In my first house, which we bought within our first year of marriage, I didn’t really have a defined style or esthetic. Like most young couples we bought what we could afford on our limited budget without much thought to anything.
I’ve always been drawn to the midcentury modern approach to design, I favor simple, clean lines and and the no clutter look. Very Mad Men if you will, lol! I also love Art Deco,
Hollywood Regency inspired glam touches.
I’m having so much fun decorating my new house. It’s been a labor of love, but I found that taking my time and really thinking about each piece, each object’s placement and each color chosen has been the wisest decision.
I love mixing and matching finds from off the beaten path and discount stores with more substantial pieces. It doesn’t have to be expensive to look good!!
I also want to make sure I include my husband’s personality in the house, so seeing how he is a pilot, I’m looking for vintage aviation themed prints and artwork to frame and place on a gallery wall.
So what is your design style? What formula, if any, do you follow when buying furniture and decor?
For those in the US, I found this chair at HomeGoods last night!!! Regularly priced was $599, it had been marked down to $399, and then further reduced to $249!! I had been eyeing it for a while, hoping that no one one swoop it up and the waiting game paid off!!
Another tip I’ve learned, is that you should decide on one unifying color/theme/palette and carry it throughout your house in different ways with complimentary accents. My chosen palette is literally 50 shades of gray (haha!). There are many, many tones and colors that have a gray base…beiges, taupes, blues, greens…I’m incorporating these into my design and furnishings in different ways.
My kitchen granite is a cream base with specks of grey, black and taupe. When picking out the backsplash, I went with 4x4 tumbled marble layed on an angle with grey glass and stone accent tiles.
To bring in color, I accessorized with a glass apothecary jar full of lemons, flanked by two green topiaries. The intense yellow of the lemons and the green is a pop of color that really sets off the minimiist backsplash.
It is mostly exactly same as yours. I do love me some vintage whimsy pieces like birdcages and baroque-esque mirrors finished off with modern finishes. Anything tufted. I would tuft my face if I could as well as yours. I love textures and patterns especially chevron and vintage old English floral prints. It’s a hodgepodge of things I like but getting hits to agree with my vision is not something fun. I will not buy something for the sake of buying it. I have to love it and usually things I Love cost a kidney and in my case liver too.
I used to be so scared of mixing patterns!!! The key, I learned, is in the scale. Like of you’re going with a big morrocan print area rug, your curtains/drapes should be a smaller scale damask print or something. The accent pillows can have one chevron layed against a solid color.
And I love textures too! I decided to go with a wool like upholstery for my sofa and love seat and instead of a coffee table I ordered a cocktail ottoman in leather. It doesn’t all have to be matchy matchy! Bring in character and contrast I say!
I am moderate contemporary but more traditional…I absolutely love French style furniture with cabriole legs (Louis XIV). I have a few inspired pieces and I get so many compliments on them.
My next dream goal is to get a ‘tea room’ made for myself with ONLY this kind of furniture, of course no kids allowed
That’s a good point. It is a little harder when you’re in a rental property because obviously you can’t make permanent changes but you can still personalize your decor with accent pieces, rugs, throw pillows STC!
So what style to you prefer? Traditional? Contemporary? Transitional?
I love love love old hollywood glam. We moved into a one bedroom rental last year and since the landlord allowed us to paint, I painted in a dark charcoal grey tone. Similar to these which I use for inspiration. If you have ever seen Fashion Police, just like their set! I ordered 12 yards of fabric from online and made my curtains in a white and grey chevron pattern. A more affordable version of Z Gallery! I love interior design. If I could go back to school, thats probably what I would do. Maybe in another life.
We’re in this position right now and it’s so hard deciding how to furnish.. Got an apartment in a converted chapel but have noticed a lot of the neighbours have gone for a more modern contemporary style inside.. We have pillars and exposed brickwork that kind of thing so kinda torn in regards to which direction we should be heading in..
You’re speaking my language!!! I’ve got a gorgeous mirrored console in my front foyer/entry. My formal dining room is going to be all hollywood regency/glam!!!
Omg, I just died!!! I would LOVE to get my hands on a property like that lol!!
When you have architectural details and elements like exposed brickwork, beams and pillars, you want that to stand out, it’s a design element in itself! I would definitely stick with modern/transitional furniture and decor. That doesn’t mean it has to be stark and sterile..you can bring in warmth with fluffy cushions and a rug, (i love shag rugs!)…pick a color palette that enhances the brickwork..if you’re landlord allows you to paint, I would do one accent/feature wall to play up the architectural details of your space.
Well Honestly speaking im not much into the design style even dont have much know how about the information over this. Whatever I like i buy keeping in view furniture. But I have noticed I more like transitional and contemporary things. I love to decorate my kitchen by whatsoever means i can. Our home theme colour is Brown/black kind of. Would show you pics soon but I have not much decorated it. In Paksitan I have a well decorated home masha’Allah been only 2 yrs abroad insha’Allah would start doing decore with time
Maybe in another life.
