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Does your home decorating style match your clothing style?

E

Veteran

Angie's sweet comment on my latest outfit post has made me curious! Personally, my decorating style is very similar to my dressing style (quirky combinations, little details, muted cool colours, a reliance on secondhand & home made sources). I do use more white in my decorating than my dressing (except in the summer), and I think I prefer a less 'busy' look in my space (I don't tend to put much on my walls unless it's needed to balance the furniture, as I like the blank space). But there's more similarities than differences.

What about you? Do you dress differently than you decorate, or does everything pretty much go?

General

43 replies

Latest reply was from Deb

Greyscale

Veteran

Yes and no. My decor style leans towards all white. But it has many commonalities: dramatic but simple lines, modern, minimal, understated.

Here's a photo of my previous tiny studio. I was so happy with it.

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E

Veteran

Ohhhh, I love your last studio too. So light & airy but still with interesting details. And I think we have the same shelving unit (I basically live in a little studio too) as wall divider. Here's a pic of part of my place that shows a bit of the bookcase. Funny I forgot to include a visual in my original post.

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rachylou

Veteran

Are you guys going to make me clean my house?

Mona

Veteran

LOL, rachy!
E and Greyscale, both your rooms look awesome.
My decor style does not match my outfit style. I don't like my space to be too busy. I like minimal and clean spaces but I am not minimal in my dressing.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Oh, I love both your decor styles, E and Greyscale!! Fantastic and they do echo your fashion styles!

Currently my decor does not match my personal style at all. The decor is almost my shadow style!

My personal style is modern, relatively minimal, polished, a bit trendy, and reliant on cool colours.

My home is full of rustic (even RATE) antiques, quite maximal (lots of books, objects, artwork, textures), and the colours are almost all on the warm side (reds, golds, yellows, mossy and sage greens, along with bright deep blue and the oranges of our pine furniture.)

We did take our cues from the house itself. Our house is very old (1860). And our antiques are more of the clean-lined simple Shaker-looking type. And most of our art is contemporary, with a few exceptions. But still.

I do enjoy the warm colours around me. I can't wear them, so I might as well enjoy them in my environment.

I think our next home will have a lot more empty space, though, and more modern lines.

A couple of photos. Note, the living room is not normally quite so full of furniture. We moved things around for an event. And the Tiffany style lamp in our dining room was made by the previous owner of the house and she gave it to us. Sort of like that sentimental item in your wardrobe that you just can't get rid of?

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amiable

Veteran

Watching with interest - I don't think I have a house-decorating style yet, and I'm just starting to understand my clothing style.

Anonymous

Oh dear- I'm afraid you can tell I live in my house. I am a frustrated Interior Designer and decorator. My absolute passion. I merchandise my house the way others merchandise their stores- lol. And yes, I think the vibe is pretty similar. Lucky for me DH and I like the same art, furniture and colour scheme. Clean, organized, no extraneous clutter and accessorized thoughtfully:)

Jeanie

Veteran

Love everyone's pics. Cute houses! I think my house matches my style to a degree. It's eclectic and so am I. I like to mix vintage and modern. However, like a person, I try to dress my house in colors that suit it and the architecture. For my house that means wearing yellow paint. House looks good in yellow paint but it's not a color I wear a lot.

MsMary

Veteran

Funny you should ask. I'd say my decorating style is evolving along with my clothing style. My old house was painted a different strong color in every room. But I'm doing the new house with a beautiful but much more serene color scheme throughout (similar to the photo -- oh, and the ceiling will be light turquoise!), and will add the pops of color in the furniture and accessories. I think that reflects how my fashion persona has been getting a bit more subdued and streamlined of late, too.

We'll see how it actually turns out...

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Suz

(website)

Veteran

Jeanie, LOL, you and I are on the same page! That really was what I thought -- this house suits X. And so X is what it got. Our last house was painted in bone white with sharp white trim.

Anonymous

Guilty. My house very much reflects my style. I would describe my decor as simple, modern but not overly styled, casual, easy, slightly minimal, clean straight lines, with a few select pieces of quirky interest pieces. O, and not quite done. It seems I never get all the way to what my minds eye sees. Kind of like my fashion. Hmmm, now to ponder the kitchen remodel. Or should I go back to the black booties I have been searching for the past 9 months for.

SarahTheWhite

Veteran

Such a great thread! I have thought about this many times. I think that my style is very congruent between home and wardrobe. I love lower contrast (with saturated color in small doses) lots of detail, and some sentimental pieces, but overall livable/wearable, peaceful and quiet.

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Lyn D.

Veteran

Interesting!
My home is evolving with my style too:
Whilst in the frenetic buy/try everything on the forum days, I was also becoming more interested in decorating my house with lots of new things too.
Now I am getting back to fewer, better-loved pieces in my closet I am gradually passing-on knick-knacks that aren't useful, or that I don't LOVE.

