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Does your home decor match your style persona?

chelle

I know there a have been some discussions about this on the forum, but with all of the conversations about individual style I thought it would be fun to think about this.

The peeks of Angie's bookshelves show a bit of her home's style. I also noticed that Kellee's bit of house in a recent picture reflected her clean, crisp, bright style.

I find that I am very comfortable with my home decor and that it has become consistent throughout the house. People say things like this is very you! I am less satisfied with my wardrobe and am still working on my style persona.

What about you?

General

29 replies

Latest reply was from Mac

hanna

(website)

oh dear, i hope it doesn't! not at the moment anyway. the place i'm living in is sort of transitional, it's tiny, and there's two of us crammed into it. so at this point, it's not practical to invest in furniture or ornaments, though i wish i could!

that being said, i do think that with the space and the money, my decor would be pretty similar to my style - i love color, and little details to make the space interesting!

shiny

Veteran

Hmm, I'm afraid my home decor says, "Indecisive and afraid of making an expensive decorating mistake." LOL.

We moved here 6 years ago and haven't re-painted yet because I get all flustered trying to pick new paint colors. The paint the builder chose isn't so bad - I just know it's not really me. Too much pink. I said that when we bought the house, but here it is 6 years ago and I'm still stuck with pink.

Furniture is a mix of stuff I bought during my first marriage, before I had any clue what I was doing, and "trash-to-treasure" and craiglist finds my DH brought in to the mix. The furniture from my first marriage at least was good quality stuff meant to last forever. My frugal side says even if I've evolved from the style, I shouldn't toss it out and buy new stuff because it's wasteful.

The house is 100 years old and I love that. My problem is I love the older stuff and I also love modern too. Eclectic would be my style, but I have zero confidence about pulling that off just right on my own.

Eh, the house isn't that horrible as I make it sound: we do often get compliments when people visit. I just think a lot of the compliments are more about the "bones" - the clever remodeling the builder did to make a 100 year old house into an open floor plan - rather than any decorating I did. I didn't decorate - I just moved furniture in and hung up stuff and left it at that!

I suspect also since I'm such a mood dresser that is a factor in my decorating indecision. I don't know if I could live with one style - although that is exactly what I've done for decades, by default!

Inge

(website)

There are definitely similarities in my case. I tend to go for sleek and clean lines, a muted colour palette (because those colours look best on me, not because I don't like bright colours) etc.

My flat has high ceilings and large windows (lots of light, which I love). Decorating-wise I love a mix of old and new, and I'd really like to find some affordable mid-century modern pieces. When I look around there is a bit of a minimalistic thing going on too: lots of white with splashes of colour, wood to give it a warmer feel, furniture with simple lines, blankets in deliciously soft fabrics, and then of course loads of books (with cheerful spines;-)

Ana

(website)

Veteran

Shiny, that makes sense because part of your clothing style is that you're a mood dresser. It's a lot harder (and more expensive) to change your decorating scheme according to how you're feeling than it is to change your outfit. If I were you, I'd pick all neutrals for most of the permanent furnishings, and the paint, and then buy colorful accents like throw pillows and decorative accents, and possibly even some inexpensive art that you can change out every season or so without breaking the bank. I can't imagine you having the same decorating scheme for a few years, I think you'd get bored with it.

I would say that my masterplan decorating scheme does reflect my style. Since I live in an apartment, there's not too much I can do, but I'm currently working on the living room. I painted two accent walls--one is olive green and the other is light citron. The eventual plan is to add more colors, probably coral or red (or both). I have a lot of natural textures also. I hung two pendant lights above the fireplace that I bought at Ikea. They are crinkly paper box type lights, and we have two dark brown, woven patio chairs in the living room. When we move to a real house, we can buy real furniture and then move the chairs outside, and already have very nice outdoor furniture.

I still need a slipcover for our sofa, it's a disaster. The seat cushions are torn in some places and our cats have lovingly scratched the arms. We don't want to get rid of it because it has sentimental value. It's been with us since we met, and we decided we would always keep it. One of our very good friends I met a long time ago was visiting from Oklahoma recently, and came by our apartment. She was surprised that we still had the sofa, and we started to talk about all the stuff it had been through. When we lived in the same city as she did, she used to watch our cats while we were out of town. She said, "Chris (her now husband) and I made out on that couch!" So, apparently it's also the "sofa of looooove." Definitely a keeper.

