A guide to finding your interior design style
The home of the Iconic designer Orla Kiely, Mid-century modern.
I often find the homes that make the biggest impression on me are those that truly reflect the style of the people who live there. Bringing your personal style to life when designing a home takes time and careful thought, and the aim is to create a reflection of you and what you love.
6 popular interior design styles
Traditional/Heritage - timeless, comfortable and put together
Mid Century - clean lines, organic shapes and muted tones
Boho - patterns and textures in warm, earthy colours and natural lines
Maximalism - bold colours and busy, playful accessories
Eclectic - a mix of periods and styles, textures, colours, shapes and finishes
Scandinavian - sleek modern decor yet warm & inviting
If you need help refining your style, have a look at my design services.
If you are keen to take action but would like a path to follow, join our Interiors Membership Club. Members can access a more in-depth style guide, the 12 most popular design styles, including more information on key characteristics, colours, and material choices and featuring images of some iconic interiors worldwide.
Lola’s top tips to help you refine your interior style
(Plus 3 best insider recommendations for each one)
Books and Magazines
Invest in some inspiring design books and interior magazines. Perfect for tearing out and getting your ideas flowing.
My Top 3 design books: 1. Every room tells a story, by Kit Kemp 2. Styled, By Emily Henderson 3. The Vintage Modern Home, by Katherine Sorrell
My Top 3 interior magazines: 1. Living Etc 2. Elle Decoration 3. House Beautiful
Websites and Social Media
Look at Pinterest and begin creating online mood boards. Follow home renovators and interior influencers on Instagram.
My Top 3 interior influencer Instagram accounts: 1. @glassette 2.@cotedefolk 3.@em.gurner
Furniture and Home Accessories Stores
Note any brands, designers or artisan makers whose work or products you love.
My Top 3 furniture and home accessories stores: 1. The Conran Shop 2. Heals Store 3. Soho Home Store
Paint, Fabric and Wallpaper
Most large department stores and boutique paint, fabric and wallpaper shops allow you to request samples.
My Top 3 Boutique Brands: 1. Designers Guild 2. House of Hackney 3. Little Greene
Look around you
Let the world be your muse! Visit restaurants, hotels, art galleries and gardens for further inspiration. Note any colour pairings, patterns and materials you like and take photos.
My Top 3 inspirational venues: 1. The Ned Hotel, London 2. La Paloma restaurant, Ibiza 3. The Newt, Somerset.
Trends
Don’t be swayed off-track by the lure of the latest trends or get overwhelmed by the enormous quantity of media images. Believe me, it’s easily done. Instead, try to keep your focus on what attracts you and steer clear of trends, as they’ll date quickly.
Refine your choices
Make a Mind Map
To begin the process of refining your design style, an inspiring and useful exercise is to create a Mind Map. Take a large piece of paper and note down the key interests, personality traits and design influences of you and those you live with.
*This exercise should be fun and instinctive!
Vision Mood Board - ‘Motherboard’
From your research, collected tearouts, swatches and images, and ideas from your mind map, build a mood board that gives an overview of your personality and interior tastes. I call this a ‘motherboard’ as it becomes a source to refer back to for your all your design choices going forward.
Your vision mood board should give you some clear indications of preferred styles, colours and patterns. Perhaps you’re drawn to a mix of two design styles, Boho and mid-century modern, for example. You can happily blend 2 or 3 styles in your home.
Perhaps you’re drawn to a mix of two, Boho and mid-century modern, for example. You can happily take a blend of both and introduce them to your room designs.
Using your new skills, join our membership club and take our fun quiz to see which design style you like most.
Do your quiz answers align with the styles you expected?! Maybe your answers surprised you! Either way, it's a quick, fun way to go on refining and discovering an aesthetic that's uniquely you.
If you’d like help on this journey, why not join me at my home in Bath for 1-1 workshop at my home in Bath?
Wishing you lots of fun creating your own style story,