Now my DH and DD's stuff is entirely a different thing- often a source of frustration- but it is their stuff to deal with!

Diana

Veteran

In an ideal world, yes it would. But in the real world I collect and purge furniture at a MUCH slower rate than clothing, so my decor is more like a mishmash of past and present favorite styles. Also, we have too little space and too much stuff, so it's all a bit more cluttered than I would like.

But I do have a teal sofa (pictured below). It pairs well with my wrought-iron and glass coffee table (I don't have the exact one pictured below but it looks similar). And a whole load of bursting bookshelves. Eclectic to be sure. A bit baroque and a bit avant garde.

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Echo

Veteran

I am a lot like Suz. I am drawn to warmer colours in home decorating than what I wear. Additionally, while I aim to dress a little more modern and polished, in decorating I take my cues from the home itself, which is a very old farm house. I am still working on my personal style, but I definitely tend toward black and cooler colours, and generally more polished and dramatic than the homey interior of my house. I've attached a picture of the bedroom and the living room.

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gardenchick

Veteran

Great question!
Let's see...my home style is a work in progress, and so is my personal style...in that way they are similar!
More seriously, I have always been drawn to spaces with a lot of light...our current home is no exception. And my personal style reflects this too--I've been enjoying wearing white and color this spring and summer. I'm inspired by nature and the greenery around our home--and in terms of dressing, I don't find angularity or a RATE look appealing.
I do think that (partially aided by all of you!) my visual sense is improving. But similar to Diana, I change my home decor slowly, so that it will take a while for that to manifest itself.

rachylou

Veteran

Eh, I'll have to put away some jackets to get y'all pics. Every thing has a coat on it, lol. I think my clothes and 'decor' go together, but they're not the same style except for some philosophical tells. I decorate the preppy way: chintz sofa, grandmas furniture, dog hair and those bookcases from DWR.

E

Veteran

Lol RachyLou! Well, considering there's been a beached floor lamp in my last couple WIW photos (it's broken, so it can't stand upright anymore, and that's my only big empty floor spot), I'm not one to judge.

Mona, that's interesting! I wonder if it's because you don't look at your own outfit the way you do a room you're sitting in?

Suz, thanks for sharing photos: your home looks so inviting! I love that you stayed true to its history/looks too: I think that makes for the best decor.

Amy, with five kids, I imagine decorating becomes more complicated! I just have to please myself and my pup.

Lisa, that is lucky that you don't have to compromise! I'm single, so that's not an issue. My place always looks lived-in too.

Jeanie, that's a great point! I agree that different places suit different wall colours; I got lucky that one of my favourite colours worked well with the existing trim/doors/carpet and sunlight.

MsMary, that sounds like a lovely ceiling! And those grey walls look beautiful: very calming.

Suz, as you know I'm hoping to move, so I'll have to see how much my style changes depending on where I end up! Right now I rely on my walls for most of the colour in my place; if I can't paint in a new place, things are going to be very neutral for awhile.

Marin, I enjoyed reading your description! My place is a work in progress too: I only got the couch in June.

Thanks for the photos Sarah! I like your descriptions too: sounds like a lovely home. I aim for peaceful as well as cosy, light/airy, and with lots of personally important bits.

Lyn, how interesting that your forum participation got you more interested in decorating too! I imagine I was a trial to my mother during my teenage years: I was SO messy. But I did keep it confined to my room, so she could always close the door.

Diana, I agree that furniture acquisition is completely different from clothing acquisition! Love your teal sofa: so pretty. And the lines of the coffee table are really nice. I love places with bursting bookshelves: it's always the first thing I look at when I'm visiting someone for the first time.

Echo, your places look so lovely: I looked at them before I read your response and I thought 'wow: everything's so polished!'. So it's funny that you brought that word up with your dressing too.

GardenChick, I love natural light: I wish skylights were more common. I'm hoping the next place I live in has more windows, especially south facing ones. I enjoy cottage-y RATE decorating (and dressing for that matter), but I'm with you on avoiding angular looks.

RachyLou, I look forward to pictures! I think since I rely on secondhand shopping, much of my stuff probably comes from other people's grandmothers (my own are still happily in their houses so using their own furniture). Luckily my pup doesn't shed too much, but her fur is like velcro and brings in every leaf, burr, twig, etc. that has fallen, so my carpet often looks like a forest floor. Plus, there's always ridiculous squeaky toys laying around. hehe

Desmo April

(website)

Veteran

I go with urban warrior rocker for a style although I've claimed tomboy too.

I guess it fits for my apartment too. I have paint splattered cement floors with all my guitars hanging on the wall, except for my main one--red and sparkly--which is on a floor stand between the amp and the couch.