It's slow going, but I'm hoping to at least be finished with the living room by the beginning of the summer. I love decorating.

shiny

Veteran

Ana, that sounds like a plan, but we have no plans to buy new furniture until the kids are through college. Paint - I could definetly do and SHOULD do soon.

Art - I'm actually pretty happy with the art we have. At least, most of it. There are a few things I could replace if I found just the right thing to replace it with. For example, I definetly want to ditch the antique clock that sits on our mantel, but it's DH's favorite piece, so that is a bit of an issue between us. I think it's atrociously ugly. I wouldn't mind finding another spot for it somewhere in the house but above the mantel.... please, no.

I love to read but I do not like book shelves. Too much to dust. A lot of things about my house are set up to minimize housework. I love a clean house but I don't want to be a slave to cleaning it.

Laura

(website)

Veteran

YES, I am happy to say that my house does reflect my style, and only because we moved in less than a year ago. Our previous house was my first experiment in decorating, and much less successful and a mish-mosh of hand-me-downs and colors.

Our house has gorgeous moulding, ceiling trays, and interesting sizes of windows (it's a 1958 colonial and we added all of the above), and my furniture leans contemporary, but not incredibly so. I would say we are very mid-century, fitting for the house. Our color schemes are unusual though. On the family room walls we have a color called Shenandoah Taupe, plus cream/taupe carpet with vertical seams, and grey furniture with a big dark red distressed leather ottoman for a pop of color. It was a bit risky, but it works!

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

My home doesn't reflect my personal style at all. I love color when it comes to my home. I have colors from Napa Valley green to chocolate faux leather brown, to beautiful sky blue to neutral tan. I also have a buttery yellow office. My style is more casual and comfortable (think Pottery Barn wannabe) because in my opinion it fits the style of our home. I do not have a personal home style per se, I like to find a style that matches the current home I'm living in. If that makes sense. Southwestern is probably the only style of home decor that I don't care for.
Here's a tour of my little house.
http://letitrainagain.blogspot.....ousey.html

anne

Veteran

I hope I am more stylish than my home! I have no home decor style at all and baulk at spending any money on it. If I daydream about anything it is functionality - like a kitchen that utilises space well

It is only because of my DH that in the last year we have bought some new furniture (most of the rest is hand-me-down). And though I try to cut it out of my pictures, it may be evident that it is a bit of a mess!

I love books too, and we have quite a few bookcases around the house, though I read many more from the library than buy them.

Our main family room is going to be painted soon and I have to admit that will be a big improvement!

marianne

Yes it does - my home is quite simple and minimalistic, and also lacking in accents. Like Shiny, I don't have enough confidence in my decorating abilities, and I am afraid I am not very interested in it. I also hate clutter and anything that helps to collect dust. Still we could definitely benefit from more stuff on the walls. Our house is also old and the previous owners painted it strong colors (rich yellow, dark red), which was fortunate, because we kept most of them. If I had to do it myself, it would probably end up with Restoration Hardware pastels

greenglove

(website)

Veteran

My home definitely reflects my style. We live in an industrial loft that has brick wood, steel beams and exposed pipes. The colors are, golden ochre, olive green, copper, melon, turquoise, and taupe. The style is both rustic and contemporary, clean lines and
warm wood. I love to mix up the textures. We just had a really great industrial stove installed that is a rich turquoise blue.

chelle

I love to hear about your homes and especially enjoy the photos! I think I worked hard at finding my decorating style while neglecting my fashion style. When I take those decorating quizzes, I end up labeled something like Rustic Elegant or I've even seen Country Manor. My style has warm colors like gold, dark reds, and earthy greens. I love cream colors and like to have white plates, sheets, towels, curtains, etc. I also mix in antiques that are from my family and lots of books. I use some black accents (like iron scrollwork lamps) and like to put little pops of color like orange into rooms. Even though I like things to be textured and comfortable, I also like tidy uncrowded spaces, so I'm careful not to overload a room and keep it simple.

