W.O.W Wednesday...find your style.

I have a couple of big announcements today.

First off...the winner of the Kensie giveaway and recipient of two of the most awesome Halloween pillows ever is...
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations my friend.  I hope you enjoy your prizes.  I will be contacting you shortly.

AND

a big, humongous thanks to all of you who entered.  I wish I could give you all a prize for being so awesome!

AND

thank you to Kensie also.  I have been rockin' my earrings every day since I got them.

AND

Second off...my bathroom is finished.  No, seriously, it is really done.  I am beyond thrilled to have my dream bathroom...you know, one that isn't going to kill off the fam with it's deadly black mold.  Check back FRIDAY for the big reveal.

And now for some Words Of Wisdom...

Four years ago, when I started this blog I had no idea what I was doing.  I had no defined style or aesthetic really.  I knew I liked expensive things and enjoyed the challenge of trying to recreate these items on a shoestring budget, but other than that, my style had no direction.

Case in point...

I call this my Urban Victorian Parlor/What was I thinking phase.

And this was my Vintage African Safari phase...otherwise known as my What was I thinking phase, part two.

And who can forget the dreaded Big Top Circus phase...I wish I could.

Now, I am the last person to say that you should pigeon hole yourself into ONE defined style.  I for one think that mixing styles makes things more interesting.  But, finding "your style" is such an empowering thing.  Trust me.  Especially, if it means you can avoid design disasters like I just showed you.

It's taken the better part of four years for me to hone in on my personal "style", but now that I feel like I have one, shopping and decorating is so much more fun.

These rooms are much more me...even though they been restyled a titch since these pictures were taken.

The first rule of thumb in trying to determine your style is...

DON'T WORRY about what anyone else thinks.  Once you start worrying about what everybody else thinks, your are no longer in charge of your style...everyone else is.

GO WITH YOUR GUT.  This rule of thumb goes hand in hand with the number one rule of thumb.  No one knows you better than you, so when it comes to picking out things like furniture, rugs, curtains, pillows...you know best what you like.  Trust yourself.

FIND INSPIRATION.  I have a short list now of places I love to shop for home decor items {West Elm, Urban Outfitters, World Market}.  For whatever reason the items I've found there really seem to "speak" to me.  I also have a short list of beloved interior designers {Emily Henderson, Genevieve Gorder} who's styles seem to reflect {and influence} my own style.  Also, the invention of Pinterest has made finding inspiration a lot easier.  I find it interesting going back and looking at all of the things I've pinned.  Just by looking at my pins, I can get a pretty good idea of which way I lean with regards to design styles.

And when all else fails...

TAKE A QUIZ.  I just found this online quiz.

Sproost.com

I took it hesitantly, because they are never accurate...at least not for me anyway.  But this one was right on.  Here's what it said about my style.

I was 57%  Rustic Revival

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Rustic Revival

You can take kid out of the country but you can't take the country out of the kid... or is your theme "you can take the kid out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the kid?" Either way you play it, you are one of the unique individuals who loves a mix of modern and country. The clean lines of the modern softened by rustic /vintage elements is the perfect mix in your mind. And can we blame you? You've taken the best aspects of two popular designs and mixed them in a manner that appeals young and old alike. A subtle background of white or light colors provides a nice canvas for all the wonderful flea market, eBay or garage sale finds as well as the classic modern pieces that you love.

Materials

The material palette for urban country runs the gamut because of the two extremes being mixed. On the countryside you see a lot of wood, woven rope, canvas and linen, rustic metals and wrought iron, cowhide and vintage leather. On the more modern side, you see acrylic, satin and polished nickel and chrome, glass, faux fur, refined leather, fiberglass and sleek woods. It's the mixing of these elements that makes the style work so well. Seagrass and other natural woven materials are often used for floor coverings. Concrete and natural wood floors are very popular, and work really well together.

Colors

When it comes to color, think light, casual and airy. White, pale gray or beige, khaki and sage; all of these colors make nice, subtle backdrops for Urban Country style. Think of the colors of natural linen, concrete, and if you'd like to go dark, use the dark brownish-black of iron or the deep burnt orange of rust. The key is to keep the spaces feeling open (go modern!) and yet warm (yay for rustic!), and by going light on the walls and major pieces and more color on the accents and accessories you can achieve this mix really well.

Okay, seriously.  They totally hit the nail on the head with this one.  My love for  rustic, natural wood elements and the simplicity of mid century modern and sometimes contemporary modern furniture is totally what they just described.  Just wait until you see my bathroom reveal on Friday.  It is exactly this combination of rustic and modern.

And 43 % Vintage Modern

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Vintage Modern

Flea Market anyone? You know you are drawn to modern furniture and interiors, and yet you really don't like a space that feels cold and sterile. And who could blame you? And that's why Vintage Modern is so appealing to you. Though the backdrop of the room, the walls and windows, are many times white or monochromatic, the furniture and accessories have the color, shape and texture to bring the warmth into the space. The great thing about Vintage Modern is ease of mixing different styles in the one space. You can have a new modular sofa mixed with a great pair of chairs that your grandmother purchased in the late 1950's and the new and old work appear as though they were destined for each other. What's great is that even if you don't have time for swap meets and garage sales, so many of the pieces from the mid-century were so great that they have been remade and mimicked year after year.

Materials

The other great thing about Vintage Modern is how low maintenance it can be — fabrics such as cotton, microfiber or ultra-suede and leather all look great and function even better. So whether you are having a cocktail party with friends, or kids are in the picture, the room and the furnishings can handle it. Because the style harkens back to the early twentieth century, the innovative developed during that time are very popular: acrylic, plastic and fiberglass, chrome and steel, and molded plywood. Concrete floors, countertops and furniture are also very popular and lacquered finishes are very common.

Colors

When it comes to color, walls are seen as backdrops for the room. Neutral tones of gray, white, beige and brown are very common and black is a common accent color. Pops of color on the art, furniture and accessories can vary dramatically based on the person, however very common colors are teal blues, army greens and yellow as well as deep oranges and bright reds.

Uh, did they just teal blue?  Hello, it's a running theme in my entire house practically.  And the part about pops of color in art and accessories is right on.  I don enjoy a funky, bright pillow. And mixing old and new is one of my hobbies...for reals.  Seriously, half of the rooms in my house could fall under this category.

If you aren't quite sure of your design style, no worries, it took me four years to find mine and it's still evolving.  Just remember, trust your instincts and don't worry about what anyone else says.  If I had, my house would be as barren as the Sahara desert.