Finding your style part II

Finding Your Style: Part 2

Buy Well, Buy Slowly

Go to an expensive shop for inspiration. Even if you don't buy anything it's very helpful to develop your eye. Be inspired, but don't try and copy. It's almost impossible to copy someone's room as often the aspect of it you most like is a result of an architectural necessity or eccentricity. Buying old or vintage is a good way to add depth to your style, as it exposes you to a variety of different eras and tastes. Get in the habit of buying things for your home, as it will then grow organically. Don't wait for your forever home to begin considering your own interior style.

North Farm feels like such an old soul, thanks in part to the things we brought with us - my collection of bed linen, the pictures and other 'stuff'. I often find it hard to persuade clients to spend on these things, as they always feel superfluous when you are at the planning and purchasing stage. But stuff is really the core of a place, it is what finishes a house in a way that furniture alone cannot possibly achieve. If you buy well all your life, it remains with you. You never stop loving good things.

Discover More

• My Instagram account, @rita_k_shopping, is an excellent resource for locating reputable antique dealers. The account has no posts, but the accounts I am following include some of my favourite and well-known antique dealers.
• I also recommend Howe London, Rose Uniacke and Soane as points of inspiration for helping you develop and find your style.

Key Question:

In my living room, I have classic and modern items in minimalist and maximalist lines but in the same colour palette. All of them have sentimental value. Is it all right to have them all together?

Answer:

Incorporating different periods and pieces when designing can be great. Using colour as a unifying factor is a great way of tying all the pieces together. Let colour serve as the great equalizer, pulling together the overall look. Using similar lines can create harmony even when different styles, textures and periods are used. It is perfectly fine having these your pieces from different periods together.

Your Assignment

Note particular aspects of four designers that you like, and begin to consider how you could implement those aspects in your own designs.

Suggested Reading

Skip to the suggested reading section at the end of this workbook to see people who have inspired me.

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