Find Your Interior Design Aesthetic!

When embarking on your interior design project,  your first question is often what is your interior design aesthetic?  That can be a difficult question to answer if you don’t have experience with home decor and the stylized categories. In this article, we give a brief overview of the top six requested aesthetic designs your interior designer will draw upon with examples.

What’s My Interior Design Style?

Simply put, your design style is your favorite home decor.  Most people enjoy elements from more than one, but typically your favorites will fall mostly into one or two of the categories we will be exploring. When choosing an interior designer, you want to make sure that they respect your design aesthetic. It’s important to understand where your style fits into these design categories. Inexperienced designers will often try to get you to conform to their favorite designs, but you need to be happy with your home so it’s important to be able to express your personal aesthetic. It is equally important the exterior design dovetails with the interior design style. For example, you have chosen to decorate your home Traditional, but the architecture is contemporary or modern. You are going to want to curate elements from Transitional so that you can seamlessly blend the interior with the design style of your home.

Is My Design Style Traditional?

You enjoy traditional decorating and prefer living rooms that are filled with antiques and comfortable furniture. You also love dining rooms with large dark wood dining room tables and ornate dining chairs. You tend to like rich textured fabrics with a rich, dark color palette. You love brocades and tassels with ornamental accessories. You may enjoy floral arrangements and coffee table books for your interior home decor.  Your home design style is classic and your interior design preference would be considered Traditional.

Traditional Design Key Elements

Traditional is one of the oldest, and most commonly used designs. Traditional is inspired by 18th-century English and French furniture designs. It uses dark wood and rich fabrics. It brings in a sense of luxury with crystal chandeliers and other luxurious items. You will find in Traditional style homes, both the interior and exterior have not changed much since the time it was built typically in the 19th or 20th century. The traditional style is based on traditional shapes, ornate detail, and forms that were popular at the time the home was built.   By incorporating newer pieces with structure and symmetry, we can bring Traditional into the 21st century while maintaining the aspects of the home design style. Studio Fain’s approach to Traditional home decor is creating conscious layering with formality.

Traditional Design Example

Is My Interior Design Aesthetic Contemporary and Modern?

You’re a minimalist and you love simple things. Your favorite colors are neutrals, like tans and crisp whites. You enjoy using natural materials such as wood or stone and natural lighting within the home is a necessity.  You like textured fabrics like linen and wool. You are drawn to unusual shapes like curved furniture with statement pieces. You abhor clutter.  Open spaces and natural light bring you a sense of peace and comfort.  Your minimalist interior design aesthetic would be considered Contemporary and Modern.

Contemporary and Modern Key Elements

Homes built within the last 50 years tend to be contemporary or modern and the interior design style blends well with neutral, inviting, and casual design elements. You’ll find lots of light-toned woods and relaxed textured fabrics mixed with iconic lighting done with black, brass, and chromes. Modern decor styles are rooted in square shapes and forms. Extra embellishments are not included in this decor style, and typically the style has a more neutral color palette with the occasional pop of color. The style of the room depends on what kind of furniture and decorations are used. Contemporary design is always changing. It changes every year because it keeps evolving. There are many different styles and trends of contemporary design. Décor is kept minimal. Modern interiors tend to ditch the knicks-nacks and use art as decoration. Bold colors are used in art and furniture.

Contemporary Design Example

Does My Design Style Fit into Modern Farmhouse?

While you love the look of a rustic interior with vintage furniture, you want your home to feel like it’s in the 21st century. Natural elements like Shiplap reclaimed wood and folk art catch your eye. You love effortlessly blending reclaimed materials with cozy textures that strike a balance between old and new.  Modern Farmhouse may be the style for you!  Studio Fain recommends Modern Farmhouse for Farmhouse architecture as we can seamlessly blend the exterior and interior using Modern Farmhouse interior design elements.

Modern Farmhouse Key Elements

Modern Farmhouse is on trend right now! It is inspired by the HGTV show Fixer Upper. It is casual and comfortable while still having a hint of Traditional. Plaids, blues, green and white are the color palette. Comfort is definitely at the center. So, the use of rustic, weathered wood – whether in a natural or whitened finish is common in farmhouse style.  Modern Farm House spaces balance that desire for comfort with contemporary design elements. Colors in farmhouse interiors are often more neutral but can feature pops off earthy tones. And, while classic Farm House interior design veers toward very rustic, more trendy takes on Modern Farm House and Rustic Farm House brings in elements of industrial contrast – like choosing dark metal finished light fixture and accent furniture – to give a farm house space a bit more of a modern style spin.

