I recently designed my own office. As an interior designer, you would think this would be easy. But it’s not. I recognize beauty in so many interior styles. I went through the same process many of you go through, pouring over inspiration images of spaces I admire, saving offices on Pinterest that catch my eye. I even designed a beautiful office that many (myself included, if I may pat myself on the back) would deem beautiful. But I had to get real with myself. And it took asking myself this essential question to get to the design you see today: Is this me?
Finding Your Personal Interior Design Style
Your home should be you. What I mean is, it should be a very personal reflection of who you are — your spirit, your loves, your inspirations, your experiences, your desires, your needs, your values.
Through various media, and primarily social media, we see so many images of beautiful spaces. But recognizing the beauty in a space and wanting to live in it every day are two different things altogether. If authenticity is missing from your home, so too will be the feeling of belonging that makes a house a home. When your home’s foundation is authenticity, the choices you make in creating it are more likely to stand the test of time.
This is why the interior design trends, the what’s in and what’s out, should matter little to you. I realize that’s easier said than done. Especially when the trend reports and “what’s out” lists can feel like a measuring stick for whether your home is good enough and our social media feeds are inundated with the most popular images featuring rapidly changing design trends.
What truly should matter to you is how you want to feel when you’re home (or when you’re in specific spaces in your home), what memories you want to keep and make in your home, what you want your routines to look like and how your home can support them, how you want to be able to use your home, and what things (literally) you want to surround yourself with.
Creating Timeless Interiors
This is true of any home, but it is especially true if you want to create a timeless home that will stand the test of time. Yes, even classic materials, timeless architectural details, and lasting color palettes have periods of renewed popularity. But when you are creating a timeless home, even those “trends” should be irrelevant. Incorporate the timeless design elements that speak to you.
As you look for interior design inspiration, I encourage you to seek it beyond social media. My greatest source of design inspiration has always been travel — not because I’m studying interiors while I’m away (okay, I can’t help but do some of that), but because travel broadens my perspective and allows me to observe how people live. Design books, lifestyle magazines, films, fashion, documentaries, and historic homes can all also be powerful sources of inspiration, if we take the time to understand what draws us to them.
I encourage you to deeply reflect on what speaks to you, how you want yourself and your family to feel in your home, and what and who you want your home to embrace. And ignore the noise from the rest of the world telling you what’s beautiful, what’s in and what’s out.
Let Your Design Style Evolve With You
Finally, don’t be afraid to evolve. Our personal interior design style often changes, even if in seemingly subtle ways, as we continue to grow and become. Our homes should also evolve and for those of us who are parents shepherding our families through the many seasons of life, our homes should also adapt and change to support the seasons we are in and those that are coming next.
It can be difficult to answer some of these questions, to dissect the images, places, and feelings you want to evoke in your own home. But it is a journey worth the effort.
One of the greatest risks is not in creating a home that isn’t beautiful, but rather one that isn’t you.
