A theme is a visual look created to bring about a particular idea or topic. A themed room, for instance, uses decor and items that represent a specific idea or inspiration and the visual look is unquestionable and obvious. If it’s a beach-themed room, it will have things like seashell art, nautical pillows, oars on the wall, and a surfboard accent lamp.
A style, meanwhile, is a well-defined set of elements put together purposefully to bring out a certain atmosphere and artistic pattern in your home. Often, this is achieved by tying together a number of themes that are of importance to your family.
A Style Is More Than Stringing Themes Together
The secret to having a great style is to avoid the literal use of themes. The elements of style must be visible in the final outcome without falling into the trap of being a literal interpretation. For instance, there is a huge difference between a farmhouse themed kitchen and a farmhouse style kitchen. While the latter could include rustic and classic touches, the former would likely include literal objects like cows, chickens, and red barns. One is classic and refined, the other is kitschy and quickly outdated. Due to it’s more subtle nature, a particular style can be updated easily with some paint and a few new textiles.
One way to come up with a style that perfectly suits your luxury home is to create your own unique style by mixing and matching various elements and spreading them strategically throughout the home. This is done through subtle things like color palettes, textures, and textiles as well as artwork and objects that you choose to display. While the basic architecture of your home won’t change, it can stand as an accent to your other design choices.
You Can Use A Style To Unify Multiple Themes
You can combine several themes in a room to tell a story as long as the individual themes tie back to a particular decorating style. To achieve this, the themed objects in your room should be simple and subtle. Otherwise you may end up with rooms that look like the hodgepodge you'd find in a thrift store.
For instance, in a room or space you can build a story of crafter, reader, and former cheerleader, who happens to enjoy beach life. That’s a total of four different themes being combined to create a style. You need each of them to come out distinctly and the four to complement each other perfectly, otherwise you’d lose the whole plot. If done well, a decorating style can be used to tell just about any story.
Begin Telling Your Story Today
We’ve done it for many homeowners and could do it for you too. We can use those little moments in your life to piece together a unique style that not only brings out your personality, but also gives your home the striking first impression you've always craved! Contact us at 386-734-5238 to get started.