Modern Farmhouse Design Example

Am I Glam?

You love all things 1920s Hollywood. Your good taste is on display and you enjoy art deco architecture and art nouveau design elements.  You are drawn to rich textures like velvet, suede, and leather. You enjoy a polished look with the finest finishes. Rich, jewel-toned colors, high-end art, and luxurious furnishings are where your eye leads you.  Your interior design aesthetic is considered Glam.

Glam Decor Key Elements

The Glam design style is filled with luxe textiles we mention above, leathers, suedes, velvets, fine finishes, and saturated color. Lighting tends to be ornate with lots of bulbs reminiscent of the Hollywood dressing room. It’s very high-end and luxurious. With homes decorated in Glam, you will see minimal yet impactful touches that give it an elevated, posh look without having to add too much extra detail. A Hollywood Glam home tends to feature lots of gold, silver, and other shiny metals. A Glam space can incorporate fur and other plush fabrics. Materials like mirrors and metallic finishes are also common. The color scheme tends to be a rich color of jewel tones or bright whites, but there is a lot of room for creativity here. Geometric patterns and decorative materials are also popular in this style. Our favorite part of creating a Glam look is curating the phenomenal artwork that accompanies all Glam interior designs.

Glam Design Example

Is My Interior Design Aesthetic Coastal?

You enjoy the casual beachy vibe of the east coast. You love the Ocean and all that at hosts. Blue is your primary color and you enjoy home decor that includes the beauty of nature like driftwoods and art with whales and starfish.  You like homes with buoys and net ornamentals, ships, and all things ocean and sand.  Your design style is very much Coastal. 

Coastal Style Key Elements

The name “Coastal” gives you a sense of what the style encompasses. Coastal decorating style is derived from homes on the beaches of the East Coast. The style brings natural elements of the coast inside your home. These homes tend to have a lot of white-washed woods, blue tones, and lots of whites to help retain natural light giving the home a sunny bright vibe. Coastal interiors are designed to make you feel as if you’re living by the sea. Whites are paired with beige, to mimic the sand. Blues are used to represent the ocean and sky. Coastal interiors should always feel bright and airy. Light sheer fabrics are used to let the breeze blow through. Window treatments are kept to a bare minimum. Coastal Interior Design will incorporate blue glass vases, striped wallpaper, and abstract paintings. Coastal is typically reserved for homes along the coasts.

Coastal Design Example

I Like Several of These Design Aesthetics!

You have a hard time describing your personal style, but it is very eclectic and changes with the seasons. You love bright color, textures, patterns, and anything that makes you smile.  You checked boxes in two or three of the above-mentioned design styles.  Your core style includes clean lines, geometric shapes, and neutral colors but also want rich dark woods and patterned textures. Or, your home is Traditional built in the 1800’s but your interior design aesthetic is best described as Modern.  Most people fall into this category as typically, homes are not purchased based on the interior design as the interior can always be changed.

Transitional Key Design Elements

Transitional is an eclectic style with one of the more popular design styles and has a lot of similarities to Contemporary as far as clean lines minimalist furnishing but the color combos, and the curated aesthetic are pulled from the other categories. Transitional rooms are typically filled with iconic pieces from just about every style that all work together into a cohesive style.

Transitional Design Example

Your Personal Style Should Be Enriched by Your Interior Designer

There are many more subcategories to Interior Design stylings, like Midcentury Modern, Scandinavian style, Industrial, and Boho but with the right designer, it is not necessary to pin down your exact specificity.  A talented designer will use your descriptors as inspiration. They will create house decor that is accurate, approachable, and cozy feeling with an authentic vibe.

Now that you understand the baseline style for your personal design aesthetic, your next step is to find an Interior Designer who gets it. We hope you found this quick overview informative and fun!  We would love the opportunity to work with you further.

For interior design inspiration, take a look at our other blogs!

Aurora Fain

Principal Designer

CPBD, NCBDC
Member of ASID

 Cell: 713.724.0852

[email protected]
STUDIOFAIN.COM