Do your walls feel a bit too blank? Maybe you have a few pieces of furniture, but the rooms just lack personality. Decorating a house is incredibly difficult when you do not know your actual design preferences. You might like a dozen different looks, which leaves you feeling stuck and unable to make a final decision. The good news is that learning how to find your interior design style is easier than you think.
You don’t need a degree in interior design or a massive budget to figure out what looks good in your house. You just need to look at your life through a slightly different lens. Identifying your interior design style is the key to creating a cohesive space that feels like home.
Discover your unique decor preferences by analyzing your current belongings, gathering the right inspiration, and pinpointing the exact styles that speak to you. By the end of this post, you will have a clear roadmap to start decorating with complete confidence.
Audit Your Current Space
The first step in learning how to find your interior design style is evaluating what you already own. The best place to start looking for your design style is right where you are sitting. Walk through your home with a notepad and a pen. You are going to take a brutally honest inventory of the things you already own.
First, write down the three items in your home that you love the most. Maybe it is a sleek metal floor lamp, a chunky knit blanket, or a vintage wooden dresser. Next, write down three items you cannot wait to replace or throw away.
Look closely at your favorite items. Ask yourself if they share a specific color palette or if they use similar materials. This simple exercise highlights your natural tendencies. We often buy things on impulse, but the pieces we keep loving over the years reveal our true aesthetic.
View Your Space Through a Camera Lens
We become blind to our own homes because we see them every single day. Grab your smartphone and take a picture of your living room from the doorway. Now look at the photograph instead of the actual room.
Viewing a two-dimensional image completely changes your perspective and helps you see the space like a stranger would. Look at the photo and pinpoint exactly what bothers you. Identifying these specific issues helps you realize what you actually want your space to look like.
Search Your Closet and Jewelry Box
Your wardrobe can offer surprising clues when figuring out your interior design style. The clothes you choose to wear every day reflect the colors, textures, and patterns you naturally gravitate toward. Take a few minutes to evaluate your favorite outfits.
If your closet is full of tailored pieces in neutral colors like black, white, and gray, you probably prefer a minimalist or modern interior design style. On the other hand, if your wardrobe bursts with bright colors and relaxed fabrics, you might lean toward a bohemian vibe.
You can also learn a surprising amount by looking at your accessories. The jewelry you wear every day highlights your taste in metals and finishes. If you wear delicate gold chains, you will likely prefer homes with classic brass fixtures. If you prefer chunky silver bracelets, your home style might lean toward industrial design with heavy metal accents.
Analyze Your Lifestyle and Memories
Your design style needs to look good, but it also has to work for your everyday life. A beautiful home is useless if it does not serve your practical needs. You must be honest about how you actually live before you commit to a specific look.
If you have three dogs and a toddler, a pristine white sofa and a minimalist glass coffee table will only cause you stress. Focus on finding a style that marries your aesthetic desires with your functional requirements.
Think back to your favorite trips and the accommodations you enjoyed the most. Did you love the airy feel of a beachfront resort with crisp white bedding? You might want to bring a coastal style into your home. Matching your travel memories to your home aspirations is a great way to guarantee you will feel comfortable.
Gather Inspiration from Everywhere
Gathering inspiration is a key part of understanding how to find your interior design style. Finding your design style requires you to pay attention to the spaces that make you feel good. Inspiration is everywhere once you start looking for it. You just need a system to collect and organize your ideas.
Build a Digital Vision Board
A digital vision board is one of the most effective tools for finding your interior design style. Platforms like Pinterest and Instagram are incredible tools for design discovery. Start by searching for broad terms like “living room ideas” and save the images that immediately catch your eye. Do not overthink it at this stage. Just save what you love.
After you have saved about fifty images, take a step back and look for common threads. Maybe almost every kitchen you saved features dark green cabinets. These repeating elements reveal your core design preferences.
Find Inspiration in Film and Television
Set designers spend months creating perfectly curated spaces to reflect specific moods and personalities. You can use their hard work to pinpoint your own preferences. Think about your favorite fictional homes from television shows and films.
Do you prefer the cozy, cluttered kitchen from a romantic comedy? That points directly to a cottage or farmhouse aesthetic. Take screenshots on your phone of scenes that make you feel relaxed and happy to build a digital folder full of professional design inspiration.
Take the Bookstore Test
Digital images are great, but they can easily overwhelm your brain. Taking a trip to a physical bookstore can help you focus your design vision. Head to the architecture and design section of a large bookstore or your local library.
Look at the covers of the coffee table books and magazines. Pick up the first five books that instantly catch your eye. The books you naturally select will directly point to the interior design style you crave.
Play the Three-Word Game
Sometimes visual inspiration becomes too overwhelming. If you feel stuck, step away from the images and focus on words instead. Write down three words that describe how you want your home to feel.
You might write down words like calm, tidy, and bright. These words lead directly to a minimalist or Scandinavian style. If your words are warm, inviting, and colorful, you are looking at an eclectic or bohemian direction. Keep these three words saved in your phone and check them every time you consider buying new decor.
Start Small with the Anchor Piece Method
Sometimes trying to design an entire room at once is simply too intimidating. You do not need to figure out everything on day one. Instead, you can let one single item do all the heavy lifting for you.
Go shopping and find just one item that you absolutely adore. It could be a vibrant Persian rug, a massive abstract painting, or a vintage velvet armchair. Once you have your anchor piece in the room, let it dictate the rest of your design choices.
Test your style before buying a giant sectional sofa or an expensive dining table. Buy a few throw pillows or a new table lamp that fits your chosen style. Place them in your living room and leave them there for a week to see how they make you feel.
Explore Popular Design Styles
Once you have gathered your inspiration, it helps to put a name to the look you want. Knowing the terminology makes shopping much easier. Here are a few popular styles to consider.
Modern and Minimalist: Modern design focuses on clean lines, neutral colors, and a lack of clutter. The emphasis is on function and simplicity. Minimalist interiors take this a step further by removing everything that is not strictly necessary.
Traditional and Classic: Traditional design draws inspiration from the past. It features rich wood furniture, symmetrical layouts, and elegant fabrics like silk and velvet. This style feels warm, familiar, and timeless.
Bohemian and Eclectic: Bohemian style is all about breaking the rules. It mixes vibrant colors, vintage furniture, and plenty of house plants. Eclectic design is similar but focuses on blending different historical periods and styles into one cohesive look.
Take the Next Step Toward Your Dream Home
Identifying your interior design style is a rewarding journey of self-discovery. Start small: pick one room, clear out items you no longer love, and introduce one new piece that perfectly matches your newfound style. With a little patience and a clear vision, you can slowly build a beautiful space that is uniquely yours.
Ready to make your dream home a reality? Discover our beautiful new communities in Lodi at FCBHomes.com. If you’re looking to move in sooner, explore our available homes. Our team is ready to help you find the perfect place to call home.