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The Problem
Far too often we chat with readers or receive emails asking for advice on how they can figure out their personal design style. These readers usually report that they know they don’t love what they have in their current space, but aren’t sure what to replace it with because they don’t know their style.
And because they’re afraid to make the wrong decision, they become frozen in a state of indecision. This leads them to live with decor that they hate! <— we want to change this ASAP!
We understand these concerns all too well because we have been there! And since we’ve gone through those same experiences (the struggle is real), we set out to provide our readers with more information and exercises that they can use to figure out what their individual style really is. To catch up check out:
Finding Your Personal Design Style – Step 1 (assessing what you don’t love)
Finding Your Personal Design Style – Step 2 (using your closet for clues)
Finding Your Personal Design Style – Step 3 (collecting inspiration and making connections)
Today we’re going to pick up where left off and continue the fun by diving into Step #4 – Using the information from Finding Your Personal Design Style – Step 1, #2 & #3 so that you can start creating visuals to corral all of this information into a personal “Style Guide”. You ready for this?!
Using Previous Data
The last few steps walked you through the specific exercises you should do in order to identify what colors, textures, patterns and eventually what types of decor you are naturally drawn to.
This “collection” may not fit nicely into a generic style word like “Boho”, “Coastal”, or “Farmhouse” but instead, is a style that is unique to you. THAT’S OKAY and actually, that’s what is really awesome. Everyone’s style should be unique to them, their personality, and their specific situation.
However, we also realize that without that buzzword it’s sometimes hard to pin down your unique style. And that’s where today’s activity comes in. Take the data you have collected from this checklist, this closet activity, and all of your Pinterest research and apply it while you tackle today’s exercise of making a mood board.
Making a Mood Board that is “so YOU”
Mood boards are extremely helpful for us when we are designing a room. They don’t always provide the exact representation of what the room will look like, but these mood boards do help us get a feel for the room in terms of color, textures, pattern and overall vibe. And that’s what we want you to get when you’re done with your mood board.
We don’t want you to choose only items that you need to buy right now but instead, we want you to strategically put things together to identify your “vibe” (or personal style) moving forward.
Using our favorite free website for making mood boards, Polyvore, login and create a new mood board (full tutorial on how to use Polyvore HERE). First, start the mood board by adding colors that are so you. You can do this by searching a color in the search bar and dragging it onto the board.
Next, add on textures, finishes, wood tones or metallics that you are naturally drawn to. The Research from Step #3 will help you identify some of your favorites. I added white subway tile to this mood board because it was noted so consistently in my pinterest board, but I don’t even have white subway tile in my house. That’s okay!! We’re just putting this collection together to give you a snapshot of all of your favorite things. Hopefully this collection will provide you with a clearer image of what is “so you”.
Next, add a few items that are so you. This may be a print that you are obsessed with or lights that keep popping up in all of your pins. Or maybe it is a pillow pattern you love paired with a few small accessories that reflect your style perfectly. These pops of personality will help complete this mood board and help make it feel a lot more like you by the end.
Patience
Putting together this mood board may take more than one sitting and that’s totally normal, and may actually be better! Keep playing around with it until you feel that the mood board is “so you”. The more accurate this snapshot of your style, the better!
Next Steps!
Once the mood board is done, it will be a style guide for you to reference as you shop, DIY and decorate your home. The more intentional you are the better you will be at avoiding design regret and creating a cohesive house.
And that’s where we are going to leave off today! We can’t wait to share with you our tricks for using this mood board because you would probably be surprised at how often we consult our mood boards when we are out shopping or planning our next DIY project.
Bridget&Casey
Check out the Full Series Here…
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