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Defining Your Style: Just Love
Stumped by redecorating? Forget design labels and follow your heart
I am a freelance editorial and wedding photographer and Houzz contributor based out of Hershey, PA. Come visit me at 'A Nest for All Seasons' where I write about design, photography and modern garden living!
I am a freelance editorial and wedding photographer and Houzz contributor... More »
Sometimes when you are trying to define your style, you are tempted to say you are "modern" or "eclectic" or "twisted Victorian with a touch of mid-century modern with a penchant for greens and golds." But then you see a really amazing Feng Shui design and you wonder if you should tack that on to the definition of your "style." Well, I am here to free you from the shackles of defining your style. You don't need to label your style, you just have to know what you love.
Browse home photos by style | What do you love about your house?
Browse home photos by style | What do you love about your house?
by Jeanette Lunde
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So, how on earth do you figure out your style without using traditional labels? It is simple really. Remember the days of ripping out magazine photos and pasting them into scrapbooks and journals? Go back to those days of instinctively ripping out pages, just do it digitally.
I encourage you to create an ideabook called "Just Love" and add photos that you just simply adore head to toe. Don't think too much. Don't add everything. Just add what you absolutely adore.
Oh, and one more thing: Don't look at your book until there are at least 10 to 12 photos in there. Depending on how often you browse Houzz (anyone else addicted like me?), it might take awhile.
When I am searching for photos for ideabooks, usually a concept will instantly pop out at me from the photos. For example, I will often think, "Ooh, that is a great nesting space," or "Wow, that art is a fabulous bold choice for that space," or "The curve of that chair really suits the light fixture above. That is great for a design school article." Once in awhile, a photo comes out of nowhere to which I just intrinsically respond and simply LOVE. That is why I throw it in a folder titled "Just Love." Simple, right? Try it.
I encourage you to create an ideabook called "Just Love" and add photos that you just simply adore head to toe. Don't think too much. Don't add everything. Just add what you absolutely adore.
Oh, and one more thing: Don't look at your book until there are at least 10 to 12 photos in there. Depending on how often you browse Houzz (anyone else addicted like me?), it might take awhile.
When I am searching for photos for ideabooks, usually a concept will instantly pop out at me from the photos. For example, I will often think, "Ooh, that is a great nesting space," or "Wow, that art is a fabulous bold choice for that space," or "The curve of that chair really suits the light fixture above. That is great for a design school article." Once in awhile, a photo comes out of nowhere to which I just intrinsically respond and simply LOVE. That is why I throw it in a folder titled "Just Love." Simple, right? Try it.
After you have created your ideabook and you have at least 10 to 12 photos, open it up and see what you've posted. You most likely will see a couple of themes. In this book, you might notice a theme already.
Notice the crisp whites, beadboard material and little hints of blue in the first two photos. The white and beadboard is no surprise to me, but the blue is. I typically haven't been a blue girl.
I am more a purple girl, sometimes orange, and a reformed red lover. Evidently, my style is evolving because, clearly, I am having a little love affair with blue.
Notice the crisp whites, beadboard material and little hints of blue in the first two photos. The white and beadboard is no surprise to me, but the blue is. I typically haven't been a blue girl.
I am more a purple girl, sometimes orange, and a reformed red lover. Evidently, my style is evolving because, clearly, I am having a little love affair with blue.
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This photo says it all. Clear cut furniture, bright white, pop of orange, beautifully patterned, but light curtains. THIS is my style. The addition of those blues makes sense. I've been spray-painting cans and bottles in a lighter shade of that turquoise for weeks now.
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| This choice shows a variation on the theme. There are still clear-cut, boxy pieces of furniture that have weight but are not heavy. There is still a beautiful pattern that doesn't overwhelm the entire space ... and a tiny hint of blue. |
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This photo is another classic that I just love tip to top. Crisp whites paired with rustic wood that gives life with a bright, beautifully patterned red tartan. This is also my style.
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| When you are compiling your ideabooks, you might notice the repetition of colors, materials, furniture arrangements, lines and shapes, or simply furniture. For me, that furniture piece is a grand chair. These last four photos were chosen based on a visceral reaction to the design and materials of the chairs. I like the rest of the space, but the real draw is the line and material of those metal chairs. |
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Again, the chairs just scream "Hello! I am your style!" I don't need to know that they are a Saarinen Arm Chair and I don't need to buy this exact chair for almost $1,500.
I just simply know I love the line, I love the color, I love the feeling they evoke, and I love the style of these chairs.
When I go shopping for furniture, I now know that I need to find a mix of comfort, sweeping lines and little cutouts for visual interest.
I just simply know I love the line, I love the color, I love the feeling they evoke, and I love the style of these chairs.
When I go shopping for furniture, I now know that I need to find a mix of comfort, sweeping lines and little cutouts for visual interest.
Yet again, seating. Stools this time, but still the same concept. A mix of two beautiful materials, clear cut lines and the flat square is an unexpected twist on a typical round stool.
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| Finally, there is this beautiful, long row of beautiful chairs. I love everything about this space, but the chairs are just beautiful. En masse, they are even more beautiful, and I am in love. So what has this little exercise taught me about my style? 1. Stick with white that is crisp. Don't try to go ivory or cream. I'll hate it. 2. Buy (many) contrasting types of chairs with beautiful materials and interesting lines. 3. Stick with furniture that has a simple yet interesting line. No intricately carved pieces and no bulky, lifeless pieces. 4. Add a little pattern but not a lot. Pick one gorgeous pattern and use it several times in the space. Then stop. Look at my photos. Not one has more than one pattern in the space. 5. Add a shot of blue. I'm clearly craving little bursts of blue, and this little ideabook gives me permission to explore the world of turquoise, teals and powders. Now it is YOUR turn! Start an ideabook titled "Just Love" and add those photos that make you lean forward into the computer to get a better look. Add those photos that make you sigh and swoon. Don't add photos that you "kinda like." Only add those that make you say, "I just love that." Then come back and tell me all about it! I'd love to see your style. More: 8 White Interiors, 8 Design Styles Vintage Modern: What Does It Mean? Modern and Contemporary: What's the Difference? |
Ideabook updated on Jan. 29, 2012.
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Thanks for the reassurance!
And even though I have an Iphone, I still keep a small calendar in my purse and write down appts. ;D
(That last picture is now a part of the big screened porch of my dreams!)
It's what you like immediately. I usually see something in a book and rip it out. I keep a file. After a while, I can see I like the same things. White couch, sisal floor, unusual accessories.