What is My Style?

There are many terms that categorize our type of style of decorating, and some styles are hard to determine. The basic styles used to describe decorating and furniture include traditional, contemporary, country, rustic, eclectic, and modern. While some are self-describing, others are less obvious to correlate with your individual style.

Traditional is generally more formal with very classic lines. It usually follows certain periods of style, and incorporates more ‘complicated’ lines. It tends to be timeless, not temporary, and will therefore never go out of style. Nothing on a big scale here, only beautifully defined style.

Contemporary and Modern often travel similar paths. It can be somewhat challenging to determine the differences, and I’m not so certain there are any. Both have very clean lines and use many elements like glass, stone, leather, and acrylics. The shapes are simple and often these styles are associated with bold colors. Open spaces with no clutter are often the case with these styles.

Country is easily defined. It consists of many happy prints, often plaids and florals, many plump cushions and pillows, and often involves fringes, ruffles and other elements that give you that ‘down home’ feeling. It is often unsophisticated and unpretentious. You’ll usually see painted woods, pine and oak, and distressed finishes. It typically involves more clutter by the simple fact that collection displays are often incorporated in this style.

Rustic is another easily defined style. It is a very simple style, and one that also defines country living. Often, much wood is used, and in its natural look and ‘roughly’ finished. Colors are usually dark with browns, greens, and all that is earthy. Rustic furniture pieces have more to do with practically rather than decorative.

Eclectic is truly an individualistic style, and with no demands. You simply put together things that you like whether they belong together or not. The key here is not to go overboard, or you’ll instead end up with a mish-mash. This style provides the best way of having your house décor reflect who lives within the walls. It is somewhat challenging, but almost always interesting.

Whatever style you may prefer, embrace it, have fun with it, and make it your own!

           Mary Valentine
         Interior Designer, Custom Color Specialist