How To Determine Your Interior Design Style

In general, it’s hard to define someone’s personal style because we are all unique in our own way – and our interior design style makes no exception. When someone asks you what you like, it’s easy to come up with a few answers. But when you have to design your entire house from scratch, things get a little more complicated. And the truth is, at some point, you will probably move from the house you grew up in, and you will want to make the new place feel like home. So how do you do that? How do you find that interior design style that fits you best? Here are some tips that can help you determine your interior design style.

Get inspired from everything around you

To pinpoint the exact elements that define your interior design style, you should expose yourself to as many sources of inspiration as possible. And in an era where you can find anything on the internet, this is not hard at all. Besides, many other things can inspire you, so let’s have a look.

• Do a bit of research. You can start with some basic information about the types of interior design styles that are out there to dive into it slowly.
• Analyze the place you currently live in. Do you have a favorite spot, a favorite object, a favorite piece of furniture? Think about what makes that element so unique. Is it the color, the comfort, the way it makes you feel? Once you identify that unique characteristic, you can look for other items that have the same effect on you.
• Clothes can define your interior design style, not just your fashion style. Your favorite pieces of clothing say a lot about your style regarding the colors, patterns, and textures that you like. So, imagine your new home as one ample wardrobe and choose what makes you feel good.
• Take a look at your vacation photos. Travelling exposes us to many new things, including various architecture and interior design styles.
•  Pay attention to the places around you. You can get inspired even from a bar or restaurant you frequent or from a friend’s house.
•  Look up interior design influencers and professionals. Even though this is the easiest way to get inspired for interior design styles, it’s better to leave it at the end of the process, just to discover some of your personal preferences first.

Identify the colors that determine your interior design style

You should think about colors in the broader sense than simply what you like and don’t like. This is because, according to specialists, they can even influence your mood. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should paint your home in colors you hate just to get into the desired mood because you might get the opposite effect. Or you can simply choose to ignore the so-called “psychology of color” and just go crazy, using all the colors of the rainbow. Still, you might want to consider the following two concepts when choosing the color palette for your home.

• Warm colors like red, orange, and yellow are associated with joy, energy, and coziness. Therefore, specialists recommend them for kitchens and living rooms because these are the places where you are most active or entertain guests. The added bonus is that these colors can make small spaces appear larger and darker rooms appear brighter.
• Cool colors like blue, green, and purple are associated with calm and tranquility but are also good for concentration. Thus, people generally use them for bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as for office spaces.

Try to be realistic about your interior design style

Nobody stops you from envisioning your dream house, but try to be realistic about what you can achieve in the present, based on your budget and other living conditions. Answer the following questions to understand this better:

• Your new home is a rental, or do you own it? Because if you have a landlord, you also have specific rules to abide by. Thus, you might not have permission to change the whole interior design style just to match yours.
• Will you live alone or with someone else? Because if you share the space with another person, you have to consider them. Make sure you talk to them about their interior design style and reach a compromise.
• Is the building old or new? If it’s old and has a specific architecture, then a very modern or industrial interior design style wouldn’t work there, no matter how much you like it.

Are you a minimalist or a maximalist?

Even if your new home is already furnished, you still have work to do to make it feel like home after you move in. Besides, if it’s a rental or has old furniture, you will want to spruce it up. When it comes to decorating a new home after moving, before you start buying everything you can get your hand on, it’s essential to determine whether you’re a minimalist or a maximalist or simply somewhere in between.

• Minimalists like to have as few decorations and useless items as possible in their home and prefer having just a few things displayed (such as a piece of art, for example) to make them stand out and be appreciated for the actual value.

• Maximalists like to display everything they hold dear (souvenirs, tinny decorations, vases, etc.). They also like mixing patterns and colors in a way that makes it impossible not to notice.

One last tip

Once you determine your interior design style, don’t get fixated on it. People’s tastes change over the years, and it’s highly likely that some years from now, your dream house will look completely different from how it looks today.