Deborah

Veteran

I think my home decor mirrors my personal style reasonably well. I like space, simplicity, and drama. In my home white is what black is to my wardrobe. However, while I don't like to wear colour, I do like to live with strong but subdued colour in the form of statement peices.

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anne

Veteran

Honestly, I don't have a decorating style. It is just functional, mostly from Ikea.
And our lounge is full of the church sound equipment, see pics.
After 6 years on YLF I still don't have a style descriptor so there's a parallel there!
Struggling not to envy Deborah's kitchen.

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Beth Ann

Veteran

Anne, I've had "speaker decor" myself!

I'm with Suz, and my decor is influenced by function and the bones of the house (like dressing for your real life). We purchased our home for it's location and affordability, before children. I would not have chosen a 70's tri-level if I were matching my personal style, but I've learned to make it my own. You do see my style in the color accents, and in my love of textural elements, which are important to me. The biggest issue is size: 1,000sq feet is tight, since I homeschool my budding teenagers and both of us work in the home. My living room, for example, is really a music room first --oh, and DD's homeschool area. My poor DH has his office 4 feet from the washer/dryer. The good news? He doesn't mind the noise, which would be torture for me, and.......he does the laundry!

I see lots of overlap between your clothes and space. Of course, I imagine it's driven by your value system as much as style preference -- repurposing and recycling. I also see muted mid tones, and softness without fussiness.

Diana

Veteran

Omg I can't believe I forgot to mention the best part of my home decor. We have plain, lightweight white curtains, but instead of regular curtain tie backs we use an assortment of my husband's bow ties.

Alassë

Veteran

Aha! That's what I like most about your decor, Eva - the beautiful, muted blue wall colour that perfectly matches your clothing palette.

Echo, your bedroom is wonderfully lush. Beautiful!

Deborah, your kitchen definitely looks like you.

E

Veteran

Desmo April, your apartment sounds like a rockstar's! So I think your style phrase definitely applies.

Thanks for the photos Deborah! Your place looks very cohesive and makes a strong statement, just like your clothes. But I would not have expected that marvelous green couch, just from your WIWs! What a great piece. What struck me as another little difference is that you seem to favour straight lines in your decorating while your clothes are full of drape.

Anne, if I didn't have thrift stores, my stuff would be from Ikea too. As it is, the couch is quite new, which allowed me to rearrange & really perked everything up...but I had to wait years for the right piece to turn up at Goodwill. And my bedside 'table' consists of 3 decorative cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other on one side. The other side just has regular cardboard boxes I received in the mail for storage! They're the most functional solution at the moment. I'll try to get a picture later. Anyway, in your photos my eye was drawn to the Asian print you have hanging on the shelves.

Diana, those curtain tiebacks sound so perfect!

Thanks Alasse! I will definitely miss this wall colour when I move: I could live in rooms this shade for the rest of my life. But maybe I'll get to paint again!

E

Veteran

Beth Ann, sorry! I was trying to reply to people by scrolling up & down, and I missed you out. Anyway, I love that you match your decorating to your house's bones: I imagine with so much multitasking asked of your rooms, you have to get very creative within your constraints. And since you all use the house so much, it's even more important that you enjoy being there! I'm very impressed you have a happy home life & all live within 1,000 square feet. Thanks for the feedback on my decorating/clothing style: I appreciate seeing it through other's eyes! And the phrase 'value system' is a great one: I'm going to start using that in conversations. It feels more neutral than 'personal ethics,' which is what I'd been using before.

Aziraphale

Veteran

You know, I've never thought about this before, but I think it is. Like my wardrobe, my house is full of muted, soothing, neutral colours. There are white accents. It has old, well-worn wood floors and lots of white wood trim around the doors and windows -- so, natural materials, which I like in clothing, too. It is not too cluttered but not too spartan, either. But very little clutter on the walls -- a few large prints, and no more than one per wall. So, like with my personal style, not too many "accessories". the only place there are photographs is my fridge, which is covered in them, stuck on with magnets. It has an eclectic mix of odd little things I've collected over the years from different places around the world, which is in line with my offbeat collection of statement footwear.

Also like me, the majority of my home is carefully tended and maintained, but there is the odd detail that everybody else would have taken care of years ago that I somehow keep ignoring/forgetting about. On me, it's my untended fingernails; in my home, it's the stuff to go on my dining table. I just realized I still haven't got round to buying placemats, and we've lived here for eight years!

Greyscale

Veteran

Deborah, that green textured sofa is amazing.

Kari

Veteran

Yes, mostly. Jewel tones, bright colors, cheerful patterns. Not minimalist or modern or upscale. A lot more chocolate brown than what I've been wearing, though that may change this season. A lot of IKEA.
(These are mostly old pics from when we'd just moved in 2 years ago; doggy pic is more recent.)

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