Friday, August 5, 2011

Finding YOUR Style

 The following was written on Tuesday, my day off from work. My apologies for the delay. I've been pretty lazy this week.

No DIYing or Craftliciousness today. Today was a poop day. So for this post I will be talking about Finding YOUR style. But first, I'm going to tell you why I had a poop day.

Last night I planned my day with the best of intentions.

Expectations: 
Wake up extra early and look super cute
The hubs and I were going to go look at houses this morning (because we're looking, yay!)
grab some lunch
then I would be off to do some thrifting!
I had planned on finding something grand at Goodwill and making it awesome
Then doing a full DIY post.

Reality:
Woke up at 10AM because I felt sick all night and didn't fall asleep till around 3ish
Took a shower only to find that I only had about a nickel size amount of shampoo left and no conditioner. Frizzy curly hair day.
Looked at some houses and found one we really really want. Pretty much the only un-poopy thing today.
Husband wanted gross food, so he dropped me off at Anthropologie while he picked it up. Anthro has a killer sale right now, but we don't get paid till later this week, so I couldn't get anything. =(
Didn't eat any lunch, but headed off to Goodwill instead. Didn't. Find. Anything.
Went to another Goodwill. Again, nothing.
Breann, I said to myself, think outside the box. There has to be SOMETHING good here.
Nope, nothing. BUMMER.
Got some Costa Vida to ease the pain and went home to watch a movie.
Decided to watch Step Up 3, which by the way, was a compete waste of time.
Started to blog hop and slowly began to feel like more of a failure.
It was a POOP day.

Then I realized, we all have poop days. I decided to get over it, and instead write a helpful post on finding your style instead. Boo-yah... Poop Day can suck it.

Please keep in mind when reading this, that I am no professional designer. I didn't go to school for Interior Design and only have my OWN experience. Everything I give advice on is based off of my own decorating successes and fails.

I discovered most of my decorating fails took place because I didn't know what my own personal style was. I knew when things looked good and when they didn't, but I couldn't pin point what exactly I wanted my house to look like.

Color Palette:

I think the best thing to start off with is determining a color palette. I have found, that the best combinations start with mostly neutral colors with pops of color.

My faaaavorite color palette right now is whites and grays, popped with yellow and light blue. Here's an example:


I love these pops of color, but they're not too obnoxious. Very soft...
Some have a hard time determining a color palette.... I for one thought that black and red was awesome. Wrong! Black and red made everything look so dark! I started to add creams and beiges to that and it looked a million times better. If you aren't sure what colors you love... go with all neutrals! It'll give you a clean canvas, and as you play, you'll find colors that you love.

Neutral walls and decor, but then popped with the orange chairs.

Neutral couch, walls, and rug, then popped with blue door and red pillow. dreamy.

Styling:

Finding your style can be super hard and confusing! It's hard to determine whether or not you're classic, eclectic, vintage-y, or modern. What helped me decide how to style my home is starting with the center of my room. What's the center of the living room? Duh, the couch. What's the center of the bedroom? Duh, the bed. Pick out furniture that you love. Why? Because furniture is effing expensive, and you need to pick out pieces that are quality because they will last you a long time. When shopping, keep in mind pieces that will match your color palette. A black couch is not going to go well with light airy colors. And a white couch isn't going to match brown, red and gold tones. My husband and I went with a dark brown leather couch and a dark wood sleigh bed. We made it neutral, so that we could build off of it. After you've found your pieces, don't be afraid to PLAY. 
Go to different stores and look for things that catch your eye. When you find a style you love, you'll be able to work off of your centerpieces and implement your color palette. 

Pottery Barn has super classic style... their stuff is gonna look good for a long time!


Anthropologie is super eclectic. Decorating eclectic-ly is going to ensure that you won't walk into everyone's house and see the same thing. Very fun!
 
Are you more of a vintage-y girl? Google local boutiques and antique stores in your area. If you're into DIY stuff like me, the vintage look is SO easy to pull off! All you need is some sand paper, and you can tie that look into almost anything! 


Love the modern look? Think symmetry, and solid colors. Kind of like the Apple store. Very cool look... you'll feel super fancy.


Keep in mind, that you don't have to be just one style. I'd say I'm a good mix of classic and vintage. 
Don't be afraid of accessories either. They can always be changed! I can't tell you how many frames I've re-painted, pillows I've re-covered, and walls I've re-decorated. Style is constantly changing, don't be reluctant to change with it. EMBRACE IT!

Walls:
 Having the right walls can either make or break a room. How many times have you been searching for a home, walked in, and seen a hideous color slapped on the walls? I think walls are VERY important.
 One thing I always remind people of is that having lighter colors on your walls will make a room appear BIGGER. I'm not saying that every wall needs to be painted white, but please don't paint them some hideous army green... I'm begging you.
Also, you can do more than just paint! There are so many options! Don't be afraid to explore textures!
Here are some fun examples!

   BRICK!

Board and Batten

Wood

I don't suggest it for every single wall, but having a patterned accent wall looks very cool!

I heart Chevron Pattern!!

dreamy
stripey!!

Well, that's pretty much all the advice I can think of for now. Most important, don't be afraid to PLAY! Everyone has decorating fails, so please don't give up! We learn the most from our mistakes. Keep shopping around for things you love. Everyone has a different style, just make sure YOU love it!

If there are any questions, please contact me! I'm not an expert, but I love a challenge! Love all of my followers! Hope you guys are getting super craftlicious!!

P.S. Can you PLEASE visit and follow my friend Hillary's blog?!!!  
Basically, you'll pee your pants because she's hilarious. Seriously puts a little more brightness into my already blinding days. Do it, I know you'll love it.





5 comments:

DaNelle said...

ooooh I love it! Great ideas! And poopy days are ok as long as it's every once in a while!

Alexis Kaye said...

These all made my mouth water. Okay, I need to find a trasure chest to finance all these decorating wants! That antrho yellow and green room is EXACTLY what I've been looking for but I haven't been able to find anything even close within our budget. And those patterened walls ALL made me drool. I would SO paint if we were staying in our apartment more than a year.

Shay said...

I love that you got Costa Vida to brighten your day- that is my choice for a bad day as well:-) Love all your decorating ideas!

Andrea said...

I love this post. Funny to say, but it can be applied to wardrobe style, as well...that's just my opinion. Haha, I love you!!! CUTEE ideas!!!

Matt and Erica said...

Breann, I love your blog! This post seriously helped me out! I am trying to decorate our house and it's so tricky! Thanks for sharing your ideas! It helps a lot :)