Finding and Embracing Your Own Style {by Marian from Miss Mustard Seed!}

My friend, Marian, is here today!

She is possibly one of the most talented ladies I have ever met.  And she is one of the sweetest too!  I have had to call her more than once for help, and she has always been such a blessing to me.  She has a heart of gold, and I am so happy for the way her blog has exploded over the past two years.  She takes beautiful pictures, paints amazing pieces of furniture, and has a work ethic beyond compare.

Thank you, Marian, for helping me out during my move!

 

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Hello Beneath My Heart readers!  I am Marian, better known in the blog world as Miss Mustard Seed, and it is an honor to be a guest here today.

Miss Mustard Seed's Creative Blog

 

I decided to share a post I wrote several months ago about style.  I think it’s a common trap for blog writers and readers to get swayed by all of the wonderful projects, ideas, designs and photos we view on our screens daily.  It can be easy to lose yourself and your style. This post is a way to encourage you to find and embrace your own unique style.

This post is about style.  Your style.  Great style.  And how to figure out which is which.

Do you find that you love transitional  beach modern French bohemian country shabby chic log cabin Edwardian cottage junk style?  Do you get your home set in one style and then a magazine or blog will sway you in an entirely different direction?  Do you feel like your style is a moving target?

You’re not alone.  You’re not suffering from IDSPD (Interior Design Split Personality Disorder.)  It’s ok to love a lot of styles.

Here’s the important question you have to ask yourself:

Do you love this style or do you love this style for your home?

That’s a very important question.

As decorating fanatics, we all appreciate great design and chic style, but we don’t have to use it all in our homes and we don’t have to use it all together at the same time.  It’s also ok to love something and not own it.  It’s ok to love a style and not use it immediately in a room in your home.

These are some ways you can avoid being easily swayed by the winds of home decor change.

Know your staples.

We all have things we have loved for years.  Antiques, blue and white, ironstone, dark woods, French country and toile are some of my staples.  I have loved and used all of these for over ten years and I have never grown sick of them.


 

 

Fad vs. Forever

Look at dated magazines or home decor books.  I’m talking gingham fabric, baskets hung everywhere, dried flowers and geese.  Look past the big bangs, brass hardware and over abundance of froof and see what is in the room that would still work today.  You’ll be surprised at how much would still look great.  This will give you a good clue at what is fad and what will stand the test of time.  Spend your decorating dollars on the latter and buy the former for less, knowing it will change.

 

Embrace Your Style

Your style does not have to be easily categorized or labeled.  It’s ok if you like to mix coastal with cabin, cottage with country, modern with medieval.  You don’t have to justify your space or style to anyone else.  Just do what works for you and your family and throw convention out the window.  Most of the greatest trend setters do this and the masses follow.


One Common Thread

Your home is going to work if there’s one common thread that ties all of the furniture, accessories and decisions together.  That common thread shouldn’t be a theme or style.  It should be your love for it.  If you love a piece, it’s going to work with all of the other pieces you love.


A Grain of Salt

The blog world is great for getting feedback on your projects and styles, but don’t allow this wonderful world to throw you off track.  It’s easy to look at the pretty pieces and rooms on the blogs of others and get the itch to makeover your entire house to look like theirs.  It’s ok to do that, if you feel like you’ve finally found your style after years of hunting for it, but don’t run out and change everything if you’ve just finished your mid-century modern makeover right after your wild western theme was carried off to the thrift store.  Just stop.  Walk away from the blog.  Put the decorating mag down and take stock of what you really love.  If you really love mauve and blue with a teddy bear border and everyone else is ripping it down and talking about how hideously dated that is, don’t let that sway you.  Declare your love for 1980’s decor from the roof top and take the opinions of others with a grain of salt.  It’s your home and you need to be comfortable in it.

 

Don’t Muddy the Waters

We all do, especially those of us on a tight budget.  We accept freebies or cheap-os that we don’t really love and those pieces muddy the decorating waters.  It’s hard for us (or anyone else) to see our style behind the mammoth 1970’s hutch from Aunt Beverly or the orange burlap sofa you picked up off the curb.  I’m not saying to chuck it all and sit on the floor. Just know those pieces are temporary and don’t buy pillows that coordinate with the sofa or the dining set that matches the hutch.  Be patient and only add pieces in that are “you.”

Now, don’t take this advice and tear your house apart, but mull over it for a while and start with small changes.  Make a decision to embrace your style and create a home you love.

Thanks, Traci, for letting me share on your wonderful blog while you’re busy packing!


This is some great advice, Marian!

I am definitely keeping this in mind as I start to decorate my new home.

Thanks!!

Traci

8 Comments

  1. Oh, sage advice…..thank you. I have a really eclectic mix of things I have made, things I love…things that I need [cat trees, dog beds, you get the picture]….You have made me feel better…..

  2. Wonderful advice! Thanks Miss Mustard Seed and Traci! Sometimes I need to be reminded, because looking at these beautiful blogs can sway you!
    Debbie

  3. Two of my fav bloggers!!!! I contact you Traci from another blog because you had done furniture makeover and I needed help with a stripping/restaining of my kitchen table. You in turn contacted Marian and she gave me name of stuff I needed etc etc. YALL GIRLS ROCK!!!!!!!!!

    Marilyn C.

  4. This is a wonderful post! Such great advice with all the exposure to design we get nowadays; it’s so easy to get caught up and lose sight of what your style is.

  5. Thanks for the words of wisdom. I am just starting out with redecorating my house. YES, the blogs have so many wonderful ideas. Now, I have to decide which ones “I” LOVE!

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