I remember reading a one page quiz in a magazine that promised to find my unique decor style in four easy questions. What in the world? How can it tell me what I like with only four pictures to choose from? And what about if I liked the color of the table in the “Contemporary Style” picture, but the texture of the blanket in the “Victorian Style” photo? Then do I not fit in the styles? Do I not have a decor style? WHY ARE YOU LABELING ME, MAGAZINE?!? I want to be all the styles! I don’t want to be pigeon-holed into one set style!
Dramatics aside, that really is how I felt for a long time. I didn’t know what style I was because I liked lots of things from lots of stores and lots of themes. I would get rid of my rustic end tables when I bought a modern geometric blanket because to have both would be AGAINST THE RULES! I thought everything in a room needed to match perfectly, just like you would see on a catalog page. I would fall in love with something in a store, but alas, not buy it because I felt like it didn’t “go” with the rest of my room.
The older I get and the more I grow and evolve and find the REAL me deep down in my center, I have begun to let all these rules go. My opinions, my beliefs, my choices, my parenting style, my hairstyle, my clothes, my music playlist–it is all beginning to reflect who I really am, not who I think I SHOULD be. This may sound silly to you guys, but it seriously took me a long time to get here! But hey, we all have our own work to do.
I’ve found this to be true in my decor style too. It now reflects ME and what I like and THERE ARE NO RULES! There is so much freedom in that! I have tufted couches, a metal coffee table covered in wall paper, a gold outdoor table, mismatched throw pillows (some actually from our old bedding set because, whatever), a hand me down tree, a discarded old door, ten thousand frames on my hodge-podge “gallery wall”, an old piano, my Great Grandma’s hutch, a contemporary blue rug, and a farmhouse metal desk all in one room. And I love it. It makes me happy when I look at it. It definitely doesn’t fit in one style category, and that is the beauty of it. I have created my own style! There are no rules to be broken, and there is nothing I have to say “no” to in my style. It works because I say it does.
How about you? Have you ever felt lost because you didn’t fit in just one style? Do you love that contemporary metal table, but can’t give up that shabby chic shelf? Me too, I feel you. So I guess what I want to say is: you do you. Maybe you just need someone to say “it’s okay, who cares! Go ahead and put that antique telephone next to that ikea planter!” (–I’m looking at that right now on my hutch) You do what makes YOUR soul feel alive and at peace. Our homes should be a sanctuary and we should enjoy being here.
Most likely, the editors of Better Homes and Gardens won’t be stopping by anytime soon anyway.
