Define Your Home Style

Is one of your 2023 resolutions to make your house more of a home? If you’ve been staring at blank walls and furniture you don’t love for too long, I’m here to help!

If you’ve been hanging around this blog for any amount of time, you know that interior design is one of my true loves. I get so much satisfaction from seeing a room go from inspiration to finished. I’m obsessed with the search for both high and low pieces and the perfect details to pull a room together. But something I haven’t taught or talked a lot about is how I use my home as a way to tell our story. 

But I know not everyone feels the same way. I know so many of you want a beautiful home that reflects your story and personality, one you are excited to invite guests into, but you don’t know where to start. Maybe your home decor budget is minuscule (been there). Or you have some stuff you like but have no clue how to put it all together in an aesthetically pleasing way. Perhaps you are totally intimidated by DIY projects or don’t even know where to start shopping for a home you love?

Whatever your design hang-up, I’m here to help! In February, I’ll be teaching a live workshop called Home Meets Heart. I’m going to teach you how to create the home you’ve always wanted, starting with the stuff you already have. Sign-ups will be going live soon (make sure you are on the email list to be the first to know!), but the workshop will be free for Style & Story members (click here if you want to join now!).

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to give you a sneak peek of a few things we’ll be covering in the workshop. These posts will only be the tip of the iceberg, so be sure to mark your calendar for Friday, February 3, 2023 to get the full experience. 

How to Define Your Style

If you want a home you love, the first thing you have to do is define your style. Can you imagine putting all the work in to update a room on your home and then finishing it, only to realize it’s not you at all? You hate it. Now you’ve wasted time, money, and energy, and you still aren’t happy with your home.

So your very first step is collecting information. What style(s) do you love? You aren’t limited to only one! One of the things that makes your home uniquely yours is how you combine the different things that appeal to you. 

Here’s a little homework.

1. Start a vision file. You can go old-school and gather a bunch of magazines, scissors, and an envelope to collect your clippings in, or you can start a new Pinterest board. Here is a link to my account if you’d like to see what I’m pinning! Spend a week or two collecting. Anything that appeals to you. Don’t worry about how it fits or what style it is. If you like it, add it to your file.
2. Sort it out. Once you’ve collected a solid file of images, it’s time to look for patterns. You can physically lay out your clippings in piles or you can break up your Pinterest board into different sections. Put like things together so you can figure out what it is about those images that appeal to you. 
3. Make a list. Now it’s time to look at what you’ve sorted and make some observations. Do all of your kitchens have huge light-filled windows? Or dark, moody cabinets? Are you drawn to a minimalist style or does your collection include photo after photo of full bookshelves? Write down every pattern you notice.

This exercise is going to help you narrow down what you are drawn to. As you go through your days, keep making notes of the things you like. Snap photos, clip images from magazines, and keep pinning. The more time you take to notice what you are drawn to, the easier it will be for you to figure out how to emulate it in your own home.

We’ll be going even more in-depth into defining your style in my February Home Meets Heart workshop, and I hope you’ll join me!