Discovering your unique design style is a process.
We don’t all fit neatly into one category-and that’s ok!
As an interior designer I was taught to try and keep a space within a central theme. Which is a lot easier said than done when your client (or you) can’t seem to land on one specific style. Which in my experience seems to be the vast majority of the time.
I love all things retro, vintage and mid-century modern is my jam! But lately that boho vibe has been speaking to me. I have fallen in love with natural materials, flowy fabrics and trailing plants! (Never mind that I can’t seem to keep a plant alive.) Combine with that my recent travels to the middle east and the Turkish, colored-glass lamp I fell in love with-and I was left wandering how to make it all work in our tiny 650SF home.
Photo by Many McGregor at MCGDesigns
I couldn’t pick just one design style to go with-I wanted to incorporate them all! Why must life be so HARD?! So in a fit of frustration I embraced the “eclectic” style. It is basically everything all rolled into one-but to master it and have your room not look like a hoarder’s, is another feat.
In order to still have a living space that incorporated all my favorite pieces, various colors and cherished souvenirs, I knew I needed to find a common thread. What is something that all these items have in common? Aside from the fact that I love them-I feared not much. That ended up being the key!
A wise lady (my momma) once told me that it doesn’t matter if the things you like don’t seem to go together-they will in some way, because you like them. And it’s true! Let me explain. Upon closer reflection into my most treasured pieces, I discovered that there are common themes. I like certain colors-blues, greens, and purples. I love a good jewel tone. I also like fabrics that are luxurious and of the velvet or super soft cashmere variety, and almost all of my furniture is mid-century modern or from a retro thrift store.
Photo by Many McGregor at MCGDesigns
Now at first glance you might have been like me and thought-none of this will ever go together, but it does! It does because all my furniture has a similar structure type, and all of my colors are in the same color family (including that middle eastern lamp-yep, it’s blue and green, just like my accent chairs), and all of my fabrics are of similar materials. These elements all tie together a level of cohesiveness that makes the room work.
So if you see something you love and think it won’t work in your space-give it another thought-maybe you just need it in a different color. Besides, at the end of the day, your house is your own-you should love coming home to it-so who cares what the “rules” are.
