Uncovering the Home Your Home Wants to Be

As a couple of homebodies here at https://sofaspectacular.co.uk, we’re on a mission to uncover the home our home wants to be. And we’re so happy to have you here to browse the shop, explore our befores and afters, mood boards, plans, failures, and wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here for you to discover.

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and we love rolling up our sleeves and making it happen. Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can still make that space in your home better. Right now, we’re diving into the world of custom sofas, and we’re here to share our insights on how to create a one-of-a-kind chaise that truly reflects your personal style.

Defining Your Home Style: A Reverse Engineering Approach

I don’t like to box myself in, but I definitely lean towards a Modern Traditional style with an emphasis on comfort when it comes to our home. This especially came up when I shared our Powder Bath Reveal on the blog. I think our home style changes slightly with each new space we inhabit because I love to listen to the house and incorporate a mix of my personal style and the home’s architectural style.

In our Modern Colonial, I’m loving a mix of classic traditional elements with modern metals and finishes. We also put a big emphasis on livability with three children. We LIVE here, and our spaces are designed for living. A big part of me developing my style has been uncovered over the years in how and where I shop. It really got me thinking about what your favorite home store says about your home style. Maybe some of you are trying to figure out what your personal home style is, and I say let’s reverse engineer this.

Decoding Your Home Style Through Your Favorite Stores

If you shop at West Elm, your home style might be Mid-century modern, known for its clean lines, interesting shapes, and variety of materials and finishes. Very art deco and funky.

If Anthropologie is your go-to, your style could be described as elegant Victorian and bohemian. Again, I’m not typically a boho gal, but I’ll buy all of their mirrors for the gold, hand-crafted, detailed look. Gorgeous.

Pottery Barn is a great place to shop for traditional-shaped furniture, warm woods, and all the textiles. One of my go-tos.

Crate & Barrel is another great resource for more classic shapes. I’m looking at you, tapered-shaped lamp shades and wood-turned candlesticks.

CB2 is great at pushing the edge with their materials and shapes. Very avant-garde at attainable prices.

Restoration Hardware offers a classic take on furniture, and you’ll also see a lot of lighter wood tones and woven textiles on their website. Very coastal.

Urban Outfitters is popular with the youth (do I sound old now because of the trendy, hipster vibes at affordable prices?). They love to dip into the boho trends too.

Studio McGee & Co. always has my back with their white-on-white meets warm woods and clean lines.

Hearth & Hand has become the entry-level place for everyone’s farmhouse needs, as Joanna Gaines popularized that style.

Mixing and Matching: Finding Your Unique Blend

An important note: If you find you prefer mid-century modern, you don’t have to get all of your furniture from West Elm, and if you’re loving Arhaus, you now know you’re attracted to transitional style, and you can go from there. I don’t have an ounce of boho in me, and I shop at Anthropologie all the time. Honestly, I have pieces from every site listed above. For me, it’s all about mixing a collection of pieces that makes things interesting.

Did you figure out your preferred home style? Are you pairing any styles together? Let me know what your preferred style is, and if we missed any in the comments. Your email address won’t be published, but I’d love to hear from you!

Embracing the Classics with a Twist

I always start first with Restoration Hardware, even for my design clients. And then I fill in the edges with Anthropologie, Terrain, Studio McGee & Co., Rowen & Wren, Etsy, Zara Home, and even H&M Home for a more curated feel. I lovvvve https://sofaspectacular.co.uk, although I haven’t yet purchased any items from them for myself.

My personal home style is a blend of Earthy, Vintage, Mid-century, and Coastal Boho. I live in North Carolina in a traditional (I think?) home, but these are the styles that are reflected as I look around. Definitely not a minimalist! My all-time favorite is Schoolhouse Electric and Room & Board for super timeless pieces that last forever and can go with almost any style, but especially that warm but modern look, along with some mid-century.