Now I just need to figure out how to translate that style over to my wardrobe!

shiny

Veteran

Sarbear!!! Our living rooms look similar!!

Here is a slideshow of our house:
http://s386.photobucket.com/al.....=slideshow

.... the pink in the kitchen and baths gets me totally stuck. It's actually a flattering color for me, it's just too much pink and the cool tones of the house itself seem to jar with the warm tones of the rugs we have. If anyone has suggestions on paint colors, let me know!

(only requirement: please don't tell me to refinish the kitchen cabinets; neither of us have the skill OR inclination to do that).

chelle

Shiny, in the new issue of Southern Living, there is an article about a girl who restored a cottage and used paint colors inspired by a bag of gourmet marshmallows! Your pink reminded me of this...her colors ended up being cocoa, cream, pale gray, light pink, and light blue. She accented with black. You will have to see it to get the idea, but it reminded me of your pink.

shiny

Veteran

Chelle, that color scheme sounds delightful, especially since I have fallen in love with gray recently. The cocoa could work well in the bathrooms, perhaps? Hmmm. I will have to check out that magazine...

P.s. our kitchen counters are dark green; they kinda look black in the pics but they aren't.

taylor

Veteran

Chelle,
What a smart question. I started to redecorate/remodel top to bottom 2 years ago ...and like my wardrobe it is forever being refined and embelleshed. At this point I am happy with how both have turned out...but as you know it is ongoing!!

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

Yay Shiny, how fun! I'm a house purist, if there is such a thing. I like seeing homes that are styled according to their design. I have lofty goals of owning a loft downtown so I can do contemporary decor, a craftsman styled home so I can decorate in that style, and so on.
My parents have a townhouse with views of their lovely flower garden, forests, and the olympic mountain range. She has kept her walls white for this reason. I think it's interesting, and a great idea. I'd keep my walls simple if I had views like that!
In most of my rooms I have two main colors (colors or neutrals) and one pop of color. I have those pink mums on my "coffee table" but that color is not repeated elsewhere in the room.

shiny

Veteran

Sarbear, you and my DH would get along swimmingly. He's also a purist. But maybe he takes it a bit too far. For example, because our house was built in 1905, he thinks we should decorate in that style - preferably with 100 year old furniture!

Whereas I look at the house and see that it was renovated in 2003, so that means we can have some leeway there and mix older with modern, just as the renovator did? I do want to give a nod to the architectural style, but I also don't want a.... fusty... look, if that makes sense?

However, I have no clue how to attempt an eclectic style and get it to mix just right. I think you have to be really talented to pull off "eclectic."

I do kinda hope that this fashion makeover I've been undergoing eventually rubs off with more confidence in the home decor area someday. But (other than fresh paint) I'm in no rush for now. (Except maybe the bedroom... that is the first room I'd tackle).

shell

i love seeing pictures of everyone's homes! am i the only creeper who likes to look into peoples homes when out for a walk or drive?

my home decor matches my personality somewhat, but it has a ways to go. i live in a teeny tiny studio apt, so i don't really have much room for any style.

here are some photos from my place - ugh, ignore the clutter! it can't be helped!

http://shelloftheball.blogspot.....abode.html

yublocka

(website)

Veteran

This is a great thread!

My home is a rental, and I've only been here a few months, and its in a VERY disastrous state (think boxes still in living room). Still there are parts of my clothing style around - lots of bright colours including our massive red couch! We still need to get a dining table, new tv stand and maybe new coffee table. I'm looking (not actively) for a round retro style table, something like this.

I don't like too much clutter, and I love boxes and compartments for organising things. My friends make fun of the tupperware in my kitchen cupboard!

I have no idea if that translates into my clothing style at all. I do like retro style clothes, but I don't think my clothing is uber-organised at all!!

