A few weeks ago I shared with you a 6-step process to help you create the house of your dreams. As I said, before you start making any choices you need to have a clear picture of what you like, and what feeling and image you want your house to reflect.
That doesn’t mean just having a rough idea of your style: words like contemporary, rustic, eclectic, traditional, etcetera are general labels that include a huge variety of different interiors. Instead, you want to find out exactly what your preferences are in terms of shapes, colours, textures, furniture, mood, and so on.
So how do you discover your decorating style?
No. 1 - Create a file of pictures of interiors that appeal to you. You can look at magazines, of course, but I actually prefer browsing the net. Every time you find an image that catches your eyes, save it, either on your computer or through an online service. I use Pinterest – mostly for pictures – and Evernote – a wonderful way to capture and save not just images, but also notes, snapshots from your phone, videos and more.
No. 2 – Analyse each image you choose, and write down exactly what it is that you like about it. This part is vital if you want to figure out what your style is, rather than just assemble a collection of random photos. You don’t have to write an essay, just a few words that will help you understand your preferences.
After a while, you’ll start to see trends in the images you choose – for example, you might have a fondness for red, dark wood, ornate shapes, period features, rich fabrics, moody interiors…or a love of pastels, feminine shapes, stone floors, see-through fabric, wrought-iron furniture, dreamy rooms…and so on.
To further clarify this process, let’s have a look at a few spaces I like, and see what trends emerge.
I love the airy, luminous space, the simple lines of the cabinets, all that white, and the pale wood floor. The sink is awesome!
Love the large window, the white streamlined cabinets and the zebra wood - nice contrast between white & textured wood. I'd prefer a lighter floor though. I like the green bottles and the plants, too - nice touch of colour.
Light & luminous, love the simple lines and the combination of white furniture, white walls & timber floor.
Lovely white cabinet, and I like the timber floor, white walls & stacked fire logs.
Light, white & wood - lovely. Beautiful vintage crates repurposed for storage. I like plants as accessories. I'd rather the cabinets had doors though (much easier to clean!).
Vintage wooden crates used as plant containers & hung on the wall: gorgeous! I also like the door used as table top, the pale grey paint and the hydrangea bouquet. The rest is too fussy for me though.
Beautiful weathered wood table; love its texture in combination with white chairs & walls.
Although these interiors are all different, there are several recurrent qualities common to most of them: white, airy, luminous spaces; combination of wood & white; mix of contemporary & vintage furniture; clean lines; simple, uncluttered spaces; plants & flowers as accessories; colour used as accent…all this just from a few pictures!
The more images you collect and analyse, the clearer your style will reveal itself, so be patient and keep collecting image 
Here are a few places to get you started:
Questions? Doubts? Ideas? I love hearing from you, so please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts about this post, and if you like it share the link with others.
If you’d like me to feature a particular recipe, or an interior design question, just send an email to cristina@positivelybeauty (dot) com and I’ll do my best to accommodate your request.
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Cristina,
I absolutely love a white kitchen and like you, I also loved the huge window in the second kitchen. The last house I owned was a 1927 Arts & Crafts colonial. I redid the kitchen with white cabinets, vintage white subway tile and left the light beechwood floor in place.
Angela Artemis recently posted..Intuition Development is Speeding Up: 5 Steps You Need to Take Now
That must have been a lovely kitchen Angela! I love white, it gives me a sense of expansion, space, freedom…it’s good for my mind, and my soul
Your tips are very useful, thank you for sharing!
Do you have any advice on choosing a style with your partner? Should each partner go through this process and then compare notes? Or does one member of the couple usually take charge and just clue the other in? How do a couple go about compromising? Perhaps this is a topic for another post.
Alison Kerr | Loving Nature’s Garden recently posted..Why you need to sleep “naked” in your garden tonight
Interesting question Alison! My husband and I have very similar taste, and he lets me decorate using what I like most of the times, so I’m lucky and never had an issue with this.
From my experience, usually one person takes charge and then shows the other her/his notes & choices. Sometimes people have opposite tastes, and compromising can be challenging…as you said, this might be a topic for another post
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