How to Find Your Personal Interior Design Style (+ Our FREE Style Quiz!)

“We spend a lot of time in our home, so it's really important that they feel really beautiful and representative of who we are as an individual. Interior design is a lot like good food, good art, good music. We all have this innate ability to identify when something like that is really pleasing to us. But a lot of us don't have that knowledge base to talk about our homes in the same way.”

I really like this quote from Lauren Cox, the Design Program Manager at Havenly, an online interior design service. Even if you don’t know interior design style names and terms, we all have built-in preferences for style, colors, and the “mood of a space.” The idea behind finding your own interior design style and learning the vocabulary is to empower you with the knowledge to start talking about design, and to start implementing it into your own home. It’s an important guide to discovering furniture and decor pieces you’ll love for years to come. 

As home decorators, we know figuring out what interior design style to follow in your home can feel overwhelming. That’s why we offer design consultations to discover your personal style! Both our design consultations (a one-on-one meeting with one of our design experts) and home decorating services include taking home a few mood boards of styles, furniture, and decor that we think you’ll love. But if you’re not ready to hire a professional, we have some advice for how to discover your personal interior design style on your own:

1. Explore Inspiration Online

A great starting point is browsing images on Google, Pinterest, Instagram, and other photo/video-sharing sites. You can start broad and search for “beautiful living rooms” or whichever room you are looking for inspiration in. The goal is to find aspects of each picture that you like or dislike. For example, you may find that you really like the idea of a green velvet couch, or really don’t like a ton of wood tones in one room. You may come across specific pieces that catch your eye, colors or color combinations you like, or even “moods” or “vibes” (of the entire picture) that you want to emulate. 

Take it all in and keep pictures of anything you like, no matter how realistic it is for your own home. Create a board on Pinterest or save pictures that catch your eye. I like to take screenshots and keep folders on my phone’s photos app- personally, I have one for overall inspiration, one for my own home, and a few for spaces I’m in the middle of envisioning, like my balcony and a client’s bedroom. Over time, patterns will emerge, helping you see recurring themes in color schemes, furniture styles, and decor choices that you naturally gravitate toward.

Search engines like Google are great for exploring different styles because they include search suggestions: at the top, you can choose to narrow your search by modern, luxury, etc.

2. Consider Your Fashion Style

Your wardrobe can be a great indicator of your design preferences! If you like to wear certain styles and colors, chances are, you will also like being surrounded by them in your home. For example, ask yourself: “Do I prefer clean, minimalist outfits, or am I drawn to bold patterns and vibrant colors?” If your clothing style leans toward neutral tones and simple, structured pieces, you might enjoy interior design styles like minimalism, contemporary, and Scandinavian design. If you love layering textures and eclectic prints, bohemian or maximalist interior design styles may suit you better. Check out these two mood boards created by Life on Virginia Street, which intersect fashion and interior design:

Life on Virginia Street has an awesome tutorial on how to create your own mood boards for both fashion and interior design!

3. Take Online Quizzes

There are many online quizzes designed to help you discover your interior design preferences, including our own FREE interior design style quiz! Ours is unique in that our design experts personally review your answers and give you feedback on what we think is your favorite style, other styles you might like, and how to incorporate furniture and decor in those styles. Whether results are from an interior designer or automated, these quizzes work by asking your favorite colors, furniture style preferences, and overall lifestyle to suggest a style that fits your personality. While you shouldn’t confine yourself to whatever results you get, interior design style quizzes can be a fun, easy way to get guidance and clarity on your home style’s direction.

We offer a completely FREE interior design style quiz! Our interior design and decorating experts personally review your answers so that we can give you personalized advice.

4. Play Around With Free Interior Design Games and Apps

Games like Redecor and Design Home™: House Makeover are free to play and give you the opportunity to play interior designer. You get to browse in-game inventories of furniture, decor, wallpaper, and flooring, and place them in rooms.

In Redecor (available through mobile app and desktop browser), you start with a furnished room with no colors- your job is to choose the colors and materials of furniture, decor, wallpaper, and flooring. Your designs are then voted against other players to win points and new materials to design with. In Design Home™: House Makeover (available through mobile app), you start with an empty room, and you get to choose all of the furniture and decor pieces. Occasionally, there’s a challenge in which some furniture and decor pieces must be used (this is a realistic skill to have because it’s just like deciding what pieces to add to what you already own). Games like this are a great way to play around with interior design and see what colors and materials look good together to you.

In the game Redecor, furniture arrangement and type is fixed, but it’s up to you to fill in wall, floor, furniture, and decor materials.

5. Assess Your Current Space

Look at the furniture and decor you already own. What do you love about them? Which are your favorites? What would you change? Do you have any pieces that are conversation starters? Understanding what makes you feel comfortable, inspired, and happy can steer you toward the right interior design style. Pay attention to textures, colors, and even decor layouts that bring you joy so that you can showcase furniture and decor that feature them.

6. Consider Your Lifestyle Needs

Your interior design style should reflect your lifestyle. For example, if you have a busy household with kids and pets, a sleek, ultra-modern look with glass surfaces and delicate pieces may not be the best fit. Instead, you might lean toward a cozy farmhouse or transitional style with durable furniture and functional layouts. Considering your lifestyle is very important to us as home decorators and professional organizers. Our goal is to create a functional home that reflects your personality (because no one wants to live in a showroom, no matter how beautiful it is).

A cozy, modern farmhouse-inspired living room. Fake plants, couch covers, and fake candles make this room perfect for homes with kids and pets.

7. Visit Showrooms and Model Homes

Seeing design styles in real life can give you a better sense of how different aesthetics feel. Walk through furniture showrooms, model homes, or even well-designed Airbnb rentals to experience how different elements come together in a cohesive way. I love looking at model homes because not every stager/professional enters a room and envisions the same interior design style or furniture layout- it can be eye-opening to see someone else’s creative vision!

8. Experiment and Take Your Time

Your personal interior design style won’t ever be set in stone; it will evolve over time due to changes in taste and life changes like a new baby, new pet, or downsizing. As you find furniture and decor pieces that speak to you, ask yourself two things- 1. how will the new pieces work with what I currently own? and 2. how will the new pieces work into new interior styles I want to emulate? There’s no right or wrong way, just mix and match different elements, try switching up throw pillows and wall art seasonally, and see what makes you feel at home. Finding your interior design style is a journey- enjoy the process and let your space evolve with you. 

I hope this advice helps you discover your personal interior design style and inspires you to make your home into a beautiful reflection of yourself. There’s really nothing better than coming home to a space that is uniquely yours.