JewelryGirl

Interesting question! When I started doing my closet sweep originally I was trying to decide what colors I was drawn to & wanted to build my wardrobe around. Then, I walked into Talbot's one day & realized it was colors I already had in my home & some in my wardrobe (brick red, paprika, sage, khaki green, purple, tan, black, natural tones). Style wise, I guess I'm a bit on the eclectic side as well - we have some newer (within a few years anyway) brick red leather chairs that we got along with a cream love seat, another hand me down double recliner I guess you'd call it, black cabinet. Bar height DR table with black bar chairs, tan walls, puppy toys all over. The house looks modern (built in '93 I think) but I love a mix somewhere between classic, a few antique touches, and a hint of floral or animal here & there. So, I think mine really does match my personal style. I have to admit it was quite odd for me when I realized it! Just seemed like I should have already known that...It like my closet too needs a sweep. Funny how things carry over in our lives! Interesting thread!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

How fascinating! Greg and I love interior design too. I love seeing your homes. I can see your styles coming through for sure. So fab!

Our home style reflects our clothing style 100%. We like mixing very modern pieces and artwork with Asian antiques. Our house is neutral with STRONG splashes of very bright colour on walls, in art, in ornaments and on cushions. I am NOT a purist when it comes to home décor. We live in a classic Seattle craftsmen but the interior is modern. I love the contrast. You see that in Europe all the time - really old houses with extremely contemporary interiors. Or really modern houses full of antiques. I think it absolutely works. It’s retro. I guess I love retro things.

anne

Veteran

Angie what is a "classic Seattle craftsmen"?

Sarah - I was surprised by how similar your house looks on the outside to ours.
Brick houses and an exterior with several frontages are the norm in my part of Oz, but not normally shown in our TV view of housing in the US! I guess the climate is pretty similar.

April

Veteran

Shiny -- can't believe it, but I think we have the exact same living room rug.

I have been in my small house for nearly 15 years. It's a 1925 cape cod style (if you're not from the East coast, that means the second floor is directly beneath the roof, no attic space above). At first, I was passionate about painting and finding vintage accents for it, and it was Cute. Over the years, I had a baby, went to grad school, got divorced (and poorer) and did not think about decorating for a while.

Now my son is 12 and I am about to turn over the entire second floor to him --it's one big room, with interesting eaves and alcoves -- for a bedroom/hanging out space. I am moving my own bedroom to a much smaller one on the first floor. I will also have a much smaller closet in my new room and may need some help with that!

Anyway, with these changes brewing, I am once again thinking about my house: what I like and what I have outgrown at this stage of my life. This thread has helped me think about that -- thanks!

julijuli

It's so interesting to hear about everyone's houses and their decorating style. We recently moved to a mid century modern house and I love the layout and openness of it. Our decorating style is a combination of traditional, asian and we are working on adding more modern pieces. I feel the colors in the house are much more expressive of who I am than my clothing style at the moment - but it's a work in process for both.

shiny

Veteran

April - that rug is a piece that came from my DH's first marriage.

That's the thing about home decorating: if you live with someone else, it really has to marry two styles together. It can't just reflect you, it has to reflect US.

I have seen this with my parents (married nearly 50 years). My dad loves modern and sleek contempary lines, and my mother is more of a traditionalist. Over the years, they have gravitated towards a happy medium that works for both of them. It helped that they hired a decorator at one point - my mom says the decorator saved their marriage. They were building a house from scratch and were having tons of arguments over the design. The decorator acted as a negotiator and showed them ways they could compromise and both be happy.

I do think that when DH and I moved in together 6 years ago we did an okay job getting his pieces to work with my pieces. Except for that darn antique clock. LOL. That was a compromise on my part. I don't hate it (because I do have a sentimental streak and do have a lot of pieces from my great-grandmother worked into the house too). I just don't like it on the mantel taking center-stage.

But, I agreed to put it there after doing a feng shui analysis of our house. That spot is the "masculine center" of the house. So I told him he could chose what to go there... and we got the clock. Meanwhile, the "feminine center" of the house happens to be the far corner of our eat-in kitchen, where we've hung the mendala. Really, that just about sums us up as a couple!

