When I left my 102-year-old heritage home in Edmonton and moved into a brand-new modern condo in Victoria, the interiors couldn’t have been more different. And yet, despite their contrasting personalities, I was able to make both feel like home. How? By infusing them with my personal interior design style.
My aesthetic (which I never impose on clients!) can be described as a combination of contemporary and mid-century styles, with a bit of traditional mixed in for timelessness. For example, in my Edmonton home, I paired my favourite clean-lined furnishings, artwork, and antiques with the home’s traditional architecture and millwork. Now, those same pieces add character to my modern condo, making it feel comfortable, relaxed, and me.
How about you? What is your personal design style? What pieces or colours do you gravitate toward? What makes a space feel like home to you? This month, let me show you how to discover the answers for yourself…
Step 1: Gather Design Inspiration
The first step to discovering your sense of style is to start exploring what already exists. I love to recommend Pinterest for this purpose. Pinterest is a visual search engine, chock full of interior design inspiration. Here’s how you can use it:
Create a Pinterest board. This is similar to a photo folder, which will essentially create a collage of photos that speak to you. You could create a board for your overall style (a great place to start) or for a specific room you have in mind.
Use the search bar to find spaces that speak to you. You could search terms like “fresh kitchen design” or “moody bathroom design” or “cozy living room”. Try not to get tied down to descriptive design words and labels like “modern”, “traditional”, or “classic”. Instead, think about how you want your home to feel.
Save 50-100 images to your board. Don’t think about why you like each space — just let your intuition guide you and have fun with it! Then, move on to the next step…
Step 2: Analyze and Refine Your Style
By now, you have gathered your inspiration photos and have a beautiful Pinterest board that captures a general style direction. Now, it’s time to do some deeper thinking to analyze the images you have saved…
Make a list of the elements that appear consistently, such as colour, style, and specific finishes. Do most of your photos have neutral walls and moody cabinet colours? Is uniquely custom millwork speaking to you? Are you noticing that beautiful tile is always somewhere in view?
Referring to your list, begin to narrow down your images, refining your board(s) so that it only includes your favourite 20-25 images. This step can be difficult, so take your time. And if you’re working with us, this is a step we will do together. I take great pride and joy in helping you discover which elements of interior design feel like coming home to yourself.
Reference and share your board. The resulting board will give you a very good idea for your personal interior design style — which you can share with your designer or use when making your own design decisions. If we’re working together, we’ll reference your inspiration photos often when pulling together a design concept for your home. Which brings us to the final step…
Step 3: Identify the Pieces that Feel Like Home
In many cases, our clients want to design a home that looks and feels quite different from the one they have now. But that doesn’t have to mean saying goodbye to all your possessions. I guarantee you have at least a few meaningful items that will be more than welcome in your new space!
Take note of the items you love and feel an emotional connection with in your current home. Think of the treasured items that reflect you, whether it’s your favourite artwork from a memorable trip or meaningful heirloom furniture that you love. These are the items that should stay.
After identifying these items, ask yourself if they fit into the design style you already identified — I bet they will! And if not, this is the moment when we get creative and find a way to infuse the two. If it’s a piece of art or a special photograph, a new frame could do the trick. Or maybe that armchair passed down by your grandmother just needs some fresh upholstery. If there’s a will, there’s a way.
Let’s Uncover Your Unique Style, Together
You’ve done the work gathering and refining your inspiration, and at this point, you should have a clear vision of how you want your home to look and feel. Perhaps you have discovered that you adhere to a single style, or maybe you have stumbled upon a unique combination. Great!
Now, it’s time to implement those discoveries into a home that brings you comfort, joy, and belonging every single day. Need help? I would be honoured to be your trusted guide, supporting you in creating a home that suits your sense of style and functions well for your everyday life.
Reach out to me here, and let’s chat about your goals for your home.
Warmly,
Lorri