I am so excited today to do a little follow up on my blog post How to use Pinterest to Define Your Personal Style. In it, I shared my tips on really boiling down your ultimate style descriptor to three single words. It was only once I was able to do this myself that my style came into absolute clear focus and I no longer made the mistakes I had made so many times before in my decor.
That moniker, ‘Eclectic Boho Glam’ is what defines me, my blog and my style. It’s three words that encapsulate everything that I love to surround myself with. It doesn’t mean I’m not allowedΒ to like other styles (on the contrary, I love loads of different styles!) or that I can’t on occasion lust after something outside of it – but for the most part, if I see something I’m considering for my home, I ask myself if it fits into my three words. If it does, I know it’ll be easy to make it work with my existing style. If it doesn’t, I’ve learned from experience that it’s better to admire it from afar rather than try to shoehorn it in. I always know when something will work and when it won’t and this gives me a cohesive look throughout my home.
And the weird thing is, this extends not just to decor but to my fashion choices as well. I find myself drawn to certain styles and they will almost ALWAYS fit into ‘eclectic boho glam’ style. It’s a strange discovery but I realised it not long after that pretty much everything either has a bit of a boho edge or a very glam one and I often mix up styles, like pairing biker boots with a floaty top or throwing a leather jacket over a floral dress – that kind of thing. And I’ve heard from others they’ve had much the same discovery once they did the exercise.
So today what I wanted to share with you is that you don’t have to just take my word for it. I’m going to share three bloggers who did exactly the same exercise and yet came up with their own totally unique defining three words.
Maria from Dinki Dots: “Bright Modern Playful”
Maria is a talented crafter as well as a good friend of mine and one of the reasons I even came up with the exercise in the first place. She knew what she liked but often found herself buying things because they looked great in someone else’s home. She’d end up returning items too often because they didn’t actually fit well into her home and she was left confused by what she actually wanted to live with, rather than those things she just admired. We ended up looking at her Pinterest board together and finding the patterns but when she came up with her final three words – bright, modern, playful – everything fell into place.
In Maria’s own words: “I feel like those are the words for ME in general. Not just interiors… but for the craft things I like to make, and the sort of clothes I want to wearβ¦ as thatβs what I like! It’s strange, as soon as we arrived on those three words, I knew we’d cracked it – they were right! Β They define ME! Β In fact, they seem so obvious, I don’t know how I didn’t already know this! Β I now feel so much more focused when it comes to buying things for the home, clothes to wear, the craft things I will make. Β Life is too short to surround ourselves with things which don’t bring us joy, right?β
Check out Maria’s blog post here!
Mila from Jest Cafe: “Mid-Century Vintage Boho”
LA bloggerΒ Mila had decorated and redecorated her home but felt her tastes needed to be pinned down in order to make better decisions for her home. The question that helped her the most was asking herself before she pinned something whether she could actually live in that space – and those were the only ones she allowed on the board. In doing so, she was able to find the patterns of what she loved –Β bold, vibrant, mid-century, family friendly, bright, vintage, cheerful, eclectic, edgy, and bohemian. From there, her style, ‘Mid-Century Vintage Boho’ came into clear focus. I love Mila’s choices myself!
In Mila’s own words: “This year, every time I take a design decision, I will ask myself if that decision falls in the Mid-Century Vintage Boho style vibeβ¦.Just thinking about it in this way has decluttered my brain and given me new focus!β
Check out Mila’s blog post here!
Alex from The Interior DIYer: “Dark Romantic Luxe”
I’ve known AlexΒ for years and having been inside her fabulous home in Dublin, I always thought her style was already quite well defined. But after doing the exercise, she felt everything just made a lot more sense and came into focus, proving that even if you feel pretty confident knowing what you like, this can still help! For Alex, it was a total game-changer.
In Alex’s own words: “Setting myself a guideline of three words has already helped when looking at pieces for our home. I look at it and think, do my three words apply to this? In the past, if I bought something that was wildly outside of what I usually like, more times than not I would return it a couple days later. This way I can constructively and rationally think about buying a piece. It’s a simple exercise, but for a person like me who likes themes and sticking to them, it has helped immensely.”
