Household Furnishings

Image Credit: Adobe Stock

No matter where you live, you will need things to furnish your home. Household furnishings cover all the basic things you need to live comfortably in your home: furniture, kitchenware, fabrics and textiles, and accessories. How many of these items you use in your home and the types of items you choose helps to define your personal style and puts your personal stamp on your environment to change your dwelling from a house to a home.

There are all sorts of decorating styles and so many decorating advice books, websites, TV shows, and magazines that they would be much too numerous to mention. Any quick web search will turn up questionnaires and quizzes to help you identify your unique decorating style. I’ve scanned many decorating resources and discovered that though there are numerous design styles, 14 of these styles are the most popular. They are:

Modern

Image Credit: Interior Design Ideas

Contemporary

Image Credit: Decor Aid

Minimalist

Image Credit: Livspace

Industrial

Image Credt: Lazy Loft – Froy.com

Mid-Century Modern

Image Credit: Modsy Blog

Scandinavian

Image Credit: ScandiPOP Interiors

Traditional

Image Credit: Pinterest

Transitional

Image Credit: Decor Aid

French Country

Image Credit: Pinterest

Bohemian

Image Credit: Bohemian

Rustic

Image Credit: L’Essenziale

Shabby Chic

Image Credit: Interior Design Paradise

Hollywood Glam

Image Credit: Modsy Blog

and

Coastal Hamptons

Image Credit: NewHomeSource.com

Once you’ve identified your personal style (or styles) it will be easier to design a home that you find comfortable. Not everyone, though, fits neatly into a specific category. If I had to define my own personal style I would say “eclectic.” If I had to define my style as the above categories or some mix of them it would be a mouthful but I would say my style is Industrial Rustic Transitional with a tinge of French County while leaning towards Minimalism. Regardless where you fall along decorating schemes there will be a book or other library resource available to help you in a project of furnishing a comfortable home. You will probably quickly discover that the above schemes, while popular, aren’t the only decorating schemes. Many people have eclectic tastes or choose to go in another direction entirely.

One book I found particularly fascinating was American Junk by mary Randolph Carter.

Image Credit: Amazon.com

American Junk is an actual decorating scheme. While it’s definitely not my style (remember that minimalist lean I mentioned?) I found it really fascinating how one organizes junk into household decor. I really enjoyed “reading” the pictures in this book. The American Junk style often repurposes junk itself and turns items into functional hardworking household furnishings. If you need something to do on a rainy day or a cold wintry evening, this would be a good book to peruse.

Other books I checked out this time were:

Image Credits: Thrift Books, Amazon.com, and Publisher’s Overstock

Do you enjoy decorating? Do you have an easily identifiable decorating preference? If you have eclectic taste, how would describe your decorating style?