When decorating your home, you may want to fill it with everything you love.
You may love old and new, hard and soft, ethnic and regional, as well as minimal and cozy.
Mixing all of those styles together in one room will most likely end up looking odd, so you should consider using one style in your home.
Here are some tips to consider when determining your decorating style to have a cohesively well decorated home.
Everyone is Included
Work with all the members of your household to come up with your home's decorating style.
Most men will not feel comfortable living in an all pink house while most women will not feel comfortable living in a home that is filled with all black leather and chrome.
Having one decorating style for your home should be agreed upon prior to decorating.
The style you choose might be a mix of several different styles to be unique to you, however make sure to have a plan prior to buying anything or making any changes to your home.
Form Follows Function
Functionality must be considered when determining a decorating style.
If you have pets or small children, a style consisting of small fragile items, white carpet, or items that collect finger prints may not be the best solution.
You might choose to have delicate items that are stored out of reach of people and pets that might damage them. That might include putting items up high in a cabinet or closing off a room with a baby gate.
Don't try to force a change in habit thinking that your kids might now magically not be as messy because you bought a new white sofa. Either choose a sofa that is cleanable, add a slipcover to your sofa, or don't allow the kids on the sofa.
Favorite Things
When deciding on your decorating style, collect your favorite decor items from your home and photos of homes you may have collected over the years.
What items make you happy?
What items do you feel are most beautiful?
What items complement your lifestyle?
What works with your home's architecture, climate, and location?
You might want to collect about 100 images of things that you like, then remove 95 of the images to narrow down your design style. Keep doing this process over and over again until you have a clear vision of what you like.
Blended Style
You don't have to have one decorating style for your home - you can have a blend of two styles that work together.
If one person likes beach style and the other likes modern, find a way to combine the two to have a clean lined style with beach accents.
Some of the most successfully decorated rooms use combined decorating styles to create a one of a kind space that is unique to that home.
Try to avoid following trends and create your own design style instead that will not go out of style because it is unique.
Separate Rooms
If you absolutely love different decorating styles and must have several different ones in your home, consider using different decor styles in different rooms of your home, as long as the rooms are separated by a door.
You can have different bedrooms with different personalities as long as the main open area of your home has one decorating style.
Your upstairs can be one style and your downstairs a different style.
Your basement can look completely different than the main floor of your home.
Other articles you might like:
How to Decorate with Neutral Colors and Not Look Boring
