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Discovering Interior Design Styles: A Guide To Unleash Your Inner Designer




Have you ever scrolled hours on end through Pinterest, only to create a million different boards with thousands of different designs to only feel overwhelmed and unsure of what style you like?


Understanding your design style, what you like, what you want, and how it would look like, can be a daunting task, but... there's hope! You can figure out your style by checking out various images, stores, and places you like.


First, try to notice patterns and certain elements you like in order to discover what your personal design style is. I know this can be a little overwhelming so, I’ve created this guide to help!


Before we start, here are the top six most popular design styles for 2020. I created some mood boards to better showcase these designs.


Industrial Design Style:


A combination of both vintage and modern elements. This style takes inspiration from old factories, warehouses, and commercial spaces.

Industrial design mood board

Farmhouse Design Style:


This style has a combination of clean lines, crude, soothing and soft colors, and light stained woods. It screams warmth, coziness, and simplicity. It is inspired from a country farm lifestyle but mixed with new elements.

Farmhouse design mood board

Classic Design Style:


This style is characterized by having a lot of details, luxurious elements, curls, swirls, and a lot of accessories. It is inspired by European culture and it brings a lot of colors and curved lines.

Modern design mood board

Bohemian Design Style:


A relaxed and art-oriented style. It’s full of colors, textures, and patterns. It has a beachy and very unique feel.

Bohemian design mood board

Modern Design Style:


A style with a focus on simplicity and functionality. It is centered around clean lines, being clutter-free & minimalistic with simple natural color palettes, and natural light.

Modern design mood board

Scandinavian Design Style:


This style champions minimalism, simplicity, and functionality that relates to modernism. It includes simple and clean accents with natural materials such as leather, light woods, and plants.

Scandinavian design mood board

With these basic concepts of each style, let’s find out what your design style is.


1. Go through Pinterest and create a board with what you like.



Save anything that makes you swoon! You can save house pins, elements, colors, features, or even artwork.


2. Notice patterns



When you have your Pinterest board ready, let it sit for a while. You might want to even give it 2-3 days without seeing it. Then you can come back to it with a clear, calm mind and really take notice of the specific colors, materials, features, and elements of each design that you saved.


Ask yourself what is it that makes you like this design? For example, do you prefer rectangular shapes or round shapes? Do you like a lot of plants or fewer plants? If you do this, you'll start unleashing that inner designer and become a pro at picking up similarities.



3. Take your environment into account



Here are the different types of environments and how to take them into account.


  • Cozy environment:

If you live in a place where you have to open the fridge to heat the house, or it's just chilly for good portions of the year then you should aim for a heavier design, which means using darker colors, leather, and darker wood stains.


  • Beachy environment:

If you live near the beach or in a desert-like area you should use light colors since it’s hot outside and you want to keep things clean, fresh, and light. You can also complement with organic elements like plants and greenery to bring coziness to the bright setting.


  • City environment:

This type of setting brings more freedom. But it also depends on the type of city you live in, If you live in a modern city like New York, modern or industrial style fits beautifully, especially if you have a view.


However, if you live in old European cities, classic design would be a perfect choice.



4. What stores are you drawn to?




Again, notice your tendencies. So for example, if you like stores like Pottery Barn, then you’re into farmhouse style, but if you love allmodern.com, then you’re more inclined towards modern design.


5. Go virtually shopping for key elements


Look for special items and collect pieces that you absolutely love and research them using Google image search to discover if they pertain to a certain design style.

6. You can like more than one design style


If you feel like you are having an identity crisis don't panic. It is totally normal to like different design styles, to help you decide you can use the environment step, which plays a huge role in determining your choice.


Depending on where you are, certain design styles might fit better. It's also good to keep in mind that you can combine design styles, but not all of them. I also suggest not using more than two different styles.

7. How to implement your own unique design style


You might be wondering how you can give that unique touch to your house. It's simpler than you think! Keep your preferred design style. It’s part of who you are and what you like, but also take into account what you’re passionate about and put it in.


For example, if you love music or are a traveler, you can use key elements to give your home a unique twist but always playing by your design style guidelines, so it would seamlessly blend in.


8. If you still can’t visualize your house or choose your style, consult with an expert.


If you’re still confused about what you like, or you just can’t picture it in your home, let us serve you with our rendering services. Mood boards might not be enough.


Maybe you can't 100% pinpoint your design style. Maybe you can but you can't visualize it. If either of these are true you should reach out to us for consultation and renderings!


Renderings will give you a photorealistic preview of your design so you can see if it works for you!


We can expertly design what you want just by looking at your Pinterest boards. We’ll interpret them, design, and showcase them in 3D so you can truly visualize what your house would look like. If you’re interested, let us know!


Sample of one of our 3D renderings

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