Finding your own style: part one, updated.

This post has been updated because I'm discovering new ways of Finding my own style, so I thought I would share them with you.

Do you struggle to find a style for your home that you are happy with? Have you bought something for the home, only to live with it for 6 months or so, then realise that you hate it, and it does not go with anything else in the room, or may be you are one of those people who are drawn to the pretty shinny, brightly coloured this or that at every corner, and end up with a whole host of missed matched things that no matter how many times you tell your self it falls into the eclectic bracket of interior style, you just cant make it work and look like the magazines shoots do.

Did you answer yes to any of the above? then join me in Finding your own style, over the the next few weeks/months we will do some simple exercise that I hope will help us, together find a style that we like, and are happy with, a style that works with our home and family. This is as much an exercise for me as I hope it will be for you. Do feel free to share any tips and comments along the way that you have found useful.

Start by looking at:

1. Magazines

There are dozens of Homes magazines on the market so there is bound to be one with a style that you feel comfortable with. As you read through them you can book mark pages that you like, (this works well for people who find it hard to tear up magazines, me being one of them) try colour coding them, pink for bedroom, blue for bathroom, red for kitchen, that way when you are looking for inspiration for a certain room, you know which colour to turn to.

2. Books

Buying books can be costly, so try out your local library especially if you are not sure what your style is as yet. Check out local book shops and brows through various homes books. Search through Amazon, if you open up an account they will also give you recommendations based on your search results.

3. Blogs

There are a huge amount of Homes bloggers out there, all eager to share their homes, ideas and inspiration with you, start following a few and also see who they follow too! Check out the books that they love, you will get a feel for the ones that are the sure favourites once you start following a few blogs. We bloggers know a good book when we see it. Afew that I like are;

http://www.decor8.com/

http://www.younghouselove.com/

http://www.theletteredcottage.net/

http://www.brightbazaar.blogspot.com/

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

4. Flickr

Have you got your own flickr account? its a great way of saving images you come across and also collect your own pictures you take of your own home. Join a few groups there are so many of them you will be spoilt for choice!

5. Homes shows.

There are usually plenty of shows about Homes and interiors going on around the globe, a great place to source new ideas and products for the home, whether it be just a simple decor update, or plans of a new home extension. Do a google search for shows going on in your area.

6. On the High Street.

check out the Home furnishing stores, and take a note of the ones that you are drawn to, pick up a store catalogue, most of the big ones will have one. Check out their online stores as well, sometimes online you can find special offers that are not available in store.

Keeping it organised.

1. Start a filing system

If you don't mind tearing up your magazines, start a filing system, tear out pages and pop them into plastic folders and binder. I do this with older magazines before I can bring myself to throw them away, I also have them filed according to style, so I have beach style, country cottage style modern living etc etc. A good idea is to have a file for each room in the house that you want to decorate.

2. Online.

Make use of places online for storing images that catch your eye, get a Flickr account to add them to, and while your there join a few groups, ones that I like include Flea Market Style , a group inspired be the book Flea Market Style, off beat interiors, for off beat ideas, Young House love great for mood board ideas. More places to collect ideas include, http://www.houzz.com/ and http://www.decomyplace.com/.

3. Make an inspiration board

keep a pin board/notice board and collect things that inspire you. collect wall paper sample, and fabric samples, pin coloured items to the board that catch your eye, for example a sweet wrapper in a certain colour, or leaf collected on a walk. Note what colours and textures you are drawn to.

4. Get snappy

A great tool to have when out and about is a mobile phone with a camera, when you see something that inspires you whip out your phone and take a snap, it could be the colour of a flower, or a great looking building, or an item of furniture in a shop,this is great for if you spot something , but are not sure if it will match with everything else at home. When you get home, just add your photos to your flickr account, or where ever you choose to store your photos.

So armed with all this information, you are now ready to go start finding your own style, I hope this has helped you to find a system that works for you.

Happy collecting!

Take one old picture frame.....

The other day while browsing Apartment Therapy I came across a post on how to make a bulletin board out of something called homasote and burlap. Well as luck would have it, I had a piece of this board and some burlap just hanging around at home, I also had an old picture frame hanging up with no picture in it, which my husband said looked daft with nothing in it, although I thought it was making a statement, just because it is a picture frame doesn't mean it has to have a picture in it, right? Anyways, I thought my bulletin board needed a frame, so I used this one, I didn't tell my husband that the burlap came from his fancy dress costume from a few year ago when he went to a party as a rat catcher! Its been in the back of the cupboard for so long hopefully he want miss it!

I'm going to use the bulletin board to collect pictures of things that will hopefully help me find a style that I am happy with, (still working on the Finding your own Style series) I have been taking a look at colour pattern and texture over the last few weeks and am drawn to lots of natural textures and fibres, such as woolen throws and wooden furniture, I'm not a fan of high gloss plastic looking items, although I do favour reflective surfaces.

Finding your own style: Part two.

How did you get on with Part one of Finding your own style? Is there a style starting to emerge? For the second part of Finding your own style, we are now going to look at

• colour
• pattern and
• texture.

Do the same with this section as before, get a sheet of paper or a scrap book (I note from your comments that some people prefer to add thing to a scrap book, I like a sheet of paper hung up so its easy to see) and start to look at colours, pattern and different textures that catch your eye, try visiting a DIY store and collect some paint samples, again look through magazines and tear out any rooms settings with a colour scheme that you like, check out fabric samples and wallpaper samples with patterns and textures that that you like. Build up a Sample/mood board of all the samples that inspire you. I'll be back in a few days to share mine with you, again do feel free to share what you find either by leaving a comment or sharing on your own blog.

Finding Your own style: So far.

One thing I want to do this year (amongst other things) is to find a style that fits my home and fits me! I don't know about you, but I find it really hard to narrow down a style that I truly feel is right for my home family and myself, when it comes to interiors, I'm like a child in a sweet shop, and want a bit of everything. So I'm doing this exercise to try and pinpoint what I like when it comes to interiors, decor and home furnishings. And so far this is what I have come up with, (click the picture to enlarge it) have you had a go yet, if you haven't, and your are finding it hard to find your style, I suggest you have a go, the results may not be those that you expect. My results so far are certainly a surprise, having a huge pile of home magazines, mostly with a more home and country feel about them, I was expecting to see a certain amount of pink flower and floral emerge, but actually that's not what I have been drawn to! The picture above is a mix of old but with a modern influence thrown in for good measure, not at all country.

Next week Finding your own style: Part two.

Colour Board.

What is the first thing that springs to mind when you think of the colour grey? If you live in the UK then you can be forgiven for thinking grey is a dreary colour that conjures up thoughts of long cold wet winters, filled with grey skies, but surprisingly grey is growing in popularity both in fashion and in interiors trends for Autumn/Winter2009/10.

Grey is becoming the new neutral colour instead of beige, I always feel that grey is quite a grown up colour, very serious, and sober, but also very chic, and luxurious, its a colour like black and white that is perhaps timeless. What strike me from looking at the above pictures is actually how calming grey can be. Warm greys and grey silver tones can be complimented with pops of bright accent colours of reds and deep pink, aubergines and mustard yellows. The use of textures such as cashmere and wool add a luxurious feel, making you feel cosy and safe. Perhaps in these economic times of unrest, grey is just the colour that we need, providing us with some escape form the stressful world outside.

Credits to:

Living etc magazine, Styling Emma Thomas, Photography Emma Lee

Homes and Gardens Magazine, Styling Kate French/Mary weaver, Photography Tom Leighton/jack Curtis

Toast Styling Leslie dilcock Photography Jonathan west

For more information on colour trends go to mix colour updates