What is personal style?
A home with personal style will speak volumes about the people who live there. Your home should tell the story of your life: where you've been, where you're going, what you've accomplished, where your passions lie. Personal style in a home is reflected not only in the choice of furnishings, fabrics, and accessories, but how these elements are used to create a feeling of warmth and ease.
Personal style is achieved over time, through much trial and error. "When I was younger, I was more willing to let others dictate my space, and I rarely did anything without getting everyone else's opinion," says travel writer Carol Barden. "But since I reached middle age, I don't ask for opinions any more. I do what I like, and I like to surround myself with things that remind me of my friends and my journeys throughout the world." Personal style evolves with the individual--our experiences, interests, and preferences.
If you haven't given much thought to what your home says about you, or if you're looking for ways to update your interiors, read on for different ways you can incorporate yourself into your home.
Your Travels
No matter where you travel, you're sure to find something you want to bring home. For Carol Isaak Barden, a travel writer for Southern Accents and Travel & Leisure, traveling is a way of life. Her Texas home is filled with unique and beautiful items from Europe and Asia, usually handmade by local artists. "I appreciate things that have been made by artisans--wood pieces, statuary, textiles," she says. "Religious art has also been precious to me. My Buddhas and Indonesian temple doors are among my most valuable possessions." Let your home be a kind of travelogue. Unusual items from faraway lands will always be a conversation piece and will last much longer than photographs and maybe even your memories.
Even if you haven't visited foreign lands, you can decorate your home with symbols of the places you have been. Pretty, unusual seashells lining a bookshelf or framing a memorable travel photo can remind you of great times by the ocean. Beautiful travel books on the coffee table are also a great way to remind you of where you've been or to serve as inspiration for places to visit.
Your Interests
Hobbies and interests can add personality to your home. An avid gardener might showcase a collection of beautiful garden books or use a favorite antique urn as a vase for wildflowers. Botanical wallpapers and fabrics or prints also reflect a passion for the outdoors. Cooks often fill their kitchens with gleaming copper kettles or antique serving ware, which act as functional monuments to their hobby. If you enjoy needlework or quilting, display your handiwork in conspicuous places. Collect books on your favorite subjects to line a bookshelf or display antiques that pertain to your hobby.
Your Collections
In many respects, personal style boils down to collections with character. In Rome, Jo and Angelo Bettoja have amassed some fascinating collections over their 47 years together. Plates displayed in the front hall date from the 1600s, a mantel holds marble and lapis lazuli balls and busts, and a painted baby cradle from the 1600s adds interest to the master bedroom. All these precious objects represent the Bettojas' love for objects that are well-aged, like the city they call home. Books, quilts, and other items from Jo's native Georgia also give their apartment a cosmopolitan sense of place. The couple combines simple Georgia furniture and art with sophisticated Italian objects. The pairing is unexpected and interesting.
Don't be afraid to use your antiques every day. Betty Gertz, the owner of antiques shop East & Orient Company in Dallas, sets her table with Ming dynasty plates and lounges in a living room filled with antique furniture. Display your finds in rooms you actually use and where they can be viewed and appreciated by visitors. Sharing your collections creates a home that is both elegant and lived-in.
Other People's Houses
Note what it is you like about your friends' houses. Is it their bold use of color? The vintage fabrics covering contemporary furnishings? Our friends often share our own tastes, and their homes can serve as inspiration.
Historical houses open to the public and houses on home tours can also provide ideas. Unfortunately, many historical houses are more museum-like than liveable, so keep that in mind when touring their marbled halls. Your own house should be a haven for relaxation, not a place where guests are afraid to sit on the chairs.
Magazines
"Magazines help our clients understand a great room as a whole, to see how rhythm has been created," says Brooke Huttig of Kemble Interiors in Palm Beach. "We encourage our clients to climb into bed with numerous magazines and to tear out images they love as well as things they don't." Keep a scrapbook of the rooms you love best, and note what it is you like about each.
As you look through magazines, notice which colors draw you in. Many of us have a signature color we look good in and wear often, but this doesn't always translate well to your living room. If you have a penchant for wearing green, but all your favorite rooms are in shades of blue, then recognize that what will work in your home is not always what you would choose to wear. Your rooms should reflect your personal style, but they don't have to be all in shades of the signature color you are known for wearing.
Working with a Designer
Your decorator can be your best friend when it comes to creating a home that reflects your personality, dreams, and interests. A designer can take your design fantasies and turn them into reality. Be honest about what you want, and need, and be sure to give your decorator plenty of information to go on. If you have kept a scrapbook of favorite rooms from design magazines, this will be invaluable. "A worn, torn, and ravaged magazine page can communicate more than perhaps an hour of conversation," says Mimi McMakin of Kemble Interiors. Mimi and her partner Brooke Huttig also stress that it's important to give your designer lots of support and freedom. "Then we are more inclined towards brilliance!"
The End Result
Creating rooms with personality is an ongoing process, and it should always reflect where you are currently in your life. "I think that my home reflects my peaceful state of mind," says Carol Barden. "When people walk through the door, they tell me that my home feels calming and peaceful. I am in a very good place right now, and I think my home reflects that." If your home pleases you and makes guests feel comfortable, then that is really all the personality your rooms ever need.
Sources:
Brooke Huttig and Mimi McMakin
Kemble Interiors
294 Hibiscus Ave.
Palm Beach, FL 33480
561/659-5556
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