Take a Peek in Your Closet
Seriously, do it—just don’t get distracted by those shiny shoes (or maybe they’ll reveal something about your dream home after all!). “Take a look around at your favorite clothing and notice what colors, fabrics, and patterns you gravitate toward,” designer Eugenia Triandos advises. Specifically, designer Louis Duncan-He says, consider the following: “What are the pieces you seem to have repeats of? What are your favorite or specialty garments you pull out for special occasions? Is it more timeless and neutral when you splurge on a bag, or do you love a bold, flashy label?” He adds, “There is no right or wrong answer, but looking at your natural fashion tendencies will give you another look at identifying your interior design style.” Triandos suggests taking note of the types of fabrics on hand, too. “This preference can certainly be echoed into your home within drapery and pillows,” she adds.
Look to Your Favorite Icons
Go ahead and fully embrace that celebrity obsession for a second. Duncan-He urges individuals to think of that icon they can’t stop admiring. “Most of the time, in addition to their physical attributes, there’s an overall feeling or energy that draws you in,” he explains. “Try and decipher what that overall feeling is, and the majority of the time, you’ll get some more hints as to the overall type of energy you want to create in an interior space.” Duncan-He asks his clients to imagine how their celeb role model’s home would look. “Usually they’re able to describe in a lot more clarity the design sensibility of that home, which then often leads to identifying synergies in the style desired for their own home,” he notes.
Expand Your Perspective
Visiting a new locale—even if done virtually—can provide you with fresh perspectives regarding design. “Nothing is as inspiring as traveling and absorbing all the beauty of a new place,” designer Sascha LaFleur reflects. “I take a lot of inspiration from the places I’ve traveled to or aspire to travel to and try to capture them in my designs. Your interior space should tell a story of where you’ve been or where you dream to be.” Are you planning to take a trip in the near future? You can do a little prep work ahead of time to help maximize the experience as it relates to your sense of design. “Make sure to take lots of photos to reflect back on; analyze the textures and colors of the architecture and even the clothing you were wearing on your trip,” LaFleur suggests.
Create a Moodboard
If you liked making collages out of magazine clippings as a kid, you might want to revert to this habit and see what types of images you gravitate toward. “I usually give my clients a task to collect as many inspirational photos as possible from all sorts of subjects: art, travel, nature, fashion, jewelry, movies, interiors, history and compile them into a huge vision board,” designer Diana Rose shares. Rose asks clients what appeals to them the most about each image. “It could be a specific feeling it evokes, a color combination, a unique texture, a play of forms and shapes, or historic elements,” she adds. A moodboard helps Rose identify patterns and best determine a client’s style.
Get Digital
Of course, you can create a moodboard online, too. “When working with clients who are unsure of their style, we ask them to hop on Pinterest and create a board called “Rooms that Feel Good,” explains designer Shawna Percival. The phrasing here is key, Percival adds. “When you freely collect rooms that feel good and aren’t fixated on a specific element of the room, we generally see a pattern start to form,” she notes. “Eventually, design consistencies become clear—maybe you love plants or white sofas—and we can create a design concept based on these consistent preferences.” Duncan-He has a similar philosophy, urging individuals to “think big” at first. “So often, when we’re looking through inspiration images, we hone in on fine details instead of looking and taking in the entire room,” he shares. “Try to zoom out and look at the room as a whole. Instead of deciding whether you like the exact end cap to a curtain rod, concentrate and listen to your inner voice when coming across an image.” And don’t worry about whether it will be challenging to identify a gut feeling during this exercise, Duncan-He notes. “It should be visceral: You either like the room or dislike it,” he explains. It should make you feel at ease and pleasing or the opposite. If you hesitate to decide, you likely don’t like the room, and it’s time to move on.”
