I’m DIY-ing…: Creating your Style.

Too many Pinterest boards, stacks of magazines, tons of saved images on your phone or following every design company on Instagram? If this is you, feeling overwhelmed would be an understatement! Creating your style and overall look/feel for your home can be difficult and we are here to provide some tips on how to narrow that down, curate your style and start bringing pieces into your house to make it a home.

Below we will detail the basic process of narrowing down the options and how we help our clients make decisions. Every project is different but hopefully the below will provide you with some assistance.

Step 1: Bring all your images together and pick your favourite ones. Be strong! If your umming and arrring about it, it shouldn’t make the list.

This can be in a physical or digital option. If you have a Pinterest board or similar save the images to your computer and use a program like Word to organise them. If you're doing a physical option just get a scrapbook ready.

Step 2: Divide into spaces; bedrooms, master bedroom, bathrooms, living etc.

Step 3: Review the images in each room set and write next to the image or on the back what you like about them. Is it the whole image, the vibe, is it the colours (paints, fabric etc.), furniture/cabinetry or is it the layout? Do this for each room.

Step 4: Hopefully this process so far has started to pull out common elements that relate to each of rooms through out your project. Do you like similar colours, furniture or style? Maybe you have a tonal base that is similar; earthy tones, white/neutral tones or it might be bright colours.

Take all the notes and list the common elements that you have between all the spaces and then divide them again into items such as paint colours, tiles, furniture etc.

Step 5: Once you have an idea of the common elements between the rooms try to select 5 images for the external design of the home (if relevant) and 5 images for the internal design that are your overall ideal or most favourite vibe. These will become the images that are the main mood board for your home.

Step 6: Take the notes that list the common elements and put these under the images. You now have a basic set of rules that you can go back to and highlighted images that are the total vibe of your style.

If any items on the list or images (other than the main 5) while you completing the final list that sticks out as being something different or maybe your not sure it will be an overall style, put it in another column. These items will become elements that you bring in as features, pops of colour with furniture or patterns in cushions etc.

Step 7: You’ve now got your list and your images, well done you! You may have an easily distinctive style; beachy, farm cottage, industrial etc. What a great result, you’ve got a strong base to now move forwards with.

If you have a mix or not sure really what you would call it, don’t worry about it. The main list as well as the images will help you bring it together and provide you with direction. Every time you need to make a decision or your having trouble picking a finish, refer back to your images and list. They will guide you and help to keep you on track.

If you have decided to go for some colour (I love colours!) just an additional tip. Print out a colour wheel and use this to help guide you with mixing colours in the same space. Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel are complimentary of one another. Such as mustard and navy blue or greens and reds etc. Colours are definitely harder and can lead to some miss steps however design is anything but conventional. Have fun and show off your personal style.

Thank you again for reading and if you have any further questions, send us an email and we will get back to you.