Does anyone else practice feng shui? I thought it was all hogwash but I gave it a whirl anyway. Now I'm not sure it's hogwash. For example, our bedroom - and our bed - faces the sun rise. This is supposed to bring good fortune. I have to say since moving in here we have had very good fortune. I think it is because the sun wakes me up early every morning and I can't sleep in.

Otherwise, another conflict we have is that although we are both art lovers, we have very different tastes in art. I adore abstracts and modern art, whereas DH just doesn't "get" abstracts at all. He likes more classic types of art, landscapes, portraits, etc. The only thing we do agree on is photography. Except that I am far more passionate about photography than he is, particularly B&W.

Awhile back we did see a gorgeous photo that would be amazing above our fireplace. And, what do you know... we BOTH loved it! Unfortunately, we must have very good taste, because every time we both love a photographer, it turns out he/she is famous and extremely expensive, way out of our budget. Can't justify buying a $20,000 photo to hang over a fireplace - that would be stupid. And heck that kind of money could buy us an entire houseful of new furniture, rugs, etc...!!!!

Okay I'm rambling now. I am procrastinating because I should be cleaning the house and don't feel up to it.

chelle

Shiny, I have a book about feng shui but it is kind of hard to really arrange your house optimally. The house seems to be set up for furniture in certain ways already and it does bother me when the arrangements don't feel right or make sense. Our house style has kind of evolved as our marriage has grown also. It is interesting to think back to where we started...two lawn chairs, a cooler, and a small tv!

Mac

Veteran

Okay, here is a thread that was already well underway. I see that many of you already chimed in but here are a few of my random thoughts on the subject.

Do my clothing colours and interior decor colours correspond? Somewhat. I have very little black in my house but have a fair amount of black in my closet simply because it's easy to match and I don't have to think too much about it. Black dress with black shoes: no thought required. I love dark brown in my house and I love to wear it; in both cases it's a warm and effective backdrop for other colours or shapes.

I have a much easier time spending money on things for my house than on clothes. I know that in 6 months the new sheets will still fit my bed but my weight fluctuates enough that I can never be sure that the pants that fit today will be the right size half a year from now. Also, I tend to think of items for my house as investments but have never been able to truly consider clothes or jewellery in the same way.

I love love love the look of beaten up, well-worn luxury items in a house. An almost-threadbare Persian rug, a velvet stool that's been sat on so many times that the nap has been rubbed off in a few places, tarnished silver, a glorious french leather club chair that is cracked and even a bit torn from years of use. But somehow I can't get my head around how to translate that into my clothes. Scuffed, broken down shoes just look sloppy and a velvet jacket that has had its nap rubbed off from so much wear looks old (but not in a good way) and unkempt.

Like this house: how cool is the old, ripped up chair and slightly cracking wall? But I don't think a ripped up shirt and stained pants would look nearly as good. Why is that, please?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OAh4.....chairs.jpg

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I was just thinking about this today- how strange that it this thread just got resurected!
My home decorating style is absolutely the same as what I am drawn to in clothing:
clean, modern lines, ethnic/natural influences, and touches of vintage (Ikea meets Cost Plus World Market and they go to a flea market)
My living room had become a temporary storage area due to some projects, and I am just getting everything cleaned up and put back away. It made me so happy to get my living room "back"!

Mac

Veteran

"Our home style reflects our clothing style 100%. We like mixing very modern pieces and artwork with Asian antiques. Our house is neutral with STRONG splashes of very bright colour on walls, in art, in ornaments and on cushions. I am NOT a purist when it comes to home décor. We live in a classic Seattle craftsmen but the interior is modern. I love the contrast. You see that in Europe all the time - really old houses with extremely contemporary interiors. Or really modern houses full of antiques. I think it absolutely works. It’s retro. I guess I love retro things. "

Angie, that sounds so much like the way you dress. No, not necessarily ultra-modern mixed with Asian antiques, but modern mixed with classic (like your pearls!) and bright colours.

I know you love lemon yellow and turquoise; are those the colours you have on the walls in your house?

I love love love to mix eras. Old houses filled exclusively with antiques just feel like museums (or those terrible b&bs where everything feels very... olde timey). And people dressed head-to-toe in retro fashios seem like they're going to a costume party.