Today I want to dig in and talk about where to start with your decorating when you are starting from scratch in a new home. After living in our home for over 30 years, we recently moved into our dream house. We are so blessed that we were able to purchase this home and I am so excited to decorate it and truly make it ours!
So there I am standing in a big empty space. It is so exciting to start with a blank slate; it is an opportunity to create a space that I have always dreamt about. My mind is filled with all the possibilities; so many choices, so many options, it is all so exciting! However, I realized something almost immediately, because there are so many choices and so many options, it can quickly become completely overwhelming!
Time to take a deep breath and start at the beginning. Before adding even one new piece of furniture or painting any walls the most important thing is to figure out how each room will function best and how it will be used by your family on a daily basis. I know, that’s about as exciting as watching paint dry, but don’t tune me out just yet!
If you give yourself a little time to do this on the front end you will make much better decisions in the items you ultimately purchase and it will end up saving you so much money. You will be kicking yourself when you realize something you purchased on impulse isn’t working and you need to replace it. You will be wishing that you had heeded this one piece of really, boring advice.
TIP #1: Put making any major decorating decisions on pause for a few weeks and just live in the space to see how it flows for your family’s lifestyle.
As much as you are itching to go out and purchase new pieces of furniture as soon as you move in, use restraint and live in your new space with the pieces you already own until you know for sure what is really going to work.
If your home has a kitchen nook, is it being used for meals? Is everyone sitting down to a meal at the table or is everyone usually perched on barstools at the kitchen island for meals? Maybe a better use of the space is using the nook as a sitting area with a couple of comfortable armchairs and a small table where you can enjoy your morning cup of coffee. Just because a room is traditionally used for a certain function doesn’t mean you can’t use it in a completely different way if it works better for your lifestyle.
CAUTION: Unused spaces in your home will quickly become a dumping ground and fill up with unsightly clutter. You are better served by using a space in a nontraditional way that works for how your family actually lives.
While you are living in your new space to determine the flow and functionality of your new space, it’s time to start thinking about something a lot more fun! It’s time to figure out your decorating style.
If you are anything like me, you have numerous Pinterest boards pinned with hundreds and hundreds of images of the most beautiful rooms. Some images are filled with farmhouse touches, some have a distinctly industrial vibe to them; some have a more contemporary feel, or French country flair. Throw in a few images (ok a lot) with a distinctly English library look of walls filled with leather bound books and leather armchairs, and sprinkle in a few Spanish revival images for good measure. My tastes seem to run the gamut. I just seem to love a little everything, LOL.
As if it was not hard enough to sort out what my style is; add a husband who has suddenly decided to voice his opinions about what he likes and does not like…sigh. I have a houseful of furniture that looked great in my old home but some of the pieces are not working in our new home.
The task of decorating our home suddenly went from being a project filled with excited anticipation to one filled with doubt that I will ever be able to create something that the both of us will love. Does this scenario resonate with any of you out there?
TIP #2: If you take away nothing else from this blog post today, the single most important item I want you to come away with is, to figure out what your style is!
So where do you start in determining your style if you don’t already know what it is? This is the fun part! I recommend creating a Pinterest board and just start pinning. Pin images that you like, don’t overthink this, just pin the images that you love. After a while, you will start to notice a trend, you will see that perhaps you pinned the same image more than once. Those are the images to really pay attention to. There is something there that you are drawn to. Analyze these images, pick them apart, what exactly is it that you like about these images? Is it the fabrics or patterns used? Is it the color pallet? Is it the furniture placement? The lighting? What is the style? Is there a common thread that you are seeing?
Caution: when determining your style; don’t fall into the trap of what is currently the latest rage and super trendy at the moment. Trends come and go, and what is hot today, will be not in a few years. Your style should be something that really resonates with you and shows the world your own unique style. This is the secret to creating a timeless look that will never go “out” of style! Your style should be a reflection of who you are, and not just a home filled with what is currently on sale at your local home décor store.
