Well, howdie! If you didn’t already know, The Man and I bought a house earlier this year (we got the keys in January) and it’s quite a big project. It was in need of some love: think red walls and carpets + a dated kitchen and bathroom. The Man has been doing all the work so far: ripping everything out, taking a wall out to make the downstairs open plan, adding a “cloakroom” (toilet) downstairs… Only now are we really starting to put things back in again!
So while he does all the work, I’ve had plenty of time to do some online window shopping (as well as looking after our baby, exercising, writing this blog and creating online courses!). I’ve namely been watching a lot of Kinwoven Home – Live Your Style videos and that is what has prompted me to think about my design style.
What’s a design style?
A design style is essentially what ties all of your home together. It summarises how you’ve furnished and decorated your home in one or two words. Do you know what yours is? You can take a test here or watch the video below and see which design style you identify the most with. Please tell me in the comments!
There are some that aren’t mentioned in the video of course: Mediterranean comes to mind for example. These styles can be combined, and that leads me to the design style combo I have chosen for our home renovation… Drumroll please… Scandi boho with a touch of coastal!
I’m going to break this down into its three components: the Scandinavian, bohemian and coastal design styles. Soon I’ll put up a blog post to share my inspiration for each room of the house, so make sure you subscribe to get it! But before I get carried away, please note that the house might look quite different when it’s done as The Man may not approve of all these great ideas, ha!
The Scandinavian design style
Sharrah doesn’t mention Scandinavian style in her video above, but the video below as well as my curated decor picks will give you a good idea. I’m essentially using the Scandinavian style as the “bones” of the house. For instance we’re planning on having pale, possibly white “wood” (which will in fact be vinyl) on the floor downstairs. Except for a few feature walls, all of the walls will be painted white. I’d also like to have wooden countertops in the kitchen and I generally like the look of pine furniture, for our little man’s room for example. And a lot of our existing furniture is from IKEA!
Fika poster
Round placemat
Sink caddy (on sale)
White storage table
Ironing shelf (on sale) – such a smart idea!
Freya poster
Rattan and white chair
Essential oil diffuser
Pine mirror
Coffee table
White curtains
Pine child bed
Painted wood effect vinyl
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The boho design style
I’m using the boho / bohemian style as inspiration for the finishing touches for our home. Think lots of plants and rattan! I’ve also got quite a few maps that I would like to put on the walls that would contribute to that “well-traveled” aesthetic that goes with the boho style. The video below provides more practical tips than the one about the Scandinavian style, but it is still worth a watch if you’re confused about what I mean by boho. I’ve included another video below with the key elements of the boho style too. On that note, check out the beautiful things I would love to have in our home!
Hanging plant pot (on sale)
Tapered hanging plant pot (on sale)
Tall hanging plant pot (on sale)
Blue planter with palm (on sale)
Cream textured cushion cover
Green glass mirror
South America retro printable poster
Pink agate geode
Emerald green tile
Tie-dye wallpaper
White patterned chair
Banana leaf pillow
Agate coasters
The coastal design style
I really like how Sharrah defines two types of coastal design. I definitely identify more with the Californian one (I actually lived in California for a year too!). I’m hoping to use touches of the coastal style in the bathroom downstairs, as well as in our back garden. Nothing too crazy, though given that we probably live in one of the most landlocked parts of the United Kingdom, it’s nice to remind ourselves that beaches do exist sometimes!
Aerial beach printable poster
Wood shelf
Pebbles and sea glass – would look beautiful in a little bowl
Blue stripe bowl (on sale)
Navy stripe pillow case (on sale)
Southern California retro poster
Arcachon retro poster
Brazil retro poster
Rope baskets (on sale)
Pale green tile
Navy area rug
Parasols photo
Brass round mirror (on sale)
Glass tumblers (on sale)
Bringing it all together
Based on what you’ve read / watched above, does it sound like the styles don’t really make sense together? Isn’t the Scandinavian style on the minimalist side of things, and the boho style, well, rather maximalist? I found this interesting Venn diagram that gives a good idea of how my two main inspirations can be combined in theory. For some reason, it’s quite small when I embed it here on my blog, but you can click it for a bigger version. You might like to follow me on Pinterest while you’re there as I’m pinning away while we try to make this house a home (someone’s got to do it!).
And if you want to know how I’m planning on combining them in practice in our new home, then make sure you subscribe to get the details of what I’d like in each room. As a bonus, you’ll get my free guide to making time for what is important, which is spending hours on Pinterest, Etsy and YouTube, right?
