One of the first things we ask when we engage a new client is "What's your style?" Most of the time a look of panic and confusion flashes across their face. We hear quite a bit "I like most everything, so I don't have "a" style." I usually will take them on line at that point to look for images that appeal to them, and inspire me...because even being eclectic, in itself is a style. I found this online quiz very helpful to clients and to designers. There are several more on the web, the decorist I found most helpful in determining personal style. The Decorist: Style Quiz https://www.decorist.com/lp/style-quiz/ You can copy and then paste that url in your browser and it should pull up the quiz for you to take and test its validity for yourself.
Mine was spot on! I am definitely a lover of the traditional. Who would have guessed? lol I have always loved the big beautiful curves!
The quiz is pretty simple and will not define your style completely, but that is what your designer will help you do!
Your personal design taste will tell a lot about you to your designer and help them create each room to tell the story of who you are, where you have been or where you want to be. You may not realize you are exposing part of your personality to your designer, but you are. I know that I always feel like I am privy to a private part of each client's personality once we discover their style or styles. I will go over 3 today in this post. If we don't put a number to this post it could be the post that never ends...
1. Let's begin with a traditional style and what it says about someone who is drawn to it. Traditional is both comforting and classic. Traditional furniture is inspired by English and French styles of the 18th and 19th centuries such as Baroque, Rococo, Romantic and Neoclassical. Traditional style reflects a warm, inviting space through the use of ornate details, rich wood tones, luxurious fabrics and buttery leather. It is both elegant and sentimental. Sentimental is a great word to sum up the personality of a lover of traditional furniture. They look for furniture that is heirloom pieces as they tend to be more sentimental and can be passed on to the next generation. They want what they leave behind to hold value both monetary and sentimentally.
2. Most people like to think of themselves as being very simple to understand and read. In reality, we are a bit more complex than our furniture taste, but if there is a style that reflects a more simple personality it would be a minimalist. Minimalist is part of the modern furniture design. Modern furniture refers to furniture produced from the late 19th century through the present. This personality will be drawn to furniture with very strong shapes but does as much as possible to avoid curves. They usually love soft textures which includes microfiber and velour. If you are drawn to simple, minimal yet modern furniture to match your decor, then you may be highly interested in the mid-century modern furniture style.
3. I could go on and on in this post with personality tell tells in design and architecture, I have covered the two most distinct. I will touch on but not explore the most common, yet harder to discover and the one nobody really seems to want to claim, is that trendy personality. You know the neighbor that always changes out their furniture for the new look of the day. Trendy will be attracted to Modern Farmhouse to a Coastal Sitting Space. Furniture salesmen and women love the trendy shopper! They know even though the sell will not be as big, this consumer will come back soon and buy the next trend. They tend to be fun personalities that sometimes can find themselves in trouble with their live today and die tomorrow personality in finance!
Anyway, take the quiz if your wondering what your style is. How your style defines your personality will be a little more complex and you might have to do some soul searching...but it is a fun journey!
Did this article make you think differently about the furniture you see in your own home? Maybe even about you?
I hope it makes you look around your home now for those pieces you love the most, as you compare your style to your personality! ~ Trish Whitsell