Farmhouse and all white color pallets are all the rage right now. I adore the look but it has become so popular it reminds me of when the “country” look was all the rage back in the 80’s. Some of you may remember. I personally went all in with the “country” look. The carpets throughout my house were blue; the walls were covered in mauve floral wallpaper. Dried flower arrangements were scattered about, rag rugs underfoot, ducks and geese, wallpaper borders and stenciled borders adorned most of the rooms in the house. Ask any of my girlfriends and they will confirm; I dove into the 80s Country style, hook, line and sinker! LOL! At the time, my home was the height of fashion, but as with all trends, a few years later my home looked tired and dated when the country craze was over. Lesson learned!
Unless you actually live in farm country, in a beautiful farmhouse, I would urge caution. I love the farmhouse look but it has been trending for quite some time and may have peaked in its popularity. Instead of placing “Farm Fresh Egg” signs in your kitchen with mason jars on every flat surface, think about creating a style that is uniquely you. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use any farmhouse touches, I would just recommend using a little restraint.
I promise you that your unique style will never go “out of style”. It will always make your home feel comfortable, inviting, and fresh because it will be a reflection of who you are; not just a house filled with the latest trendy décor items that you picked up on your last Home Goods run.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a trip to Home Goods just as much as the next person! What I have noticed though is that I have become much more selective in what I choose to purchase and bring into my home. I don’t just want to fill it up with items that don’t really reflect my personal style and are just there to fill an empty space in my home. Your style should be as unique as you are, not a home stuffed with the latest mass produced tchotchkes.
Ok is your head swimming yet? Are you having trouble narrowing down what your style is? An important factor that will help you is to keep the existing style of your home in mind. Is it a Craftsman style home? A log cabin? Mid Century Modern? Colonial? Farmhouse? You should keep in mind that your personal style needs to work with the overall style of your home. It would be a bit jarring to walk into a very traditional Colonial style home filled with shabby chic, chippy furniture and brightly colored Bohemian items and accessories.
TIP # 3: Take your time with this process, there is no reason to rush!
I will share what I determined to be my style and how I arrived there. Hopefully, it will help you determine yours.
I’m personally drawn to big comfy leather sofas and chairs in rich chocolatey tones. To me they say “sumptuous, comfy, relaxed and inviting; settle in and stay for a while.” I love metal industrial touches with clean lines. I love rustic wood farmhouse tables and chairs but not the overly distressed, painted, chippy finishes. I prefer rich wood finishes over painted finishes, but I’m not adverse to painting something to give it a fresh new look.
When I peruse my Pinterest images I seem to gravitate towards a more masculine style, with fewer but larger statement pieces. I am also drawn to French country items; the turn of a leg on a beautiful chair or the curve at the top of a beautiful armoire always seems to get pinned.
Our new home is definitely a Mediterranean style home, very similar to the mission style homes that you find in Santa Barbara with arched doorways, stucco walls and a terra cotta tiled roof. It’s right on a lake so it naturally lends itself to a more masculine lake house style with lots of deep wood toned furniture pieces, rich leather sofas and side chairs, wrought iron industrial touches with French country touches mixed in to keep it from being too dark and masculine. Cue my silver trays and white pitchers filled with fresh flowers. ☺️
So what’s my style?
- Santa Barbara Mission
- Mediterranean
- Spanish Revival
- Lake House
- Industrial
- French country
A fusion of Santa Barbara Mission-Lake House with industrial and French country accents.
You may be like me and your style may be more eclectic and not fit neatly into just one style, but one style will be more dominant than the others. That dominant style will be the base, with the other styles added in smaller doses to create an eclectic look that is as unique as you are.
Once you know your style, it will make purchasing items for your home so much easier! You will know immediately if something will work or not. It will take the uncertainty and guess work out of making design decisions.
So have you determined your style? I would love to see if my advice has helped you hone in on your decorating style! Is your style a fusion of several different styles like mine is? Or does one style resonate so strongly that it was super easy for you to decide on your style?
I would love to hear what you came up with! And please let me know if this information has been helpful for you!