Defining Your Unique Blend

You left out Ballard Designs, and that has a very distinct style that none of the shops you listed have – southern, feminine, grandmillennial traditional. Also, IKEA with its cozy Scandi vibes. Loved this article! Gave me words to grow on. Thank you. I like a more warm traditional style, but could pick pieces from each of these places 110%. I am Arhaus – I love moody, earthy tones, nothing too over-the-top or fake. I love “comfy but a touch of fancy.”

I’m so pleased to confirm this as I’ve tried to reflect my home choices in what I really love. Love this post! I am definitely warm and traditional but like a modern twist. It’s interesting to see how the stores we shop in reflect our style. My favorite is Rejuvenation – not sure what that says about my style. I love this post! I think I finally help me see what I’m drawn to. Nailing it down helps me focus instead of jumping all over the place, LOL. Love this post! I have struggled so hard to define my home style in the almost 7 years I’ve been a homeowner. We moved in May, and in our new house, I really want to hone in on my style and find pieces that really speak to me. My husband leans much more farmhouse/rustic than I do. I like some of it, but our house is traditional/colonial, so I’m taking a page out of your book and letting the house speak to me. Of the above, I’m loving Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, and Studio McGee & Co. So I guess that makes me Clean, Warm, Classic, Modern Traditional. Ha, I guess that I am Romantic Bohemian, Clean Coastal, Traditional.

The Beauty of Mixing Styles

Would love to hear your take on Restoration Hardware. My go-to, and I call my style modern Mediterranean. Restoration Hardware is Luxe Rustic, in my opinion, but they are gooooooood. Ooooo, I like Modern Mediterranean. I might start using that. Yes, love that! We have travertine stone floors in our entry and kitchen, so I’ve tried to mimic a Mediterranean feel. What about Rejuvenation? Love RH. I would say they are luxe and can go glam traditional or loft. Just got a chance to visit their store in Minnesota. Love their style!

One question and one observation/comment: What is “transitional”? I love Arhaus, but I don’t understand the label “transitional.” I think of it as warm but modern – help! I found it interesting that you say you don’t have an ounce of boho in you, but yet when you’re in your pretty, long, flowy dresses and booties, boho is the first thing that comes to my mind. Maybe just a hint of boho – still lovely regardless of the label.

I have been trying to figure out my home style and how to blend what I like together. This list is great. My top three are Pottery Barn, Serena and Lilly, and Studio McGee & Co. I like to think of my style as a slightly coastal, slightly traditional, mixed with easy California-ish elements – does that exist?

Embracing Your Unique Style

I love, love, love this! I’m mid-century modern/classic modern. I like the heavier furniture pieces from CB2, but the lighter touches – lighting, accessories, side tables – to lean mid-century. I’ll even do some CB2, but I prefer a touchable look on the main areas. But you’re right, I’ve got things from most of these places, especially ANYTHING at Target. I’m learning it’s okay to mix it up as long as there is some cohesion.

Yes, that style exists! It is called YOUR style – I love too many styles, but my fave is Crate & Barrel classic/mod, Lulu & Georgia – feminine, a little bit boho, and Studio McGee – warm and mod/traditional. I love Article as a more affordable option for real wood pieces. Ballard Designs is one not listed that I always peruse too.

My style tends to be mostly Japandi, but I don’t think there’s any one store that specializes in that yet. CB2 is usually the closest. Someday, hopefully! I like to mix it up – Ethan Allen, CB2, Studio McGee, and a few Hearth and Home.

This is so helpful! I’m still educating myself on what each style looks like, so this was great. There wasn’t a store for contemporary. Is that still considered a style, or is that now considered classic or transitional?

This article was so very helpful. I’ve struggled with naming what my actual style is, so going by where I like to shop makes complete sense. Your topics are ALWAYS on point. Congrats to you and your team for always coming up with such great content! I’m probably a mix of Studio McGee and Arhaus, with a little Crate & Barrel, West Elm, and Pottery Barn. Haha, I like it all!

