How to find your personal living style

05/05/2022

How we live not only says something about our taste, but also about our inner being. Studies by psychologist Sam Gosling confirm that our living style reflects our character and personality.

Home should be a place to feel good, where we have the opportunity to find inspiration for our personal and professional lives. Where we can recharge our batteries, spend time with ourselves and our loved ones and relax. But furnishing your own four walls in such a way that you feel comfortable in them and your individual style comes to the fore is not so easy. 

Find out here how to discover your own personal style and furnish your home to suit your taste. We'll introduce you to some interior design trends where you can find inspiration. Find out how you can stylishly combine them with your own touch and create your own individual oasis of well-being. 

 

How do I find my style?

Often we like furniture, decoration and other objects, but still we get the feeling that they do not fit us properly. On the other hand, the things that are close to our hearts occasionally seem chaotic and do not match each other. 

Discovering your own style of living sometimes means throwing out previous ideas and trying something new. Changing your décor can also be an opportunity to reflect on your own consumption and try to bring your environmental footprint into focus. Before buying new furniture and accessories, find out how you can live and decorate sustainably. You can find more tips on this in our blog post "Sustainable materials for your interior".

 

Which style of living suits me?

Once you have identified the areas in which you would like to change your flat or house, it is time to gather fresh ideas. There are many ways to live in style, and your goal should be to find furnishings that you not only like, but also recognise yourself in. Find accessories that are not only beautiful, but also represent the values that are important to you. For example, are the furnishings produced sustainably, with respect for the environment and with fair labour conditions for all those involved in the supply chain?

In this creative phase of decorating, you can really let off steam and let your imagination run wild. Get ideas from friends' and acquaintances' homes, films or series, catalogues, social media, blogs and anything else you can think of. Take photos, collect images from the internet and make notes on your thoughts and ideas. Always try to have your dream home in your mind's eye and mentally place new furniture or objects in it. Then always consciously ask yourself the question: Does the piece harmonise with the atmosphere of my home and with my character? 

 

Discover inspiration with different trends

When searching for your personal style, you can also look for inspiration in modern trends - and these don't just have something to do with furnishings, but can also lie somewhat outside this topic. Inspiration can be found in many places.
The following trends and thematic directions often combine sustainable production with modern designs and traditional techniques. You don't have to reinvent the wheel here, but can take your cue from tried and tested concepts that are a testament to experience and style. Below we present a few of these trends:

 

California Cool 

The "Cali Cool" interior style is as relaxed as its native California. Californians live the way they feel, and that's relaxed, natural and never forced. You won't find anything uptight, symmetrical or flawless here - perfect for those of us with kids and/or pets!

The basis for the style are bright wall colors in shades of white and beige, which provide an ideal background for large, cozy sofas. The style is complemented by personal items and vintage and boho elements that look like spontaneously dropped and create a casual atmosphere.

California interior design thrives on natural elements that provide room to breathe. Choose certified woods for your Zuhasue and combine them with fabrics like linen or wool. For more natural fabrics and materials you can use to create a sustainable home style, check out our blog article "Sustainable materials for your interior".

The look is complemented by mid-century elements. Place individual pieces of furniture or lamps in the 50s or 60s style in your house or flat, but make sure to use these elements sparingly to maintain the casual style from California.

The naturalness of the trend is also reflected in potted plants made for the dry and hot climate. Cacti, aloe vera, banana and fig trees decorate the various rooms in terracotta or ceramic pots.

The look is finally completed by its international influences. Textiles from all over the world, such as carpets from Morocco or South America, or great fabrics from Asia and Africa provide well-dosed hippie vibes.

 

Photo: Bailey Alexander

Light, natural materials, relaxed design: California Cool opens up a world of possibilities for you that is anything but boring. 

 

Wabi-Sabi

Another style that offers a lot of scope for creativity is the Japanese wabi-sabi concept. The term was introduced as early as the 16th century and describes the art of discovering beauty in the inconspicuous, in the hidden. Wabi' means something like feeling lonely and miserable. Through 'Sabi' - ageing and maturing - one then comes to appreciate this loneliness and to grasp the beauty in things that do not appear beautiful at first.

Applied to living and furnishing, it means giving a chance to the supposedly inconspicuous, old or simple, because this carries character and history. The traditional style of living combines light and darkness with simply furnished rooms and visual emptiness. 

Also at Wabi Sabi sustainably produced items and furniture are on the plan, because the furnishings should last for eternity and therefore convince with high quality. Cheap mass-produced goods are out of place here. Instead, a few selected pieces score here with their modest simplicity. These should be high-quality items that can accompany your home for a long time.

Wabi Sabi color palette adheres to white, beige or gray, and gladly dark shades of gray and brown. They are combined with natural materials and organic shapes and textures. This creates an imperfect look that tells a story. Inherited, found, given is welcome here, as it convinces with its individual value.

 

Tiny House Movement

These two interior design styles are also ideal for combining some elements of the Tiny House Movement. The original idea behind tiny houses was not only to minimise costs, but also to return to a more sustainable lifestyle. 

When a house is "tiny" is not defined. As a rule, however, the mini houses are smaller than 50 square meters. With such limited space , you have to choose exactly what goes into the limited living space and what is unnecessary ballast. A conscious choice of furniture and objects is therefore essential here.

And even if you don't want a Tiny House, there's certainly a basic idea or two here that can be taken into a normal apartment or house, such as: Less is more. Quality ultimately comes before quantity and such accessories and home textiles are also held in high regard in the Tiny House scene.

Tiny Houses: clever layout and lots of style (Design: Madeiguincho)

 

A personal touch

Both the Cali-Cool look and the Wabi Sabi style or the values behind the Tiny House movement can provide you with inspiration when designing your interior. Whether you prefer the natural freshness of Cali-Cool, the minimalism of Wabi Sabi, or the minimalism of Tiny Houses is up to your gut.

It's important that your décor matches your personality. Surround yourself with accessories that are fairly produced and made from sustainable materials. This way you can not only admire your home, but also feel comfortable in it, develop and really be yourself. 

 Image credits:

California Cool: Bailey Alexander, Roberto Nickson

Wabi Sabi: Shutterstock, Joseph Albanese

Tiny House images: João Carranca for Madeiguincho - madeiguincho.pt