Define Your Style

In the first pages of Domino: The Book of Decorating, aka my Bible, the editors recommend nine ways to get started on redecorating your home, from how to find inspiration to assessing your stuff.  Step # 2 gives a few tips on how to define your style: "Naming your decorating style really helps you focus and filter out the things that don't fit and pinpoint those that do".   Is it elegant, traditional, edgy or zen? Feminine or masculine?  Combining a few different terms creates your own personal style but sometimes it may be difficult to identify.  

My own current style can probably be defined as boudoir with a hint of french country. Sort of...Still struggling with that one.  As much as we like the way we have decorated our house and are comfortable with the terms that we can attach to it, my boyfriend and I both love the idea of incorporating more "vintage industrial" into our home.  Every time we see a piece that fits that style, we both gravitate towards it to admire it. It seems that I have pushed my luck in terms of how much girly furniture I can bring into our house and I fear that if I decorate with any more feminine detail, my boyfriend will threaten to leave me and I will find myself alone with my many yards of pink silk fabric. The vintage industrial look seems like a good compromise for our style, but can we pull it off? Has there ever been a vintage industrial boudoir style? I guess we'll have to see...  In order to accomplish that, I either need to win a million dollars or learn to increase my patience and scout out the best flea markets because those vintage pieces tend to be fairly pricey. I'm working on it though, and it's only a matter of time before I am a do-it-yourself expert who can find the perfect two dollar piece and skillfully restore it in a day.  A few items that I have been  eying are posted below, with a particular emphasis on the marble table with iron legs! Gorgeous!

 Defining your style or the one you wish to have is a good way to start decorating and, while it may simply be a little word game for some,  it can certainly help you when you are shopping and wondering if that lamp or pillow will fit in with the rest of your things at home.  So, what's your style? I find it interesting to ask friends and it is indeed quite funny to see how people answer that question and search for the right terms.