What’s Your Personal Decorating Style?
Besides experience and training, most interior design professionals are like everyone else. We have squeezed a whole lot of baggage into that little wagon that we call our "style". If you are not already confident that you have your own signature look, I encourage you to sort through your past and consider that you may already have the basis for your personal decorating style. Although I have had the pleasure of creating a variety of looks for my clients based on their preferences and life experiences, let me tell you about the way my personal decorating style, or signature, evolved.
The House that I grew up in outside of Milwaukee was a typical 1960's ranch-style home that can still be found throughout the Midwest. We had the standard issue: 3 bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths, avocado green kitchen appliances, shag carpet, and a basement rec room with plenty of deer hunting paraphernalia, a pool table, and a bar. When I was around 13 years-old, I remember helping my Mom select classic off-white corded linen fabric to have a pair of custom sofas made and blue and white fabric for draperies. Family photos were displayed throughout the house.
As a newlywed, my husband and I purchased our first home together in California. I predictably insisted on a California ranch-style home, but deer hunting decor didn't have quite the same appeal in L.A. It was the age of Crockett and Tubbs and Miami Vice style had thoroughly infiltrated our culture, and certainly West Coast decorating. I insisted that we hip up our new home with black lacquer occasional tables, marble and glass dining table with parsons chairs, and the latest peach and teach blue colors! Mom insisted that my husband and I take the pair of off-white sofas that she and I had created together to help furnish the new home. We reluctantly accepted.
When my husband transferred back to the Midwest a few years later, I was determined not to moved in a stereotypical Midwest ranch; I wanted something more hip and modern. After all, we had lived in L.A.! So a bit of California flair and few vintage traditional pieces, including blue willow dinnerware and other blue and white pieces. During this period I looked around for a new living room sofa to replace my old pair, but nothing I saw looked any better. Mom's off-white sofas remained. I still liked the minimalist drama that the black lacquer tables bought to our space, but my husband accidentally put his foot through the coffee table while lounging with his feet up! Out went all of the black lacquer table; in came one black hand-painted table to fill the void left by the missing black element. Family photos were displayed throughout our house.
Five years later, my husband's promotion took us to Tennessee. Oh, the South in the 90's with rich jewel tones -- reds, greens, blues -- everywhere, over-the-top wallpaper, and decadent mouldings. We bought a Gone with the Wind style Mc-Mansion and I was smitten! Family photos were displayed thought the house. Old black and white photos of grandparents and great-grandparents were surrounded in custom white mats and thick black frames.
By the time we moved to Washington, D.C. in 1997, I had consciously -- and perhaps subconsciously -- fused all of my past influences and living environment together to develop my current personal style. Blue is absolutely my signature color - Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue #147, to be exact. A respectable blue and white collection adorns my dining room. Some vintage furniture pieces anchor any newer experimental items I choose to bring in. Black marble surrounds our fireplace and black granite top our kitchen counters. Family photos -- including black and white ones in thick black frames -- are still displayed throughout our home, and of course, Mom's off-white sofas are still in our living room -- sturdy, dependable, and still stylish.
Heaven forbid we move once again, but if we do...well, I think you could probably guess the basic colors and pieces that would go into my home. It wouldn't be too hard for me to pull together a new space and have those who know me immediately recognize it as Carla's place!
The House that I grew up in outside of Milwaukee was a typical 1960's ranch-style home that can still be found throughout the Midwest. We had the standard issue: 3 bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths, avocado green kitchen appliances, shag carpet, and a basement rec room with plenty of deer hunting paraphernalia, a pool table, and a bar. When I was around 13 years-old, I remember helping my Mom select classic off-white corded linen fabric to have a pair of custom sofas made and blue and white fabric for draperies. Family photos were displayed throughout the house.
As a newlywed, my husband and I purchased our first home together in California. I predictably insisted on a California ranch-style home, but deer hunting decor didn't have quite the same appeal in L.A. It was the age of Crockett and Tubbs and Miami Vice style had thoroughly infiltrated our culture, and certainly West Coast decorating. I insisted that we hip up our new home with black lacquer occasional tables, marble and glass dining table with parsons chairs, and the latest peach and teach blue colors! Mom insisted that my husband and I take the pair of off-white sofas that she and I had created together to help furnish the new home. We reluctantly accepted.
When my husband transferred back to the Midwest a few years later, I was determined not to moved in a stereotypical Midwest ranch; I wanted something more hip and modern. After all, we had lived in L.A.! So a bit of California flair and few vintage traditional pieces, including blue willow dinnerware and other blue and white pieces. During this period I looked around for a new living room sofa to replace my old pair, but nothing I saw looked any better. Mom's off-white sofas remained. I still liked the minimalist drama that the black lacquer tables bought to our space, but my husband accidentally put his foot through the coffee table while lounging with his feet up! Out went all of the black lacquer table; in came one black hand-painted table to fill the void left by the missing black element. Family photos were displayed throughout our house.
Five years later, my husband's promotion took us to Tennessee. Oh, the South in the 90's with rich jewel tones -- reds, greens, blues -- everywhere, over-the-top wallpaper, and decadent mouldings. We bought a Gone with the Wind style Mc-Mansion and I was smitten! Family photos were displayed thought the house. Old black and white photos of grandparents and great-grandparents were surrounded in custom white mats and thick black frames.
By the time we moved to Washington, D.C. in 1997, I had consciously -- and perhaps subconsciously -- fused all of my past influences and living environment together to develop my current personal style. Blue is absolutely my signature color - Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue #147, to be exact. A respectable blue and white collection adorns my dining room. Some vintage furniture pieces anchor any newer experimental items I choose to bring in. Black marble surrounds our fireplace and black granite top our kitchen counters. Family photos -- including black and white ones in thick black frames -- are still displayed throughout our home, and of course, Mom's off-white sofas are still in our living room -- sturdy, dependable, and still stylish.
Heaven forbid we move once again, but if we do...well, I think you could probably guess the basic colors and pieces that would go into my home. It wouldn't be too hard for me to pull together a new space and have those who know me immediately recognize it as Carla's place!
Labels: Develop your decorating style
posted by Carla Davis Designs Discount Home Decor/Remodeling | 2:45 PM
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