How do you decorate if you have no sense of style?!

[OliviaFlaversham]

I honestly do not know where to start and my husband is the same. The whole house we have moved into could do with decorating as it was, in part, used as an air bnb and lots of rooms are plain white.

I have looked in magazines, online, Pinterest in shops…but because they aren’t my exact house I cannot imagine them in it! I cannot afford a designer.

Are there any apps/quizzes/ways I can use to firstly help me work out what I like, and then help me put it together in my own house?

John Lewis do a free design service. Obviously they hope you then buy stuff from them but there’s no obligation

I would start by picking big items, like sofas, dining table etc. Choose ones you like and then decorate around them. For example if you choose an oak table, you might want oak doors and side tables etc.
If you see a sofa in a colour you like, then think what wall colour would go with that. You don’t need to do a whole room at a time. Houses done like that look a bit sterile to me. I like houses where items have been added over time as people put up for example, wedding photos, baby photos, trinkets from holiday etc.

OP whats your favorite colour?

Whats your favorite wood?

Whats your favorite pattern?

Whats your favorite metal colour?

Whats your favorite material?

Buy with in theres and you'll like what you create

Have you got a friend with a good sense of style who may be able to give some words of advice?

Something more traditional/classic might work. That way of fads change yours won’t be out dated and you won’t have to feel the need to go through this again!!!

is your home from a certain time? E.g Victorian? Edwardian? Georgian? If so, you can look up what colours would have been used in these homes at that time.

if you have hard floors, rugs can make a real difference to a room in making it homey. Again, have a google of rug/furniture layout as size and placement is “a thing”.

I simply over the years acquired all of the things I’ve always loved one by one… and it all marries extremely well because I love it all. I’m the only person who needs to love it, so it does not need to have a particular style.

I have chosen from different eras, from vintage shops and from IKEA, one or two designer or handmade pieces, stuff from exotic countries…

I have only made sure that it’s not too more is more or very cluttered.

The important thing is to keep looking and take your time, when you see the right thing, you’ll know without a doubt it will fit in your home… don’t be afraid to begin!

I began with painting, then flooring, then the larger pieces of furniture (bed, wardrobes, sofa), so you’re not getting paint on things or damaging your floors… then slowly to the smallest items… lights, cushions etc

One item at a time, it took years, but it has meant I’ve never once wanted to replace anything or later saw something I thought I loved more… only get things you are utterly enthused about, or leave it behind.

There are lots of articles online about the 60-30-10 rule. It’s a good basis for a balanced colour scheme. You decorate 60% of the room in your main colour, 30% in a secondary colour and 10% in an accent colour. The items in the same colour do NOT have to be the same shade (which can look very contrived), they just have to tone in together.

You can use a colour wheel to help you choose your colour scheme, or just find a photo of a scheme you like and copy that. White is probably the easiest main colour to work with, but it sounds as though that wouldn’t be right for you.

Which colours do you like to wear because they flatter your skin tone? Chances are, they will be the colours you’ll feel comfortable being surrounded by.

Trying to remember what inspired me… it was old favourite movies, books, the home of a favourite teacher from childhood that has happy memories attached…

Make sure the choices you are making evoke good and warm feelings or memories… and also make sure everything is comfortable before purchasing… especially mattresses and sofas… you’ll spend a lot of your life on those, might as well invest!

