Contemporary, Classic, Designer or Resort – how do you know what style is for you? Porter Davis Homes Victoria lead interior designer, Stephanie Atanasovski, answers your questions on how to discover your personal home design style.

• What’s the first step to take when deciding how to style your home?

Gather as much inspiration as possible! I’d recommend joining Pinterest and also flicking through a few home design magazines so you can start to get a feel for what you do and don’t like. I’d also suggest visiting display homes as sometimes it can help to physically walk through a space to get an idea of how it feels.

Also, take note of design elements in your everyday life that speak to you; for example, if you visit a cafe or clothing store that you like the design of, take a photo – inspiration can come from many different places.

• What advice would you give to someone who likes a number of different styles, such as Classic and Coastal? Can you combine different styles?

Absolutely! You can certainly combine two or more styles to really personalise your look. I’d also recommend starting with a basic palette and basic style of hard furnishings as a base, which you can then build on. This means you can freshen up your style whenever you like, and not be tied down to one style.

• What’s the most important aspect to consider when trying to discover your personal style?

Try not to follow home design trends too closely. As tempting as it is to want to be on trend, it’s a better idea to stay true to your taste and consider whether you’ll like this style in the long term, to avoid wanting to redecorate in 12 months’ time. Practicality is also key; your home needs to be functional as well as look good.

• Does your fashion sense and other elements of your personality impact your home design style and if so, how?

Yes, your fashion sense certainly plays a part in your interior styling. Usually, the colours you tend to gravitate toward when dressing yourself will also be similar to the tones you’ll use to dress your home. If you’re a minimalistic person in how you dress, this will likely be mirrored in your home styling.

• Can you start with a colour palette that you like and build on that?

Colour is the most common way that people start to figure out their personal style. Putting together colours in a variety of materials and textures is a great way to start and will provide you with the base, which you can then add more detailed elements to.

What’s your style? Take the online quiz at Porter Davis to discover if you’re more Contemporary, Classic, Designer or Resort.

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