How to Find Your Home Decor Style
A Budget Friendly Guide
Decorating is an exciting and fulfilling privilege. Choosing colors, styles and designs to reflect your unique lifestyle can be extremely gratifying. It truly is an art form!
But it’s not always easy to visualize what kind of decor will work in our homes. Compound that with budget constraints, our evolving likes and dislikes and ever-changing trends, and it’s easy to become disillusioned with the whole process.
The good news is that there are several simple ways to approach making your home beautiful. And all of them can be accomplished on any kind of budget! Even if you have a zero dollar budget, these tips will help you consider how to rearrange what you already have! You can make your space lovely!
Below are seven points that will help you think through your home decor plans. I hope you find them helpful. They come from my own life experience, and I am sharing them from a heart of gratefulness for what the Lord has taught me.
Step #1: Understand the Nature of Decor
It might sound like a strange tip to start with, but we need to understand the principles behind why decor is important. It’s paramount to have the right mindset going into this. We need to know why we should make our homes beautiful, not just know that we want to.
First, we recognize that stylish home decor is not ultimately necessary. But making our homes lovely is. The drive to create a beautiful living space is innate. It’s a gift from God! Our home is where we nurture our families and relax at the end of the day. If it’s not organized and comfortable, it’s not as easy to connect with each other or unwind.
No matter where we are, God has called us to love. One way to do that is by making spaces beautiful! And God has made each of us stewards of particular items and budgets. We should faithfully use what he’s given. No need to plop down extravagant amounts of money! We can start by taking stock of what we already have and then begin the fun of rearranging and planning!
Step #2: Start With What You Already Have
It’s tempting to start by scrolling through social media and picking the decor style we think we want. But that can easily lead to frustration if we often don’t have the budgets or time to devote to re-doing our entire style. And even if we did, the result would likely lead to lifestyle shock. A better alternative is to consider what you already have and start from there.
Here are some questions to ask yourself about what you already own:
1. What’s the style of your house? What’s the vibe you’re going for? Is it Traditional? Bohemian? Modern?
2. What furniture and decorative items do you have displayed? What is their general style?
3. What do you like/ not like about the items you have? (Be specific: color, texture, shape, etc.)
It may be useful to start keeping a notebook of your thoughts if you plan to make more major changes like painting or buying new furniture. Or you could just keep mental note of things as you go if you are like me and your home goes through slow evolutions.
Step #3: Consider Your Colors and Textures
1. What are your base colors? (What colors are your walls, furniture, and floors?)
2. Do those base colors mesh with your highlights? (Pillows, decor items, etc.)
3. What textures do you have in your home? You can really help add dimension and character to your home with an eclectic collection of frames, pillows, varieties of potted plants, shelves with nick-knacks, etc. Of course, you want to avoid overfilling a home, but textures can really help soften your space.
4. What are your highlight colors? What colors are the decorative items in your home? Do they mesh well together?
If you’re like me, eclectic spaces are a good plan, since you collect beautiful things along the way without a definite plan. The tips below will help you consider which items to collect in order to add to the beauty of your home and not take away from it.
If you are going to buy furniture, flooring, or paint, these considerations about color and texture are especially important. The next tip will help you figure out how to pick out styles.
Step #4: Browse for Inspiration
Here comes my favorite part! It’s finally time to start browsing Pinterest! Or Instagram… Or your favorite local decor shop… Or kick it old school and open a magazine…
Quick caution: Before you start browsing, intentionally pray for help to guard your heart against comparison. Don’t fall into the trap of becoming upset because you don’t have as beautiful a space as someone else.
I have done a lot of thinking about this topic and about the quote “comparison is the thief of joy,” and I wanted to know what the Bible said. I couldn’t find anything directly helpful by searching the word comparison, but then when I thought about why it might be wrong, I realized it was about envy or covetousness.
As you’re browsing, consider these questions:
1. What styles do you like that might work with what you already have?
2. What colors are common for that style?
3. Which of those colors do you already have ?
Identifying style terminologies and keeping a running list for reference will make for easier and more productive searches. For example, I often search for terms like “boho chic” and “traditional,” but you might look for “rustic”, or “shabby chic.”
Once you’ve found your terms, create boards on Pinterest or print pictures for your notebook for inspiration, and refer to them whenever you need inspiration.
Almost ready to start decorating your home!!
Step #5: Consider Your Family/Roomates' Preferences
Perhaps this tip should have come first. It may seem obvious, but don’t forget to ask the people you live with what they think about your decor plans. Sometimes a particular item may be important to them to display. So ask your husband or roommates about which items are non-negotiable, and consider how you might incorporate those items into the decor you’re envisioning. Remember, your goal is not to have a perfect home, but one that everyone can feel comfortable and loved in.
Step #6: Play Around With the Setup
Now for the fun part! Once you know what you have, what you like, and what’s important to your family, you can start decorating!!
The first step is to clear out things that don’t go with the style(s) you’ve chosen. For instance, do you like the traditional style but have several modern art pieces? Maybe consider letting those pieces go or moving them to another room. If an item isn’t blessing your space, it may need to be moved or donated.
Two ways to go about redecorating:
1. All at Once:
This kind of redecorating is super fun! This is where you do an entire look overhaul. You can pick out new things for your home and rearrange everything. It involves lots of planning and a larger budget. If you can do that, that’s great! If not, there’s another option. I love this method because it can dramatically change my mood. I’ve done this a couple of times on a budget with my bedroom, repainting things to bright colors and adding cute homemade pillows to the bed for texture, and it was super fun!
2. Change Things As You Go:
In this type of decorating, you start by recognizing which areas of your home could use your improvement, and as time and your budget allow, you keep your eyes peeled for the things that would bless those corners or spaces. I prefer this means of decorating because I can stay within my monthly budget and be picky about the things that I choose, waiting until the perfect one appears. No compromises on my vision necessary. However, this method does involve waiting, and therefore discipline.
Step #7: Save, Spend, and Give Thanks!
Whichever way you choose to redecorate, remember that it’s usually a slowly evolving process. As you add and remove items, or move things around, you will gradually become happier with your space. It’s all about adapting your home to meet the needs of you and the people you live with!
So we’ll finish the article as it was started, with a recognition that we are all gifted by God with certain budgets and items. As our homes evolve, let’s be faithful with our saving and planning as well as with our spending and decorating. We give all thanks to God for this work and for our homes and things!