Style is more than making something look good.  It’s about representing yourself and sharing your story with those around you.  You don’t have to have all the best things to have style.  It’s about taking care of what’s important to you and having pride in it.  I’ve worked in education and design jobs where I’ve traveled to people’s homes and spent time with them in their most personal spaces.  I’ve seen it all!  From the poorest of poor being the warm and welcoming to the richest of rich portraying nothing.  Everyone has a style, what matters is are you owning your style and feeling good in it?

When I designed our home I was the general contractor.  I had so many decisions to make and so many people I was consulting with.  Each one would give me their opinions and advice, but when it came down to it I had to discern what was truly our style and what we wanted our home to feel like.  Style is ever evolving and you’ll always be tweaking things here and there but I have some tips that work wonders and get you where you want to be 🙂

1.  Curate your style-  Go to pinterest and create boards of your favorite categories.  Check out how I did mine here.  Then start pinning only what you love to those boards.  After a handful of pins, notice what is common in each photo.  For example, you may notice that all the images in your kitchen board have a farm house sink, or white cabinets, or a certain kind of barstool… It becomes really easy to start realizing what you like once you figure this out!  You’ll end up curating your style and have a go to for inspiration and ideas.   If you like my style feel free to go over and steal some pins from me.  Another good tip is to pin from your favorite store’s boards.  I look at Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, Free People… the list could go on but you get the picture… It’s like the new way to tear out your favorite magazine pictures!  Another awesome benefit of this is that pinterest’s algorithm will start to pick up on your taste and their suggestions for you on your home page will start to be more in line with what you like making it even easier and more fun as you go!
2. Build on the basics-  This is so hard because were always tempted with the details, but if you’ll start building from the ground up with neutrals that you love and invest in your timeless pieces, then you’ll have a solid foundation when you add and change final touches 😉  You may have heard it called “good bones”  if there are good bones you have a lot more room to play around with what look’s good.  Also, think of it like a good outfit.  You always start building your wardrobe the same way.. A person can get away with having a really neutral style because it’s classic.  They can add a pop of color or texture through jewelry or another detail and then voila their style starts to take shape.  I’m still in this process myself…and it’s a good reminder for me too.  My home is more neutral than I’d like and there are a lot of things I’d love to buy but I’m pacing myself so I can put my investment in the foundation pieces… Then I can start adding collected favorites with colors and textures.  Be patient.  It’s a process:)
3. Take care of the things you have-  This is a huge part of style.  I’m reminded of my grandpa.  My mom’s father.  He didn’t have much but he always had style.  He took care of himself and his things.  He always looked nice and kept great care of his home.  He was so grateful for what he did have it made him care for it and take pride in it.  He owned his style and loved what he was blessed with which made him a joy to be around.  His warmth and confidence drew people to him… That was his style.  My mom developed the same attributes.  She has never been wealthy or had everything perfect, in fact her home is still not finished.  My dad is a craftsman and has built their home from the ground up so they’ve done what they could as they’ve went.  It’s always been a work in progress.  She is grateful for it and happy to make a home and invite people in.  Her house is not the most put together, but it’s where everyone feels most comfortable and where they want to be.  It’s her style of doing things and caring for things that make her style special.  See now what I mean when I say style is so much more.  I’ll leave you with a great quote for this one… “Style is very personal.  It has nothing to do with fashion.  Fashion is over quickly.  Style is forever.”  -Ralph Lauren
4. Play up the Best Attributes-  You know how someone can be super great looking and seem to have it all but then the way they are makes them unattractive.  Vice versa too,  when you have a person who has a magnetic style that you fall in love with regardless of some type of flaw they have.  The most confidant people are those that are comfortable in their skin and play up their best attributes.  Think about Julia Roberts or Brad Pitt… They are two people recognized for their beauty, but what we recognize them for is not necessarily their model looks, but how they own who they are.  Her laugh, his humility.  Those are the qualities that make them loved.  Okay so now think about this in regard to style.  Figure out where your strengths are and display those.  In regards to home style I have a great new comforter…  the rest of my bedroom is kinda blah. I just make my bed the central focus and make sure I take care of it and keep it tidy and it’s surprising how I don’t hardly notice anything else.  Play up the best attributes, and keep working on the small stuff.
5. Do You-  The last and maybe most important is to think about who you are and who your family is.  What kind of person or people are you? How do you live?  What is your style?  Are you relaxed or refined?  Are you beachy or mountain people?  You may have a gorgeous glass chandelier in all of your pinterest picks but that doesn’t mean it should go in your relaxed lakeside craftsman.;P  I heard Joanna Gaines once talk about how she used to style her house like a magazine but soon realized that her family had to live in it.  She had to start considering her kiddos in her design, which was an adjustment.  Consider who you are and your on the road to success friends!

Be Happy In Your Home!

xx