the decorating of your new space with the old colors and patterns as your starting point.  This is a mistake if it is not your style.  You risk having a home that never feels like your space.  But how do you pinpoint what is your style?

One way is to absorb everything that you see, even if it may not seem relevant at the time.  Jot down notes.  Take photographs of architectural elements.   Take samples of anything that has colors you like – postcards, magazine clippings, chips of paint off an old home, a favorite flower, a piece of clothing you like.  Anything can be your inspiration.

Another way to discover your style is to go to museums.   Museums are a treasure trove of ideas.  Architectural details abound in the artwork, and a favorite work of art can become the color palette for your new home design.

Favorite places you visit can also give your interior design its color.  What about your last island vacation?  Did you see colors you liked – the rich turquoises, marine blues, watermelon reds, and lime greens?  Maybe you felt more relaxed with the colors of your Tuscan vacation – the warm terra cotta, rich cornflower golds, the deep verdant olive greens. Become aware of your surroundings when you travel, and how the colors and architecture make you feel. This can help you discover some of your personal style sensibilities.

Everyone needs a small sketchbook.  When you are out, make small sketches, even if they are rough, to capture any new ideas you see – details of trim work, window styles, grillwork on an old gate, a light design.  If you become more aware of all that you see, you’ll be amazed how those pictures will inspire you when you spread them out on your kitchen table in the early phases of your design project.

It is so important to discover your style.  If you will go through the exercises described above, a good interior designer will be able to help you distill all the information into a design direction.  Designers understand relationships of certain colors and styles, and what they mean for the design of a client’s interior space.

The more you explore and make a conscious effort to document things you like, the more comfortable you will become of your own style preferences.  Always stay open to new influences.  Keep eyes and ears open.  Your style should grow as you grow.  It is part of who you are.  If you want to be happy with your home, it has to reflect who you are – your own glorious style.