How to Find Your Interior Design Style

If you’ve ever been faced with the question “What’s your design style?” whether from an interior designer you’re working with or from a friend, you might have felt a little tripped up. I loathed this question (still do, to be honest) because I was afraid of pigeonholing myself into one particular style that would never be able to change. After all, I had no idea how to find your interior design style, and was afraid of commitment.

So I would answer in the same way that I hear a lot of people answer this question: “I’m not really sure… I guess I don’t really have a style. I like a little bit of everything.” 

False. SO False. The truth is every single person has aesthetic preferences, and these preferences show up in every decision you make. 

The tricky part is putting a concise name on that style. Just like our personalities, our style cannot be boiled down into one simple category. We are far more complex than that. And doing so just feels… wrong.

But there is a way to capture your style in an easy-to-understand phrase (not just one word!). So today, I’m walking you through my process of how to find your interior design style – and verbalize it! 

Before we begin: Have you heard of Room Recipe?

Room Recipe is my signature course, and what I’m sharing today is a snippet from the first lesson! When you go through this course (and the accompanying three workbooks), you’ll not only learn how to find your design style but also how to shop like a designer, balance and blend materials, create a beautiful & functional floor plan, use Pinterest effectively, learn my styling secrets, and create the space of your dreams – all without hiring a professional designer!

Room Recipe only comes back a few times a year because I’m constantly making it even better, but once you’re in, you’re in and you get ALL the updates – sign up for the waitlist to be the first to hear when it returns!

How to Find Your Interior Design Style: 

The first step in your journey is to throw out this idea that you need to sum up your style into one singular, recognizable word before you get started.

Let that sit for a minute. You don’t need one perfect word to name your style. You don’t need to force yourself to fit into one category. 

But, the question still does need to be answered. So here’s how.

Step One: Inspiration

Inspiration can strike you anywhere, any time, and for any reason. When you are in those early stages of figuring out your design style, be open to more than a pretty room for your inspiration. Sometimes a color palette in something completely unrelated to interiors can jump out at you.

Whatever it is, save it, pin it, snap a picture of it, or write it down. Do something to “collect it” into your inspiration gallery. Don’t worry about making sense of what you collect just yet, or if you feel like it’s all over the place. The main goal of this exercise is to collect whatever brings joy to your eye right now.

How to Collect And Organize Inspiration

The best way to store this inspiration is whichever way you will actually use! Some options are

• Pinterest
• A folder on your phone/computer
• A physical file folder
• Basket or box
• Corkboard (the OG Pinterest!)

How to Evaluate It

A lot of us already have a collection of inspiration saved somewhere, and once you’ve got a good amount gathered, it’s time to sit down and look through it all. Take some time to go through each image or item you collected and ask yourself:

1. Why did I save this?
2. What do I love about this?

Sometimes, what you collected before no longer resonates with you! And that’s ok! It doesn’t mean you’re confused about your style, it just means it was a trend that doesn’t speak to you anymore. 

Write down a list of the key words that come to mind when you ask yourself these questions. 

Step Two: The Design Feels

Every space sets a mood. It’s the vibe that is created by all the pieces within the room. And that vibe is actually hugely important to what your style is. So the next step is to think about these 

Jot down your ideas about 

• What tone you want your room to set
• How do you want it to FEEL when you are in the room
• How do you want others to feel

How to Find Your Interior Design Style: The Final Piece

Remember, styles are like personalities, there will never be one simple word that sums you up completely, so don’t expect to be able to do it for your style either. 

Professional designers have already figured this out, which is why you will rarely, if ever, find one who claims to specialize in “Modern Farmhouse” design. For example, let’s take a look at one of the most popular designers today and how they describe their style:

“Beautifully balanced spaces that feel refreshingly modern and endlessly classic” – Studio McGee

Now, it’s your turn! You’ve compiled your inspiration images and thought about how you want your design to make you feel, you have everything you need to create your very own

Style Tag Line!

Here’s How to Create your Style Tag Line

Pull out the lists you made and grab a highlighter.

Find the common words that keep coming up in the lists that you’ve made and that resonate the most with you. 

Once you’ve done this, you should have a small collection of words – these are the keywords to your style!

Now get a little picky. Narrow your keywords down into 2-3 descriptive words and 1-2 vibe or feeling words and put them into a sentence like the sample above.

When you’re done you’ll finally have the true answer to that pesky “what’s your style” question without ever having to take another quiz again!

Want to learn even more about interior design?Then you need to get on the waitlist for Room Recipe, my signature course! In it you’ll learn not only how to define your interior design style but also how to use pinterest like a pro, shop like a designer, plan your space and design your dream home. Join the waitlist to be the first to know when it reopens for enrollment!