But you left out one of my favs – Restoration Hardware. Agreed, RH is such a favorite of mine too. What about Ballard Designs? Or Restoration OAK? Just wondering how you’d define their styles in comparison to the other retailers above.

I’m Modern Scandi Cozy Industrial – making it a thing! Own it, Tara. Check out the Faux Martha blog by Melissa Coleman. I love that you did this. Personally, I know my style, and the style of my home, but SO many people don’t. And get overwhelmed and confused. What an easy way to help people figure it out! Now they can type their new keywords into a browser or Pinterest and get more and more options that fit for them, apart from that one store they love. So smart, very thoughtful post.

Now that you’re in NC, check out Society Social – an affordable custom furniture company made in Hickory, NC, loved for their play with fabrics. This was SO fun. I can now say my home style is Clean, Warm, and Transitional. I love Studio McGee & Co. and Arhaus, but the first is sometimes a touch more modern than me, the second a touch too lux. What a great way to help us define what we love – thank you!

Blending Styles Seamlessly

I’m so glad you enjoyed it! This is SO helpful. My husband and I just bought a traditional house. We love it, and it perfectly meets our needs. I am finding myself shopping at Pottery Barn a lot and was feeling a little self-conscious about that, but it makes sense because those items are at home in our house. I do think that our style is more luxury earthy, but not in this house. I learned from you to listen to the house.

I wonder if you could expand on this post and talk about how to combine styles in a good way. Is that even possible? Like, yes, our house is traditional, and most of the things we buy are traditional. But sometimes there’s something romantic at Anthropologie that I can’t get out of my head. We are planning to buy a couple of RH pieces – will they look out of place? We love them. We are so overwhelmed, haha.

Yes, agree! How to combine would be so helpful. I’d say first and foremost, I’m vintage, but I love a good earthy, feminine bohemian. While trying to not neglect my husband’s taste of vintage and coastal. What about the more affordable stores? Why not feature collections from there? It would be nice to see more than just one collection at Target and UA as the affordable options. Why not Kirkland’s, Sonoma Goods for Life at Kohl’s, Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart, IKEA collections, etc.? There’s a big gap here – want to see more, please!

These stores have curated styles, so they can help someone figure out what their style is, and then definitely hone in on your budget and pieces that match that. I also have a variety of pieces from several of these stores – CB2, Article, Anthropologie, West Elm. We are in a house built in 1950, and though I like mid-century furnishings, furnishing my house with only that does not interest me, so I’ve been working on a complementary mix – traditional/romantic/mid-century. For me, that means cozy and classic with a dose of eclectic vintage finds and fun accents like brass serpent curtain tiebacks. Basically, I want to feel like I live in a Parisian apartment.

Tying it All Together

No Restoration Hardware? How could we forget! This is so fun. This post is so helpful. Thanks! Great summary. I also find Restoration Hardware has an industrial vibe – lots of oversized furniture for loft living. Ballard Designs is another favorite of mine – Traditional/Transitional with some touches of glam, modern, and Asian-inspired pieces.

Lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle! Chris Loves Julia nailed it. We have teamed up with Loloi to create a line of rugs that are as affordable as they are beautiful. This collection houses a great mix of traditional and modern rugs in cottage-y colorways, as well as vintage-inspired beauties that you’ll want to roll out in every room. We partnered with Stuga on a line of hardwood floors – the Ingrid is really livable, and the color is very neutral. It doesn’t lean warm or cool, it’s that just-right in-between. We have really loved putting it everywhere in our house. It’s the best jumping-off point for design, no matter your interior style.

In an industry that often feels designed to make you discontent, we want https://sofaspectacular.co.uk to be a place you come for inspiration, ideas, and encouragement to make the space you’re already in feel like home. Browse the shop, explore our befores and afters, mood boards, plans, failures, and wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here for you to discover. We have a long-standing relationship with DIY and love rolling up our sleeves and making it happen. Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can still make that space in your home better.