Finding Your Interior Design Style

Establishing my own Interior design style has opened me up to the endless possibilities and trends there are available to us and with platforms like Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook that Influence us on a daily basis, I know that so much information and all these Ideas of styling can become somewhat daunting and prevent us from enjoying what we do in our own homes.

The fear that what we purchase may not work the way we want it to drives a force within home owners to forget about their space altogether. Is the change even worth it? Will everything I already own work with the new? How do we solve these problems within our homes, and how will it ultimately benefit me to know what my design style is for any future adjustments I may have in my home?

While figuring out what my own Interior design style was plus extensive research on the topic I realized that there were three things that I kept asking myself & three things that did not allow me to move forward unless I was able to establish my own outcome, only then would I know what to do, so I could help you.

Let us first remind ourselves that Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram are fantastic tools, but they are platforms for people & businesses to showcase existing works and to inspire. What someone else has done within their own space may not work for you, and Is why knowing what your own style is can benefit you in so many ways. I like to think of it this way ~ you have seen something you absolutely love on Pinterest or Facebook, but instead of using the exact same or changing it slightly. Would you not rather have something in your home made just for you?

I’d choose something custom and made for me every time!

The first step to finding your Interior Design Style is for you to ask yourself the same three questions I asked myself.

1. The Participation of Colour & It’s Importance?
2. What are my external influences?
3. What are my needs & wants

1. Participation of Colour

The first thing I kept asking myself was: What colours do I like?

I had to look to the colours already within my own home, what was I drawn to and what colours gave me a sense of calm. I knew colours made a huge difference within a space but knowing why or where to use them was even better.

I looked to my wardrobe. What do I wear daily? I know that it might sound a bit silly but looking to what you wear is a real indication of what type of style you lean towards.

I grew up a stone throw away from the ocean. It must be the sea but I have always been drawn to blue, green, beige and greys. I associate these colours with everything good in my life. I wear green when I’m feeling good and If I buy new items for my home, they somehow always have blue and beige in them, Towels, Candle holders, Vases. They’re all different shades of these colours.

Ultimately, I realized how Important colour was in my day to day life. The food I eat, the clothes I wear, even my car colour. You guessed it, Blue too.

I’ve learnt that colour is nothing to be afraid of in my space, colour lets people know what I like and what works well for me. I have it in my home because It make me feel good.

Armed with the Idea that colour is just as important as furniture, I recommend you use colour to your advantage. Designers use the 60 – 30 – 10 rule when it comes to colour, It uses 60% of a Dominant colour that makes up a large part of your space, Walls will usually be painted with this colour, Sometimes pieces of furniture will incorporate this colour too. A Secondary colour makes up 30% of your space and this is paired with 10% of an accent colour for Interest.

2. What are my external influences?

The second point that came up frequently for me was that which influenced me.

I started working on a Pinterest board for Savvy & for myself, I worked on a board that showcased how I envision my dream home to look, and how I envisioned a way forward in the way I designed for myself and for others. The board is an ensemble of different spaces I can only describe as what Influences me. I selected each Image because something in them sparked interest. Each image ignited a desire to do everything in my home over but not to replicate what I saw, rather to influence my decisions and the way I approached an aesthetic application.

When I still stayed with my parents I remember how my mom preferred matching furniture sets and my Dad loved all these weird and wonderful ornaments that to this day I have nightmares about. There was specifically a piece of art we had hanging in our bathroom of a man (I remember it distinctly) he had no skin and around his eye sockets were cracks. It had shells protruding from the artwork and It looked as if this “Man” was coming out of the ocean and walking towards you. My Dad was an artist himself so now that I have grown up I understand that those were things that Interested him. These have definitely Influenced my own personal style. I now dislike matching furniture and I don’t think I will ever have artwork in my home that remotely resembles a scary man ha!

I guess where I am getting to with this point is to encourage you to look back, what are the Influences you may have had growing up, what are you drawn to?

I can almost guarantee you may have your very own Pinterest board which you started a few years or months ago of all the things you would like to change in your home. Use this a guide ~ you saved those Images for a reason. Figuring out what your Interior Design style is could be as easy as turning to the things you already have and already love or have already saved.

3. What are my needs & wants.

So many times, have I asked myself what I ultimately want out of my home. For most people the answer to this is I want a home that makes me happy, A place I feel comfortable in and one that of course starts a conversation. 

These are good but they’re not getting to what you really need and what you really want out of your home.

I needed to understand my needs and wants in depth, and I did this by using every means necessary to understand my behaviour, what I did everyday in my home. I knew I had to establish my own personal style by examining my routine and designing around a good functioning space that accommodates that routine.

My partner and I stay in a small one-bedroom flatlet, I’d say around 50 – 60 Square meters. It is only the two of us so it is just enough space for what we need. I started with a list of what we ultimately wanted and needed from our home:

1. Zero clutter (The space is already small so I needed non-essential items to be hidden away)
2. Colour, but just splashes of it. (I knew colour was now important so I wanted a way to incorporate those colours in a way that kept my space neat and that worked well with point 1)
3. I wanted an area to read in the morning and a space we could also use to exercise (Because our flatlet is already small we had to figure out a way to combine these two)
4. We want plants in our space
5. I need a decorative storage solution that allowed us to change up décor regularly. (Just because I like to mix things up every now and then)
6. We needed a good spot for our fish tank where everything we had to use to maintain it was easy to access and we didn’t have to stretch over anything to get it.
7. We needed ample clothing storage

Jot down the things you struggle with in your home, look to what steps you need to take in each space to get something done, if you are taking 15 steps in order to read a book somewhere in your home that is a tell-tale sign that your space isn’t working well for what you need. These were just a few of the needs and wants we required for our space, It took a bit of time and a lot of effort to get it to where it is today, but our space is slowly transitioning from a cluttered mess to one where we are happy to come home because everything works for us, and only for us.

I know that combined with our quiz and these 3 points you will have a better understanding of how your space should look (Of course this is directed at your style) but at the same time how well it should work for you.

I hope this was informative and you feel enticed to create that board of Inspiration and look to your likes, dislikes, needs and wants. Armed with all of these, your next facelift is guaranteed for success.

All my love

Nay

xx