Figuring Out My Design Style | Thoughts From a Designer Rookie!

Happy Monday, friends! I'm always so relieved to have you back again after a long and hectic week. Mondays have become one of my favorite days for the purpose of reconnecting with you all, and reading and responding to your comments! Today, I'm sharing my desire to figure out my design style after being clueless for my entire life. My goal is to create a home over time that is intentional, purposeful, and something I can be proud of! I hope you follow along my Instagram @coolmomandcollected where I will be tackling these design goals in the next couple of months. I'd love to know in the comments below what YOUR design style is? Let's do this!

Having just entered my 30’s, I guess I expected myself to have a little more of a gut feeling as to what my style is! I've become so inspired by all of your home decor/choices shared on Instagram, but the truth is…design has never been apart of my life that extensively. I guess I'm already such an expressive person with my emotions, and body language that there was never anything left over to express through design, haha! Don't get me wrong, I'm a "design wanna-be" for sure, but I'm the type of “design wanna-be” that doesn't even try, and I'm tired of that.

Looking back, we've rented throughout the majority of our almost 10 years of marriage, and I've always preferred more of a clean, simplistic feel, rather than putting holes in my wall. I decided with this new upcoming phase of my life, it's time to buckle down and make efforts to find my design style in order to create an atmosphere for me and my family that brings us joy! (As a stay at home mom, I am in my living space a majority of the time!) I want to be so confident in what my style is that I’m able to make a purchases at Target, or at a thrift store, and know that it will make my space more like “home,” instead of feeling instant “buyer's remorse.”

In order to find my style, I spent time browsing Pinterest, and even took a style quiz that I found here. It was surprisingly easy and fun! You’re given a mountain of beautiful interior photos to scroll through, and click the ones that you gravitate towards as you go! I must've clicked thirty photos, and by the end, I finally got my results!!!

My design style appeared to be consistently “BOHEMIAN” as stated in the image below, and I was ecstatic!

Bohemian made sense because I love different textures, fabrics, plants, macrame, etc. Don't get too impressed..I was still very lost as to what the Boho style really was. After seeing some more pictures of true Bohemian shown below, I began to become a bit more intimidated.

True Bohemian is probably a little too bold, and beautifully intricate for my personal taste as a design rookie. I've never been brave with pops of color, and have gravitated more towards neutrals and muted tones although I do love a good tribal pattern to spice things up!

So…I must have a more of a “toned down” boho style shown below!

After sharing my results on Instagram, I was met with a lot of encouragement and knowledge, which I really appreciated, from a bunch of you. Can you tell why I love this Cool, Calm, and Collected community of ours?! One of you beauties in particular shared that while the design quiz did appear correct in that it included aspects of Boho, it also included aspects of Mid Century Modern, and Scandinavian! WHAT!? Isn't Scandinavian a nationality, haha?! Let's just say I had a lot of research to do…

I decided to Pinterest “Scandinavian design” and was amazed at how much I gravitated towards it! Sleek lines, neutral colors, color free spaces, simple accents, greenery, lots of natural light, and cozy textiles. Now, this I could definitely relate to! Scandinavian winters are apparently so long that they like to keep the living spaces light and bright to combat the darker days that come with the season.

This Scandinavian style shown below felt like it could be the foundation and bones of my style with colorful Bohemian textures, patterns, tones, and elements added!

Mid century modern was my next hill to climb. This features design elements from the mid 20th century with earthy, vibrant colors like orange and brown which fits my gravitation towards neutral, muted tones! As I did more intense and strenuous "Pinterest research," I learned that while my style is not FULL Mid Century Modern, these are definitely the pops of unique statement pieces and accents that I'd like to incorporate into my space!

So in closing, I have a way better idea of my design style after putting myself out there to dig deeper, as well as getting some priceless advice from you gals!

I still have a long way to go, but it feels good!

So here it is...

I'd consider my style Scandinavian with pops of Boho and Mid Century Modern!!!

Did I get that right, haha!? After seeing my above inspo pictures, can you also see the potential to create a lovely space from these combined styles!? I'm excited to have more confidence in my future home design, and I'm happy to take you along my journey!! (IG: coolmomandcollected) What's your design style? Did you take the style quiz above? Was it's answer accurate? Let me know, and happy designing!

Cool, Mom, and Collectedly Yours,