Why You Should Ignore 2024 Trends

It’s the time of year where we all see a million articles and videos that talk about what are the latest trends for 2024.

Whatever they are, you should completely ignore them. And here’s why. What goes inside our homes is expensive. It’s the second biggest place we spend money every year.

It’s tempting to look at trends and we don’t really want to redo our homes every year with what’s the latest trend.

Here’s what you should do instead. You should focus on figuring out what your own style is. If you have no idea how to do that, I’m going to give you three methods to help you determine your style.

Start with one room. And I really like to start with a living room. Because that’s the one space where most people see it. And also the space where we spend the most awake time.

Do I Have To Decorate In ONE Style?

You might be asking, do I have to have just one style? No, you don’t. And it’s even better once you start to get into your style. You’ll start to pull things in that you like that are from different styles. For example, you might have a traditional style that you lean toward, but you’re, you see a piece that’s really modern that you like.

Mixing the styles together as you become more comfortable with your own style is something that makes your space look even more unique. Or maybe you and your spouse have different styles (in which case you should read this)

Method 1: Use Pinterest/Instagram Style Tiles

My first tip is go to Pinterest or Instagram and put in the word “living room style”. And when you do that, there’ll be a bunch of tiles that come up at the top of Pinterest and it’ll have different keywords like rustic, modern, mid century, traditional, transitional, boho.

Try clicking on these different types of styles and see which of the images resonate with you and that’ll give you a hint as to what your style is.

Method 2: Use Pinterest/Instagram Descriptions

A second way is to go the complete opposite route. Go to Pinterest or Instagram and type in living room style.

Don’t give it any direction. Do a long scroll down the page and just see Which of these images do you look at that you think, Ooh, I really like that. Click on the descriptions of the ones you love and see what style words they use.

Before I did that I had no idea Cottage Academia was a style, but turns out I really like it.

Be sure you’re not looking at the architecture in the room. Be sure you’re looking at what’s inside the room. Here’s an example of a few rooms I LOVE, but my house doesn’t have this kind of architecture (or bones, whatever word you want to use).

Method 3: Use the Retailer Test

The third way is to use a retailer to kind of give you some hints as to what your style is. Here’s a short list:

• If you like Ballard Designs, you probably lean toward more traditional or transitional
• If you like Pottery Barn, you probably lean toward more rustic or transitional
• If you love Serena and Lily, you probably lean toward Coastal
• If you like West Elm, you probably lean toward Mid Century
• If you like Anthropology, you probably like Boho
• If you like Restoration Hardware, you probably like Modern

If there’s a retailer I didn’t list that you LOVE, add them to the comments and I will tell you what I think about their style.

Once you figure out what style you really like, then you can start to really develop your own home in a way that’s really unique to you.

Forget about the trends, because changing your home is not like getting a new blouse. Stick with your style and develop it over time.

And if you’re looking for help on how to decorate a room with a step by step process, check out the this post about where to get started decorating.