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Freshen up Your Living Space: How to Determine Your Furniture Style
If it’s time to refresh your home decor, you might struggle to identify your style, especially if it’s been a while since your last purchase. Fortunately, you can find inspiration as easily as ever, thanks to the Internet. Although some tried-and-true sources of inspiration will never lead you wrong. Here are just a few ideas.
Browse Magazines
There is plenty of inspiration to be found between the covers of a magazine, even if that magazine isn’t about home decor. For example, you can take plenty of inspiration from celebrity homes that have been meticulously decorated to look effortlessly chic.
Take a Quiz
Thanks to the Internet, you can save plenty of time and simply take a quiz to determine your decor and furniture tastes. Both Houzz and Better Homes and Gardens have tools that highlight your style and point you to must-have foundation pieces.
Photo by Sanandres Construction
Check Out Pinterest
While people once tore pages out from their magazines and pinned them on physical boards on their walls, you can save a little space and access others’ decor ideas thanks to the advent of Pinterest. You can start by searching for a style that you like and finding similar pieces that other users have pinned or boards containing similar furniture. You might even get lucky and find users who have tastes similar to yours. And whenever you find additional inspiration online, you can save it to your own board to reference later.
Photo by Barrow Builders Group
Go Shopping
Even if you don’t spend a dime, shopping offers plenty of opportunities for you to narrow down your tastes. Don’t just focus on furniture stores, either. Visit antique stores, flea markets, and garage sales to find those one-of-a-kind pieces that you can’t buy anywhere else. Online marketplaces can also be useful here.
Photo by Alex Barredo | Photographer
When you’re done checking out others’ secondhand goods, take a look at your own home. There might be pieces in storage that you can use, or you can repurpose furniture from another room that might be better suited in a different location.
As you’re browsing furniture styles in different stores and on different sites, pay attention to the characteristics that call you to repeatedly. Do you like intricate wood, plush velvet, or sleek lines? Don’t forget about the styles that beckon to you even if they don’t seem to match. Sometimes the style that fits you best is an eclectic one and not one that’s defined by a single era.
