What's Your Home Decorating Style?

Before you begin your next home renovation or redecoration project, it's smart to figure out what your home decorating style is and how best to use it. Without a common theme to unify the decor elements in your home, pieces can seem out of place. Explore the answers to a few basic home decorating questions to give new life to your home.

Casual or Formal

Set the tone for your home by identifying the atmosphere you want your guests to experience. Generally, casual spaces invite you to kick off your shoes and be comfortable while formal rooms are reminiscent of upscale hotel lobbies.

To employ a casual home decorating style, select overstuffed chairs or sofas and tables with rounded corners. If you love antiques, this is the style in which to display your treasures. When it comes to color, think about soft shades of beige and tan or other neutral hues. Dark colors like navy or green also provide a homey feel.

For formal decorating styles, use pairs of furniture and accessories to create balance. Your chunky natural wood table has no place in the dining room. Instead, think of dark, polished wood with sleek lines. Add a fringed table runner to your formal dining table and use matching crystal candleholders with tapers on top. Carved wood accents on your dining chairs or china cabinet complete the look.

Traditional or Modern

Make a statement with your room by deciding what's most important about it. Traditional home decorating styles focus more on the uniformity of the room and the furniture pieces. Modern styles, on the other hand, focus on the use of space and angles.

If your home decorating style is traditional, you'll look for matching sets when you purchase furniture instead of eclectic furniture groupings. Rather than being innovative, go with the classic looks you might expect for the room. For example, the stainless steel art sculpture you're thinking about buying is completely out of place with this style.

To pull off a modern decorating style, use basic black and white with bold accent colors. Avoid using accessories and opt instead for a clean and minimalistic approach for your spaces. The goal of this style is to show off the space you have, not the stuff.

Although there are nuances to each style, using the basics to determine what your home decorating style is will give you an excellent starting point for your next project.