How do you work out your interiors style?

[TheEverdelightfulsamantha]

I recently read ‘Get Changed’ by Kat Farmer which gives you a sort of recipe for working out your personal style when it comes to clothes - defining looks and linking them with specific people - I’ve found it really helpful but with interiors, I find it really hard to get into a grove, and very challenging to commit to big purchases so I end up being a bit blander than I want to be in case I’m brave an get things wrong.

can anyone recommend a book, or Instagram account or podcasts or whatever which might help me reflect on what I want? I follow loads of inspirational accounts and have pinned hundreds of gorgeous rooms on pintrest but seem stuck on make decisions on what I want!

Maybe you can't reflect well on your own style because the hundres are confusing you a bit?

I just picked what I like so it's not particularly perfectly matching but. As long as it makes me happy, it's my style (which is all over the place!).

Every room is also bit different depending on use and feeling. Office is lighter and more colourful, living room has colours, but bit toned down to relax, bedroom is dark blue to calm the heck down.
It's all bit: "oooooh I like that! i take".

Is it possible that's why you can't pinpoint one particular style? That you have, like me various styles within? Because you can combine bits from different ones to make something lovely. As long as it maskes you happy

I also pick what I like (money permitted), that’s how I end up with interior in my personal style. The key is that one and the same person chooses every time.

We looked through the boards of designs to choose what we really like and then built a model of our future place (programs like Interior design 3d or Sketchup are great for it). The result was of course a bit different from both the inspiration pics and the model, but it really helps you to work out the direction and get an idea of what you'd like to see.

Go onto Houzz and set up a board for each room. Then spend a few hours pinning the photos you like. You can literally swipe click swipe click. Click on every image you like initially.

then go back to the board for each room and you will see trends emerging. You might have picked lots of clean lines and modern shapes, you might have picked lots of images mixing old with new, you might have been drawn to warm colours, or whites or 50s/60s style furniture or painted furniture etc. some pictures won’t fit the theme, don’t worry about those outliers, just try to spot the overall trends.

when I did this it became very clear.that my preferred style was American farmhouse/Hamptons. Lots of white, lots of light, mixture of old and new, dark wooden floors, blues (used sparingly) as accent colours.

there are also tests on Houzz (which will probably tell you your style is “transitional”). I think they’re probably less helpful.

I was in the same situation as you and was intimidated to start decorating. During the first lockdown I did an online Interior Design course run by Abigail Ahern and it was so so useful. She has an interior design business and shop and is very knowledgeable. The course covered everything from how to find your personal style through to colours, layouts furniture and accessories. She also gives out lots of advice on Instagram if you can't afford the course. It gave me confidence to decorate my place and I'm so glad I did it.

I usually find one piece, a lovely piece of art or furniture, and build a room style around that.

I have general basics, I like colour and light and practicality, dislike dark gloomy interiors and am generally not keen on 'fussy' homes. My rooms need to be cheerful, uncluttered and easy to maintain

I first start with the house. What period and style? What are it's architectural features? The first step of decorating would be to look at those, if the room is quite plain, maybe it could benefit from adding some, be that panelling, higher skirting, cornice, architrave, different style windows etc. The room's bones, size and shape will define what type of furniture will look good. But best to consider and plan furniture, lighting and radiators together and consider bespoke furniture. It is often not very expensive. How do I want the room to feel? That will influence the materials of floor, wall covers furniture and furnishings. Clean and airy, minimalist? Or cozy (would I consider wallpaper or wall coverings like fabric?). Do I want warm velvet or fresh linen? What can I see out of windows? I like matching a colour palette and materials to the colours/landscape outside. If there is little inspiration from the view, I take the colour scheme from a painting I want to hang up, from a rug or a pair of curtains.

Apartment Therapy is my favourite resource.