How to Define Your Style

One of the hardest things in getting a design project started, is finding your style. Have you ever asked yourself, "I like everything. How can I know which style is mine or which style to put in my home?" Today I am going to help you know how to pick your style.

First and foremost, it is okay to like more than one style. However, even if you do like many styles, chances are, you like one more than the rest.  The easiest way to figure out your style is to use the internet. My favorite place to go is Pinterest. Once you are on Pinterest, you can search keywords of things you like. However try to make them general. For example, you may search "white and gold interior design." This search will bring up styles that white and gold work well with. Scroll through and pin or save the images you like. Make sure to write a little about what you like in the images. You can even say "I like the lamp" or "I just like the overall feeling of this room".

If you already know a little bit about what style you like, then search that. For example, "Modern". If you find that the images that are pulling up are not exactly what you were thinking, then you might try adding other styles to your search. For example "Traditional Modern". These two styles contradict each other, so your search might end up bringing "Transitional" photos. Transitional is actually a style. It means that you like a little bit of every style. Most of the time "Transitional" will be paired with another style. For example, my style is "Transitional Modern". This means that I like a little bit of everything, however, I tend to like modern more.  After these searches, pin or save the ones you like and write why you like them. Both of these ways of searching can be done on Pinterest, Google Images, Houzz, etc.

The step above can be done electronically or on paper. You can do the same type of things through magazines. Grab your favorite home magazines and cut out the photos you like. Then use a sharpie to circle the things you like and write why. After that, put all of your cut out photos into a binder so you can see the images all at once.

After you have all your images gathered in one spot whether electronically or not, try to find similarities between the photos. Look for things such as color, lines, shapes, and patterns. You might look at your images and realize that you like lots of white. Or you might find that there are more of straight lines instead of curvy in the furniture. You also might realize that my patterns seem to be more modern. You might notice that there are fresh flowers in each one of pictures. This means that you like pops of color and freshness.  Make a list of the similarities that you see.

Now that you know a little bit about the things you like, it is time to do some research. I would suggest going on to the Houzz website. On their website, they have all of the styles and their descriptions. They even list what type of things you would like or be like if you liked a particular style.  Just go and educate yourself a bit on the different styles. Try to name what your style might be. 

Next, take a style quiz. This is the fun part! I have a few links to my favorite style quizzes following this paragraph. The style quiz's will help you to know what style is yours, however, you still will have to figure out your style in the end. If when you take the style quizzes, your results give you a different style each time, this probably means your style is transitional. So it is up to you to figure out which style you like most.

Houzz style quiz: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/25171951/list/houzz-quiz-whats-your-decorating-style

Laurel and Wolf style quiz: https://www.laurelandwolf.com/get-started/room-select/

Sproost style quiz:http://www.sproost.com/StyleEngine

Once you have figured out your style, you can search for that style and get inspiration for your next design project!

I hope this helped!

See you next week!

-Burghandy

White and Gold... In kitchens!

I am in love with the white and gold trends right now! My favorite place to see this white and gold is in kitchens. So.. Let's talk a bit about white kitchens!

Kitchen 1: The white cabinets look great and add a cleanliness and freshness to the space. The dark wood floor with the wood butcher counter top add the right amount of warmth. The gold accents look both excellent and they continue to add warmth to the whole of the kitchen.

Kitchen 2: This kitchen is more fresh and breezy than kitchen 1. The white and gold cabinets with hardware are the same as in the last kitchen, however, the hardwood floor is much lighter than in kitchen 1. With the hardwood floor being light, the entire kitchen seems to be lighter and very fresh. Fresh flowers also make a huge impact in a kitchen. The add color and freshness to the space.

Kitchen 3: This kitchen actually has white cabinets with silver hardware. The gold accents are more subtle. The gold is more of a brushed gold and not very brassy. Because of the subtle gold, the flowers and brassy base stand out. They are the accent. I love how this kitchen seems to blend silver and gold.

All three of these kitchens capture beautifully the gold and white trend. Each kitchen captures the trend in a very different way. Whether you like a space that is comforting and warm, or cool and fresh, gold can work in the space. I am loving this trend.! What do you all think?!?

See you next time,
Burghandy

Welcome to My Blog!

I am very excited for this blog! On this blog I will share tips on design, show some of the spaces that I have designed, and share things that I am interested in now. I can't wait to get started!