How to Choose a Decorating Style that Suits Your Taste & Lifestyle

? Casual and Unfussy Farmhouse – One of the most popular looks made even more popular by Joanna and Chip Gaines' decorating show (‘Fixer Upper’) and magazine (‘Magnolia Home Journal’), Farmhouse style is a very relaxed and easy look that can be implemented in any type of space from traditionally-designed homes to more contemporary homes. People like this look for its informality and ease of maintenance. With roots in formal French and English decorating styles from the 17th and 18th centuries, you could almost say that this would be the more casual interpretation of stuffy old furniture that you would find in a centuries-old home in Europe. Companies like Pottery Barn in the U.S. and Urban Barn in Canada are the best places to find this look. It’s a type of laid-back aesthetic that you would have if you had a summer cabin by the lake or up on a mountain: wing chairs for the living room, slipcovered sofas (like the one pictured below) and dining chairs, a harvest table for the dining room, or any type of furniture that is made of natural wood and looking slightly worse for wear. Having some architectural features around the house like exposed wooden beams in the ceiling, weatherbeaten floors, a painted brick fireplace, single-hung sash window, vintage style light fixtures, antique hardware, and extensive trim are key to achieving the farmhouse effect.

? Formal & Elegant Art Deco – This is the classic look that high end hotels, restaurants and city homes go for. It’s very polished and seriously adult and appeals to people who want the glitter and glamour of the 'roaring' 1920s. This decorating style can be described as masculine as it uses a lot of dark leather, polished steel and/or glass, and expensive finishes like marble or onyx to achieve the desired effect. A good reference for this look are the sets for the dining areas and bedrooms in the 2013 remake of ‘The Great Gatsby’ startting Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan or Amy Adam’s living room in ‘Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day’. It showcased the understated and expensive finishes typical of art deco interiors. It’s a very grown up look for people that like to live in vintage glamour with a high level of polish and sophistication like in the apartment entryway pictured below. It’s great for showcasing a fine art collection, or simply for entertaining friends in high style. It’s a timeless look that resists trends with its reliance on white, espresso brown, and black lacquer hues to convey an old world luxe. Being a more formal decorating style, it’s usually best suited for families whose kids are already grown up, are empty nesters, or childless households so that one doesn’t have to be as careful around the valuable pieces of art and decor that typically abound in this type of interior.

?? Playful and Relaxed Mid-Century – If you prefer a more casual type of interior design with some serious pedigree, then you may want to consider this always popular decorating style. Born out of the need to create affordable mass produced furniture for pre-fabricated homes that were also similarly churned out in the thousands for returning American soldiers coming home from the second world war, furniture designers from Sweden to the U.S. came up with these fun and inexpensive home decor that have since become iconic like the pair of DCM molded plywood chair with metal base accent chairs by American husband-and-wife furniture design couple Charles and Ray Eames, the glass & steel 'Alanda' coffee table by B&B Italia, and timeless tufted leather and steel sofas and ottoman chairs pictured below. If you have parents (or grandparents) that still have their original Knoll, Herman Miller, or Carl Hansen & Son dining or living room furniture, you may want to take a closer look at these before they sell or donate them to the local Salvation Army. These pieces have become so valuable that they’ve become collectible works of art in themselves that are bought and sold by vintage furniture shops or sold on 1stdibs for thousands of dollars each.

? JapaScandi (or 'Japandi') - Scandinavian style is the catch-all term for a type of design that originated in the Northern European countries of Sweden, Denmark & Finland. It's a clean and contemporary look that is a close first cousin to Mid-Century Modern with the main differences being that JapaScandi uses much lighter finishes – from floors to furniture – using materials that are mostly all-natural like in the picture below. In other words, you will not find any chrome or gold finishes with this look, like you'll find will Art Deco. JapaScandi interiors are meant to be comfortable, functional, and very relaxed. It's a style that is quite informal and is meant to be enjoyed rather than simply looked at. Although it has an unfussy and casual feel like farmhouse, it has a kind of organic and more contemporary flavour, being inspired by the cold climes in Northern Europe, like the dove grey on the walls and sofa, the white colours of the hardwood floors and trim, the natural blonde wood finish of the rocking chair, coffee table legs, table lamp base, end tabletop; the unfinished picture frames, and the sisal area rug. The overall effect is that of youthful and cozy sophistication. Except that you may want to warm up this cool and laid-back style of interior with some soft yellow-tinged lights and some leafy green plants to inject some energy as JapaScandi interiors can feel a bit cold and lifeless at times as their interior schemes are usually devoid of any colour.

? Traditional or ‘Granny Chic’ style – One of the biggest trends that likes to stage a comeback every 15 – 20 years is traditional or ‘granny chic’ style. These are interiors that wouldn’t look out of place in an old French chateau or English manor from several hundred years ago. Like it or not, old school interiors are popular again and for some people, they are timeless classics that will never go away. Some of the easily identifiable characteristics of ‘granny chic’ are patterned wallpaper featuring birds, flowers or even murals of country scenes. From muted tones to vibrant hues, you will see an abundance of pattern in various elements like persian rugs, throw pillows, curtains and upholstery fabric. Sometimes you will see pattern being layered on even more pattern for a maximalist effect (such as in the photo below) or maybe on just a few elements like curtains, throw pillows and area rugs for a more restrained take on this look. One thing distinctive about old school interiors are the graceful curves of very old-style furniture like the dining chairs shown below, the Murano chandelier, the oriental-style shelves and even the antique lacquered frames of the old black and white prints that have gold inlay accents on each side of the frame. If you like a home that oozes character and charm, this is certainly the way to go. This look has been around for a few hundred years which is a virtual guarantee that even if this look goes out of style, it’ll come roaring back after a couple of decades of going into hibernation.?

? Eclectic style – On the other hand there are people who don’t want to stick to one particular style and be strict about the rules. They may have traveled all over and have fallen in love with the clean and simple aesthetic of JapaScandi style, or they may want some of the drama and mystery of Oriental style such as the Chinese screens that have been taken apart and then used as wall art like in the picture below. And then having some family ties to Europe might mean being naturally drawn to the timeless ‘Granny chic’ of French and English period furniture (like the pair of open backed chairs on either side of the sofa), with its sinuous curves and romantic appeal. And if one is also a lover of warm weather, beaches and the relaxed vibe of the tropics, then why wouldn’t one want to include a bamboo and cane-woven sofa and bamboo blinds to add to the casual vibe? And if you use a lot of dark (rather than light) finishes then it adds a cozy and welcoming feel to the space without the use of colour on the walls or any greenery. Adding a lamp that has no discernible style and some linen fabric to acts as a kind of informal curtain and blanket for the main sofa you have an interesting space that has no allegiance to one particular style of design and manages to feel both formal and relaxed at the same time while have a strong visual impact with the carefully selected pieces of furniture and soft accessories.