How to find your style

One of the most daunting experiences you can have when starting a renovation or a redesign is a blank canvas. There are so many decisions to make when designing a space; what paint colour should I choose, what flooring will look best, what furniture will be beautiful and functional, and what lighting will make my space feel the most cosy?

I have been asked by so many people (both through Instagram and in-person) how to start making decisions with a blank canvas. In this short post, I will share some of the handy ways I have tried to make decision-making as straight-forward as possible. I have included some handy (potentially very obvious) ways that I was able to learn more about my Interior style, what I like and dislike, and how to find the pieces that I would like to fill my home with. 

But even to this day, there are a number of decisions we have made in our home that we wish we could have seen the future at the time, but we live and we learn!

Step 1 - Create a Pinterest Board

This feels like one of the most obvious steps but analysing your board is the most important part here. As our renovation took 3 years, my Pinterest boards got pretty chunky and I was constantly bombarded with new Instagram accounts, TikTok accounts, and Pinterest pins that were begging for my attention.

Using the Pinterest Chrome Extension allowed me to add any images I came across wherever I was on the internet and amalgamate them all within my different boards on Pinterest.

Once you have started to fill a board, Pinterest will suggest similar pins that you might like. I quickly scan through images and pin anything that I have any sort of inkling that I like. 

Step 2 - Identify Trends and Themes in your Board

From there, I could go back through each image and try and identify themes or trends that resonated with me when I was saving them. In the image below, you can see, I have selected 2 images with Mid-Century glass-topped coffee tables. I can then go and do a further search for Mid-Century glass topped coffee tables and see what ones I like best. 

I have actually ended up buying a second-hand Noguchi glass coffee table, like the bottom coffee table below and I LOVE it! When I did more research into it, and used a spatial planning tool to see if it would work in the space, I felt that the shape of the Noguchi table would be best suited as our Living Area is part of an open-plan Kitchen / Dining / Living space so the glass top would not be visually dominant. 

Step 3 - Google Image search

Lucky for me, I have a degree in Art History and Design, but I know that not everyone is well-educated in Designers and Design History. This is where Google Image Search or Google Lens can help! AI is a magical thing when you are searching for something. 

If using a Mac and Chrome, right click on the image and select Search with Google Lens. If you are lucky, you will be presented with a number of results showing the item and hopefully the name of the object you are looking at. 

You can then note the name of the Designer, the name of the object, or the style of the piece that you love. 

I would recommend following this process and you will start to form an idea of what you like when it comes to Interior Design. You can repeat the process room by room to get an understanding of what makes your heart happy when you see a space. It is important to think about your home as one whole overall project too, so try and keep an eye for similar themes across all the rooms to ensure you create a cohesive and comfortable place that expresses who you are, makes you feel at home, and is somewhere you love to spend time.