How To Discover Your Family’s Home Style

Did you know that your home style can affect more area’s of your family life then simple visual aesthetics (or lack thereof)? In, How To Discover Your Family’s Home Style (and why you would want to), I’m going to share with you the reasons why anyone would want to take the time to hone in and refine their family’s home style, as well as the steps I used to find our family’s style.

Why Discover Your Family’s Home Style

For one, it’s so much fun!! But there’s another reason. Did you know there is value in knowing your family’s home style?

Once I discovered our family’s home style using the steps I’ve outlined below, everything from learning to creativity improved, and the house even became easier to tidy since the style was more in line with how our family naturally functions!

I think there are a couple good reasons for this.

So often we pick decor and pieces because they go with a theme we like or because we like the way a piece of decor looks. For some of us (like me for many years) we settle on hand me downs based on necessity.

When we settle into a home style, making choices purely based off of what looks good to us and what our favorite styles/trends are, or even with pieces we settle on, we could be missing something though.

This missing piece is our family’s habits, functions and the way our family uses the home! This usually doesn’t come to most peoples minds (unless they are in baby proofing years). It especially doesn’t come to mind if you chose your home style before you even had kids!

How To Discover Your Family’s Style

Step 1. Consider What Your Family Is All About

What’s important to you? What are you passionate about? Consider your family goals. What’s important to your family? If you have children what is important to you for them to learn, and be? Does your family have a mission? These are all things to think about as you begin the search to find your family’s unique style.

Next, ask yourself if there is there a way you can incorporate some (or lots) of what’s important to you as decor through a theme?

Step 2. Make A List

Next, ask yourself what your favorite things and elements are. What are things you see that that lift your spirits?

When I did this questionnaire with myself my list looked something like this;

• earthy-moss, natural and exotic pieces of wood and nature relics my children find on our hikes
• art-we are a family full of creatives
• woodwork-my husband is a woodworker, and I wanted one of the aesthetics to be his woodwork on display
• pottery pieces and other handmade treasures by my kids and other artesians

• music-see my LAST POST
• for colors, neutrals with pops of black, brown, red, orange, green
• metals-copper, gold

Step 3. Take A Quiz

I love Amazon’s style finder for this! Our results were global (boho), eclectic, and organic modern. This could be a family event where each person takes the quiz.

You can take the quiz and narrow in on your style HERE.

Step 4. Purge

I’m not sure if this step is needless to say or not, but I thought I’d add it just in case! Go through and purge whatever isn’t in line with your family’s style that doesn’t serve a purpose or fill a need.

Be sure to consider selling what you don’t want or need-and save that money to put towards something for your new style that you do need! Which takes me to my next point….

What To Do If You’re On A Budget

Shop Thrift Stores First

Thrift stores don’t always have what you are looking for, but if you are looking for something specific and are able to wait and frequent them then your chances of scoring budget finds at thrift stores increase!

Here are some of my favorite thrift store scores for our home!

Shop Groups

If there is something specific you are looking for you can always look in groups on Facebook! Every community usually has a local group, and there’s also the marketplace. Don’t forget Ebay and Craigslist!

Have Patience, But Don’t Give Up

This is especially necessary if you are on a budget! I know. No fun, right? If this is the case for you I can relate!

When we lived in the Midwest we really struggled for many years and we lived in very small homes for most our time there (14 years). At one point we were a family of 7 living in less than 1000 square ft of space! It wasn’t until the end of our stay there that I was able to create a look I kind of liked!

Take this pillow for example.

I wanted this pillow the first time I saw it on Amazon around 3 years ago! But if you are on a budget you know how it goes. There’s always something more important on the needs list-for us being a big homeschool family it’s usually curriculum. Or groceries, lol!

Last week I saw this pillow I had been wanting for so long, it was in mint condition and half the price it was on Amazon! Score!

Ending Notes

Perhaps the best explanation of why I think it’s of value to make your spaces pretty to you and your family could be my story.

I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, and was blessed that my mom was a SAHM from around age 5 on.

Even though my step dad was a hard worker, misfortune early in their relationship made for a hard life for he and my mom at times, and since we lived on one income times could be tight.

It didn’t matter what mom had to live in though, whether it was an unfinished log house on a mountaintop in the middle of nowhere with insulation and drywall exposed, a vintage (ahem-old) trailer house, or a transitioning house that was meant and eventually turned into a woodshop and had OSB countertops and OSB walls in places. My mom never complained about her living circumstances, even though she had class and standards.

What she did do is she always tried to make the home she was in beautiful. She seldom had much money to work with, but somehow she always found a way to doll up a space.

When I married my husband and moved to the Midwest in 2004, mom came to visit. We were living in a small, very old home (think plaster walls and so drafty it would have snowdrifts INSIDE the house in the winter). I told mom I wasn’t going to do much to the place because I wanted to save up for our future home.

She pointed out that I had no way of knowing how long I’d be living there, and that I may as well make it a home. That’s when she shared with me how she lived in the homes she lived in with joy. She said, “Shayla, if I had not made the homes I was living while you were growing up pretty I never would have made it through!” She encouraged me that whatever I did didn’t need to be expensive.

I listened to her and I’m glad I did! For the next 13 years I had to find ways to fit our growing family into tiny homes (both around 1000 sq. ft). Our homes were always in poor shape, badly in need of repairs, and in consistent remodel mode with each remodel project often taking months and years due to our low income, but most people that came didn’t notice that (unless they stayed awhile) because I had made it pretty. Every time people came over the first thing they always said was “I love your home!”

Encouragement…
I found my mom’s words true, by doing what I could to make my space (as small as it was) pretty it truly did help lift spirits on the really hard days when it felt like the walls were moving together! Not only that, but I believe that making the space beautiful was a way to bless my husband who worked tirelessly, and it was a way to bless my children!

It takes awhile to create a look you love sometimes. If you look at my first lifestyle post after we moved to our new home you’ll notice that things were kind of bare! It took me a year to curate a look that really resonates with us-and some patience, but it was worth it! I’m not sure our family has ever been more at home in a space then we are now because the space I’ve created has something for everyone in our family! You can read more about how I created the ideal space for our family in Modern Boho Living Room.

I hope you’ve enjoyed How To Discover Your Family’s Home Style! Please leave a comment and tell me what you thought!

You might also enjoy;
7 Tips For Keeping A House Tidy When You Have Kids,
Homeschool Room Idea’s-Create Learning Spaces
Our Kitchen Makeover, and Minimalist Kitchen Tips.