Check out Alex’s blog post here!
So a huge thanks to Maria, Mila and Alex for letting me share their stories! I can’t tell you how happy it makes me knowing that I’ve helped someone to figure out the style that makes them utterly unique.
If you are reading this and you haven’t yet done the exercise, what are you waiting for? Find out what your three unique words are that define your style here!Β And if you have and you found out your three words after doing the exercise, I’d love to hear from you!Β
Thank you so much Kimberly for including me in your Define Your Style Bloggers! But more importantly, thank you for actually writing your original blog post. For anyone reading this, go and do Kimberly’s exercise. You’ll wonder why you never figured it out before now and I feel like I know my own style better. It’s a complete eye opener to something that’s been in front of you this whole time.
xx
Yay!! I’m so happy this helped you, especially as someone who had a pretty good idea of their style already. I love your mood board so much as well – it’s utterly gorgeous and so unique!! Thank you for letting me share my fabulous dark romantic luxe friend xxx
I think this is so true! I always used to struggle to figure out what my style was, but I’ve recently finally discovered what it is and when you know exactly what it is, it’s so much easier to choose the right things for your home and wardrobe x
LuxeStyle
It’s funny how it bleeds into your wardrobe as well, isn’t it Jenny? But there’s so much crossover it makes total sense! xxx
Thanks so much for the kind words! And thank you for helping me find my three words!!! It’s hard to believe how exciting it really is to have them defined… it really is so clarifying! I keep them in mind all the time now and am so much more focussed! It touches so much more than just interiors – it’s a game-changer!
Also I still love seeing that graphic of my images… shows how right they are that I never tire of seeing that!
Thank you again!!! Xx
I love your moodboard so much – it’s just so damn happy and fun and beautiful!! I’m so pleased it helped you!! Thank you for being one of the reasons I created the exercise in the first place and being my guinea pig ;) xxx
The idea is excellent Kimberly and sounds like an amazing outcome. I must say both you and those Ladies already got style and excellent to hear their way on a more defined style. Will use my Eclectic Nordic Hygge words when planning our bathroom reno. Thanks for your always inspiring posts, BIG hug from DK, Mette
Oh I love your three words Mette! And you have such a defined style as well – I always love how you pull things together! Huge hugs back lovely xxx
Hey, just to say I did the exercise from the original blog post β Mid-century Industrial Scandi β it’s really helped define the look and feel of my whole house as we renovate and decorate. Some rooms lean more heavily on one than the other but they all have a little bit of everything. The rooms are starting to work together and help the house feel like a home rather than a collection of stand-alone rooms.
Thanks again! x
Ahhh I love the sound of that Stacey – it’s so unusual! And it really does create a more cohesive look in your home too. It’s amazing how easy it is to mix and match throughout your house once you’ve got your style in clear focus! Thanks so much for sharing :) xxx
Good post Kimberly joyed reading it, and seeing those beautiful styles xxx
Thanks so much Pauline! The mood boards are gorgeous, aren’t they? I loved seeing them too ;) xxx
This is so cool, and weirdly something I did without noticing – must be your positive influence ;p
The one I came up with last year for my website and basically “brand”, was Boho Glam Rock. I think we totally share the love of boho and glam mix, that’s why I love your style, but I always love the edge in decor and even fashion, you know spikes and skulls and over-the-top stuff. Crazy, dramatic rock star homes make me swoon.
It’s kind of the same as pinning in a sense I think, but I’ve found that the “looking through your wardrobe” (or your imaginary dream wardrobe) tip is a good way to find your style too !
I think this will inspire a lot of people, well done lady :)
Ahh I love the sound of ‘Boho Glam Rock’!! How cool! I like a bit of that ‘rock’ look myself (more in my wardrobe but I always incorporate a bit of black everywhere in my home too!). It’s amazing how it spills over into fashion as well as interiors, right? Thanks so much for sharing Marie! xxx (PS Love your blog name!!)
Love this post and they are all new to me, thanks!
Oh and Alex and Gwen the Makerista should meet ;)
Oh I know Alex is a fan of Gwen’s dining room! Ha! Definitely some cross over there ;) xx
Loved this post I am going to find my descriptive words!