Interior design to me is so much more than beautiful things. If you’ve been following my adventures on YouTube, you know how passionately I feel about families thriving at home, and how your home sets the stage for lasting memories.

But how do you actually do that? How do you create a home that is not only beautiful, but reflects your family’s unique personality and style?

As I share in my most recent video, I just wrapped a project I am calling A Tale of Two Houses, where I worked with two unique families, who are neighbours, who allowed me to work with them to make their homes their own. You can tour the more modern kitchen here, and the more transitional kitchen here.

If you want to find your unique style but don’t know where to start, here are a few steps to help start the process.

1. COLLECT IMAGES

Go on to a website like Pinterest or Houzz (or just grab plain ‘ol fashion magazines) and collect images without any judgement or filter. Just collect anything that sparks joy, anything that makes you feel good, anything that gives you a glimpse of what you want your future to look like. Collect atleast 50 images, and pay attention to any images that might come back on repeat a few times.

2. FIND SIMILARITIES

Now that you have collected a large grouping of images, look for similarities in the images. Perhaps you have collected lots of white kitchens, kitchens with generous islands, living rooms with applied mouldings, etc. Identify some common themes and place them in like groups/

3. GIVE THESE GROUPS NAMES

Find some words to describe these groups. Think of words like: farmhouse, modern, traditional, Scandinavian, retro, bohemian, transitional, etc. If you’re lost for the words, look at the article the image may have come from or the advertisement it appeared in for key words.

4. GO SHOPPING WITH THESE WORDS

Now that we have done a bit of research, and have a few words to guide us, test out these words on the market. When you walk into a store, what lights you up? When you’re in a kitchen showroom, what are the details that make you really excited? Do these items match up with the words you wrote down? If you’re stuck, work with a designer  to help you articulate your style in a really clear way.

Now your job is to use these words as your funnel, or filter, for all your decorating decisions. For some fun practical examples of what I mean, hit play on the video below!