Find Your Style Through Staging - Shades of Blue Interiors

I remember when I first got married and it was my responsibility to decorate our first little apartment. I had no clue! Home decor was not a thing that was even talked about in my home growing up. I didn’t even know where to start! I started just putting up things that were given to us or I kinda liked, not really thinking about color or cohesion, let alone elements and principles of good design. I would watch those HGTV makeover shows and I swear to you… I thought those designers were BORN with that talent to design and decorate rooms! Ha! I’m sure most are born with drive and an appreciation for beauty. But good design and the ability to decorate? Those are skills, m’dear! Learned, trained, studied, SKILLS.

So this post is for anyone who sometimes feels a little lost when it comes to decorating their home. For anyone who sees lots of things they love but doesn’t know how to put it all together to make it ‘work’. For anyone who wants to paint and sell furniture and struggles to stage it in an appealing way and doesn’t have a distinct personal style yet.

How to Find Your Style Through Staging

1. Start simple

When staging a piece of furniture or sell or to photograph, you want the piece of furniture to be the eye catcher, not whatever is sitting on top. Mind you, this is most of the time, there are exceptions to this, but this is a good place to start. So, start simple. A vase with some fresh flowers and a small stack of books is a safe place to start. Play around with where you place them, how close they are, the angle, etc. Take lots of pictures and make adjustments as you notice what it looks like. Nearly every time I take pictures of a piece of furniture or something staged in my home, I move things around after the first couple shots. In a picture, I can look more objectively at how the items relate to each other. Playing around with placement is easier to do when you only have 1 or 2 items sitting on top.

Source: Barb Blair of Knack Studios

2. Research

-I cannot stress this enough. If you pay attention to styling details that the professionals do, after time and practice, it will start to feel more natural and your confidence will grow. Grab some home decor magazines (from all different styles), get on Pinterest, Instagram (follow bloggers or magazines you love), watch some HGTV programs, start following some big blogs, and go to your friends’ houses that have good design taste. Take notes. Evaluate what works and what doesn’t (in your opinion).

Here are some examples of professional styling, aka ‘what works’:

Allison, with The Golden Sycamore, styled this rustic table she made, with a few purposeful items. It doesn’t look too fussy or messy, but looks natural and beautiful, while still being useful.

This layered look used by Marian, aka Miss Mustard Seed, is very visually interesting with all the vintage touches. It makes her milk painted empire dresser look even more authentic. The gilded touches of the frame and “&” sign make this look expensive.

Because of all the cool neutral tones used in the decor on this dresser by Shaunna of Perfectly Imperfect, it’s beachy blue color really stand out. The items are very well balanced with the placement of the circular mirrors on the wall above.

Amy with The Blissful Bee decorated her factory cart coffee table with mostly items in nature. Some fresh blooms and driftwood add texture, while the candle sticks balance the height, keeping the tallest toward the center.

Most people shy away from bold colors, but that is why, if you love color, you need to study magazines like HGTV Magazine. This stylist clustered jewel-toned vases and flowers with an equally bright, glossy chest. And all of those colors are repeated in the gorgeous rug, adding cohesion.

The white ironstone and pottery on the open shelving are the statement in this kitchen. Clean modern lines are paired with country open shelving, showing how you can mix modern and country together.

Here are some good places to start if you aren’t sure of your style:

Magazines: TV Programs:

Better Homes & Gardens Color Splash (HGTV)

HGTV Magazine Divine Design (HGTV)

Country Living Sarah’s House (HGTV)

Domino Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)

House Beautiful Clean House (Style Network)

Blogs (who all have follow-worthy Pinterest/Instagram accounts):

The Handmade Home

Miss Mustard Seed

Perfectly Imperfect Blog

Young House Love

Knack Studios

The Lettered Cottage

3. Borrow/Buy/Make a few things & try it out

-Once you have mastered the simple 1-2 item look, look for items that can give you some versatility and a layered look.

This dresser was my very first post on this here blog. Nothing on top. blah.

I restyled the dresser yesterday and took some pictures. Notice the simple layers with a few basic items. It looks so much more fun and interesting with little effort!

Items to borrow/buy/make:

-lamps

-unique vases

-small objects (clocks, figurines, pottery)

-wreaths

-frames

-rugs

-accent pillows

-items from nature

Danielle with Finding Silver Pennies always does a superb job of decorating with nature:

-Because you don’t know for sure how you will love it, I’d suggest not splurging on any of the above items. Instead, get creative! Can you sew a straight line? Find some fabric and make some pillows! Spruce up thrift store lamps and frames with some paint! Make your own wreaths with materials from a craft store!

Other places I love to go for a good deal on home decor items:

-Home Goods/Marshall’s/Ross/T.J.Maxx

-Thrift stores (for pottery, vases, baskets, and books)

-Target (especially their clearance stuff)

-Overstock.com (for their rugs)

-World Market

-Michael’s

-Additionally, you probably have a friend who has a cute home. And chances are, she likes to change things out a couple times a year. If that is the case, ask her if she would be interested in letting you borrow/buy it from her! My husband’s sweet aunt frequently gives me things that she doesn’t want or use any more, not because it isn’t cute, but she got tired of it. And she doesn’t have 3 little children, so it is always in perfect condition! It helped me figure out what I really liked and what I didn’t, without having to spend extra money.

4. Get rid of what you don’t love/haven’t fallen in love with

-Try out the items in your pictures. Then try them out in your home. If you haven’t fallen in love with them after a month, get rid of it. Sell it, give it away, return it. (*gasp* did I really just say that last one out loud?!? ;))

I returned that shell figure. I worked for this picture, but it didn’t end up working in the rest of my home.

5. Look for key/statement/pricier items

-If you are impatient like me, you want to buy a new sofa, or bookshelves, or rug, in order to fill up space or to satisfy the urge to have something new, in hopes of making the space look refreshed. However, what really happens is after the newness wears off, you realize it isn’t as cute as you hoped it would be. When we first moved to St Louis, I was desperate to fill up the spaces I had to make it feel “homey”. So we bought a forest green love-seat that was on sale, a couple of cheap bookcases, and put in a new rug. After about 3-4 months I was already tired of what we had! I spent more money on changing out the rug again, buying slipcovers, and putting doors on those cheap bookcases, trying to make them look less messy. And even after all that, I still don’t like any of them!

With the money I spent on buying those things new, TWICE, I could have waited and bought something I LOVED for longer than 3-4 months. I’m currently saving for new sofas, new rugs, and we are going to build our own book cases! Additionally, since I am continually coming across beautiful furniture, I’m waiting until I find the perfect size coffee table for our living room, and some other smaller furniture items. I’m not in a huge hurry, because I want to get it right. I know exactly what I’m looking for, so I’m willing to be patient. Patience will usually get you a good deal too, so keep an eye out for coupons, promotions, sales, and yes even Craigslist!

6. Let your style evolve

-Maybe you start out being drawn to the shabby chic style with all the whites, neutrals, antiques, and feminine touches. But then later on down the line, bold patterns really speak to you! And you start pining for that mid-century credenza! Let it evolve. Combine styles so that it becomes unique to you! If you refinish furniture, I would suggest experimenting with several different styles and techniques with the furniture. Try super chippy and distressed. Try clean lines and glossy. Try patterns with paper or stencils. Try layers and textures. Not only will this add to your skill level, but it will help you become confident and sure of the choices you make in your home.

UP NEXT:
Interior Design 101 & Home Interior Styles

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Category