My steps are

1. make tea, and sit with Pinterest for half an hour pinning every room I like the look of, without overthinking why, and then flicking through the pins to see if there’s some overarching themes.
2. Ikea is actually a good place for this too - explore their little room set ups when the store is quiet. Bring a friend do you can sit on the sofas and chairs and see what styles appeal. You might not want their furniture particularly but they present it in different ways. See what appeals…and what really doesn’t. Eliminating what you don’t like is just as important.
3. Furniture holds clues as well - browsing a big charity shop can help because the furniture isn’t being presented to trick you into buying it. When it’s jumbled together it’s easier to know what you like and don’t.
4. When you’re ready to get started, begin with one room of your house at a time and decide what you won’t change - flooring maybe? Big furniture? Curtains? The windows? The cornicing?
5. Take pictures of the things that have to stay and use those to start a colour palatte. If you have more flexibility you could also use a piece of fabric you like as a starting point, a rug or a picture.
6. Identify whether those colours are mostly warm or cool. Warm have an underlying yellow tone and cool have an underlying blue tone.
7. Choose predominantly warm or cool colours for a room, but then add a little of the opposite for balance. But don’t put warm and cool versions of the same colour together or they’ll fight each other.
8. Use the whole height of the room - often a room looks unfinished because everything is quite low down. Adding a tall plant, a book shelf (or something on top of a book shelf), or raising the curtains can bring the eye upwards.

The easiest thing to colour match is paint so that’s the thing I would pick last.

Fabrics can be tricky because the colours change subtly each season to keep us shopping. A plum colour from five years ago will be completely different from what’s available now.

When you shop bring swatches with you - paint a piece of a4 card, take a cushion cover, wood sample etc. And keep your receipts so you can return what isn’t quite right. Buy a quarter metre of fabric rather than tiny samples. Good designers make a lot of mistakes and change their minds. Don’t put pressure on yourself to get everything right. It’s always ok to change your mind.

Oh my gosh, this is so useful!!! I have asked friends but this has been so much more helpful!

Even screen shotting my Pinterest pins as suggested has shown me I definitely have a colour palette I’m drawn to. Downstairs is all proper wooden flooring which I love and there is a gorgeous oak fire surround so they’ll stay.

You definitely have a very strongly identifiable aesthetic, and I really like your taste.

Hey @OliviaFlaversham I'm an interior designer. Feel free to give me a shout if you'd like some advice. 😊

I think it is lack of confidence. Also I grew up extremely poor (no heating, mould and ice on the inside etc) so am hesitant about doing anything requiring money.

This is my 4th house, 40s, young kids. I want to make it somewhere that suits us rather than to appeal to others. It’s north facing but light colours I can tell will make it feel cold rather than bright. It’s early 90s. My current favourite room is the study which is emerald green (thanks to previous owner) and this has given me the push to be bold. I very much dislike reds, purples and most pinks. But like aubergine and pinkish nudes.

All the above advice is really helpful. I have heard the 60/30/10 rule but hadn’t realised you can go for shades within this which is more appealing.

I don’t like matchy furniture and love 2nd hand furniture which has already been dinked!

Our living room is this dark blue in the first pic on the 2nd screenshot. We used the colour “Deep Space Blue” from the Little Greene paint range. Hope this helps!

I totally get how overwhelming decorating can feel, especially when you don’t have a clear sense of style. When I moved into my house, I had the same dilemma. Everything was pretty plain, and I had no idea where to start.

One thing that really helped me figure out what I liked was playing around with mood boards—whether that was on Pinterest or using apps. The visual inspiration helped me understand what felt like me.

I also found that adding small touches made a huge difference. I started by incorporating fresh flowers into my spaces. I keep a vase of fresh flowers in the living room and bedroom, and it really helps bring color and warmth to the rooms. Plus, flowers change with the seasons, so it's like my decor evolves naturally. You’d be surprised how much just a few simple touches can shift the vibe of a room. I love getting my flowers from IGP they always have beautiful arrangements that match the vibe I want in each room.

Decorating is all about trial and error. Start small, keep the things that make you happy, and don’t be afraid to mix and match. The right style will come to you as you keep experimenting with what feels good!

I decorated a few years ago and the most important thing I learned was to treat the whole house as one space.

I painted in complimentary colours, used the same colour fixtures and ornaments. Eg brass picture frames and black fittings.

If you are nervous about colour, there are some very nice neutrals.

Something I read years ago was to start with something you already have that you love - maybe a print or a throw or whatever, and use the colours from that to decorate with.