building your personal style - a new series

Some people find it easy to know what they like, but many do not, especially with something as personal as interior design. Marketing and influencers try to make personal style seem easy, offering the latest product or trend in the most digestible way possible. But the truth is finding your style or taste can be a lifelong pursuit, informed by what you’ve bought and loved or regretted, that holiday to Portugal, your friend’s sofa. There are many prescriptive words to describe taste; boho, mid-century, traditional etc. But we often find most people land in the ‘eclectic’ category, as in ‘I just like what I like’ and we’re right there with you. Which is why we are starting a series of posts designed to help you find your style, offering tips, and suggestions to allow you to create a space you feel happy and fulfiled by.

Part I - 3 Tips on finding what works for you:

Tip #1 Get off your phone

We aren’t here to shame you for using Pinterest (we use it, too!), but a day of scrolling through endless digital tiles can never compare to a day perusing salvage yards, hitting your local charity shops, or picking through a flea market. Real-world textures and scales hit differently, and nothing compares to the joy of stumbling upon something you never knew you needed.

Tip #2 Have good sources

Who are your main sources of inspiration? Of course following some interior designers is a good place to start but it can easily become an echo chamber which leads to following trends. There are a range of creative sources which can inspire, such as set designers, artists, ceramists, print makers… They all will have different understandings of pattern, texture and form. And you can use this to inform the design of your space and what works with your objects and furniture.

Step 3 Trial and error

Sometimes you try things and they don’t work out, but each time you try you learn something. Unsure about a new wall colour? Get a sample, as well as a tone above and below and paint them next to each other on a wall, live it with it for a week and see which is working for you. Worried that the pattern of the sofa you’ve been eyeing up will dominate the room? Order a sample of the fabric, then order one which is completely opposite, then a few others which sit in the middle. Having a range of physical samples is a great way of pin pointing exactly what works in the room. It may feel like extra effort but being sat on the fence about something is never rewarded, whereas proactively finding a solution absolutely is.

Helping people discover their style is one of the joys of the job, which is why we offer free 1-2-1 consultations through our website to help you find the scheme that fits just right. Click below to get in contact.

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