5 STEPS TO DEFINE YOUR HOME STYLE (+ MINE)

Hints and tips on how to discover what your style is at home

When it comes to decorating your home and creating a scheme that truly reflects you, do you struggle to define what your true home style is?

With the likes of social media and endless magazines there is so much inspiration out there, which can be wonderful but it can also cause overwhelm. If you don’t stick to one home style it can lead to a home that perhaps feels a bit disjointed and lacks harmony (believe me, I’ve been there!).

I’m personally appreciative of many home styles and have gone through a number of them over the years, especially when I’ve been inspired by something in particular (such as our trip to Florida). I’ve absolutely made mistakes along the way but I’ve also enjoyed playing with different styles too. It’s my home at the end of the day and that’s part of the fun! I do however feel much calmer about our schemes now and think I’ve reached the point of truly understanding what my style is.

If you love my home style, take a look at my homeware collection so you can bring it into your own home:

If you’re struggling to move forward with a style in your own home these 5 steps to you define your style will help you to create a home that you truly adore:

1. PIN AWAY!

Create folders on Pinterest for each room and save anything in there that you absolutely love. You can either pin anything you see on Pinterest itself or copy a link from Instagram or a website and create a pin yourself.

2. NOTICE A TREND

Use your Pinterest boards to pick up on a common trend in what’s appealing to you. This could be particular pieces of furniture, fabric patterns, colour themes or types of styling and accessories. If you’re not into online methods, a scrapbook with magazine cuttings can work just as well.

3. DEFINE IT

Now you’ve picked up on a common trend, you’re now in a position to be able to define what that style is and run with it. If your style is eclectic with a few different themes mixed together, or perhaps transitional where you love traditional and modern combined, that’s ok! Just ensure you’re committing to it throughout the home to keep it cohesive.

4. REFER BACK

Never lose sight of the board you’ve created and use it each time you’re ready to redecorate or update. It might be that you translate your Pinterest Board into a moodboard so it’s even more defined and easier to refer back to.

With my Home Styling clients I always ask them to share their Pinterest Boards with me before we meet as it acts as a firm discussion point. I also provide a Style Guide at the end of our process so they’re equipped to move forward and stay consistent.

5. STAY COHESIVE

Even if you’re not completely redecorating or buying everything in one go, it’s worth ensuring you have the entire space planned out in order to stay cohesive. It may mean you have a mix of styles while you’re in the transitional period of old and new, but stay true to the board and it’ll be worth it when you get to the end result!

My Style:

I would describe my style as Transitional California Casual with hints of Boho and Modern Farmhouse. I love American influences, particularly the neutral palettes and rustic woods from The Hamptons and California.

With the exception of a style deviation after I was inspired by the cheerful vibes in Miami and wallpapered our kitchen with a rather bold tropical print (it was fun while it lasted and led to a fair number of brand styling jobs and got us featured in Metro Magazine, Style at Home and Real Homes!), I’d say that each room scheme in our home has been pretty consistent with a Transitional design scheme.

Taken from the website Modsy, here are some definitions of what I’ve defined as our style:

California Modern style is an easygoing style that’s welcoming, calming, and personal. A style subset of Modern Rustic, it features a mix of rustic, natural, organic, and modern elements, styled with an eclectic edge. It is a safer but very of-the-moment take on boho style. Its rustic and earthy vibe makes it very approachable—but it definitely still looks pulled together and polished. With a mix of rustic, natural, organic, and modern design elements, this style has an easygoing nature.

Common home styles:

Eclectic, Modern, Traditional, Transitional, Farmhouse, Boho, Rustic – these are all different interior styles that can be mixed to create your own look – just ensure you stick to whatever you choose to move forward with!

As more people are becoming more environmentally aware and considering options such as solar panels, home owners are also being more conscious of bringing eco-friendly ideas into their styling and accessories such as furniture, fabrics and colour themes. This provides an exciting and creative opportunity to create an individual look within an interior style by using recycled and up-cycled pieces.

These 10 most popular types of interior design styles in 2022 may also help.

I hope these 5 steps to define your home style have helped to provide you with some inspiration and a way forward for your own home. They should give you the key ingredients to design your schemes with purpose and consistency.

Please do let me know in the comments below and follow along on Instagram for home inspiration @ohsokel and my unique chic homeware collection @OSK_Living

Until next time,

Kel x