How to create a cohesive home with multiple styles. Get my four part strategy for how to mix styles - you might be surprised at my approach! Click through to read the blog post that walks you through it.

Last week on Instagram, I posed the question, “If you classify yourself as a home decor lover, what are your BIGGEST challenges when it comes to decorating?”

As I read through the responses, I felt like there were two common themes to the responses: the challenge of working with a limited budget and loving so many styles that they have a hard time creating a cohesive look. If you find yourself feeling one or both of these themes when you decorate, know that you’re not alone! They’re things that I’ve even felt when I’m decorating my own house and definitely feel when I work with my e-design clients.

So today, I wanted to work through the second issue I mentioned - what to do if you love a LOT of different design styles, but want a cohesive look in your home. I’ve got a four part strategy for how to handle that “dilemma.” So grab your cup of coffee (or glass of wine if you’re reading it during that time of day!) and set aside a few minutes to dig into this one. It’s a little more in-depth than my usual posts!

How to decorate your home when you like multiple design styles

The reason I put the word dilemma in quotes above is because I actually don’t think this is a bad dilemma, and I’ll tell you why. Mixing and blending different styles in your home is actually a wonderful thing - it creates a unique, collected home that is true to your style. I want you to embrace that! Just because you can’t name your style using a single word or two doesn’t mean that you’re not sure what your style is. You probably know - it just happens to include aspects of several different ones.

For some folks, their style does lean heavily in the direction of one particular style, and that’s great, but I think most of us find we’re drawn to more than one, then struggle to name it, and therefore struggle to take action to design and decorate our homes. When you can’t name something, sometimes it leads to what I like to call “design paralysis.” Let’s not get stuck there though! Here are some ideas for getting unstuck.

Also, as a side note, it’s so easy to get overwhelmed these days because we have access to so much good design through the Internet and channels like HGTV. It’s hard not to get distracted by all the pretty things! It’s important to figure out what you truly love, and then you can block out everything else. All right, let’s get started!

1. Start a Pinterest board and study it for common themes or elements

Use Pinterest to find your home’s design style and personality. It’s a helpful tool to start answering the question of what to do when you love a lot of different design styles. Come on over and read the whole post on the blog!

If you’re a design lover, I bet you use Pinterest, and you probably already have a home design board (or a few!). Use them strategically to start honing in on what you love specifically about different rooms and images.

I’d encourage you to start fresh with a brand new board so you can determine what you’re loving right now. Definitely use the Pins you already have as a starting point though! Go with your gut here - if you see an image you love, Pin it. Then once you have a board full of rooms, pieces of furniture and decor, and vignettes you love, go back and start analyzing what you love about them.

Write down what you love specifically about that Pin using the the Note section. You’ll find that when you click the pencil icon by your Pin.

Take a look at the screenshots below for an example of how to do this. I grabbed an example from one of the inspiration photos for our Modern Coastal Office Addition Project. :) You’ll find that pencil icon for this pretty office just to the right of the image at the top.

Once you click on the pencil icon, you’ll be able to edit your pin. The Note section (see below) is where you can add in your comments about what you like about this space. For example, I wrote that I liked the color palette, style of cabinets, and touches of black.

Then after you save it you’ll be able to refer to it later on down the road if you need a reminder! The act of writing down what you like really forces you to study an image.

As you do this exercise with a bunch of Pins, you’ll start to notice patterns of what you like. THAT, my friend, is helping you define your style! It probably won’t fit neatly into a single box like “Modern” or “Coastal,” but having a running list of characteristics you like will help you know what you love and purchase items for your home accordingly. Make sense?

How to create a cohesive home with multiple styles. Get my four part strategy for how to mix styles - you might be surprised at my approach!

2. Use those common themes to come up with a single list of characteristics for the look of your ideal home

Now that you’ve seen what you like and taken notes, make a master list of what you want your home to look and feel like using words. You can definitely name some styles, but what I really want you to do is focus on specific characteristics like the color palette, materials (like wood tone, whether you like certain metal finishes, etc.), and overall feel.

Keep that note handy, because it, along with your home’s Pinterest board, are going to become your home’s “North Star” that you’ll refer to over and over again whenever you want to buy something new for your house. I’d even encourage you to make that list digital and store it in your phone so you’ll always have it with you.

3. Go through your home and do an audit

Go room by room, taking a hard look at what you have and make a list of what you want/need. What fits well with that style you’ve now defined? What needs to go? What needs to be replaced?

This is a process and definitely won’t happen in a day. Most of us will need to tackle this over a longer period of time (maybe even several years!), but getting started now allows you to take a step in the right direction and start making progress toward creating that dream home!

Start in the room you currently feel best about, since the list of changes and updates will be shorter. It’ll be easier to tackle just a few things and finish off a room rather than take on a whole room makeover as you start this process.

4. Whenever you start hunting for a new piece of furniture or decor for your home, go back to your images and lists for a “gut check”

You’ve done the hard work of creating a design North Star for your home, now be sure to stick to it!

When you feel like you love LOTS of styles, referring back to your list and Pinterest board is what’s going to keep you on track. That’s how you create a cohesive home when your style encompasses several different design styles. Try not to get distracted by what’s trending or new (unless it happens to fall into your dream home look!), but stick to what you truly love. It’ll pay off, I promise!

So what do you think? Are you ready to try this? If you follow along with the tips I’ve shared here, you’ll be well on your way to creating a home just like those pretty images you’ve pinned!

(P.S. I also wrote a post awhile back on using Instagram to help you find your style - it’s another great resource if you need help figuring out yours!)

Design Dilemma: What If You Love a LOT of Different Design Styles?