The first step to being able to be fully creative? Feeling at home.
The first step to feeling at home? Learning how to find a style to design your home studio that truly reflects your personality.
Understanding your style is both about making your home pretty (because who doesn’t love that), and curating an environment that nurtures your creativity.
AKA, making a space that gives you the permission to feel physically and emotionally at home.
Whether you’re a painter, writer, crafter, or any other kind of artist, your studio should be your happy place – a space that sparks joy and fuels your imagination. When figuring out how to find a style that suits you, it’s about learning how to embrace who you really are, and letting that reflect in your space.
Here’s what I’ve done in my home studio to do exactly this.
BTW, a home studio is my concept for creatives to treat their homes like their own art/recording/creative studios through making tools accessible and making the space cozy and curated enough to give themselves permission to unapologetically create.
How to Find a Style: Understanding Your Personal Aesthetic
Finding your personal style is a lot like when marketers say to “pick your niche” — you can’t. Rather, it finds you. I talked about it a little bit in a YouTube video — you can’t possibly pick your style, but just let it reflect who you are.
You are the niche.
You are the brand.
You are the genre.
And you are your home studio’s interior design style.
Here are some tips to finding what your personal aesthetic and style already is:
- Create a Pinterest board for a specific room in your home and just start pinning things. After about 20 pins, see what’s in common with the pictures. Are they all minimalistic designs? Expressive colors? Lots of florals? An earthy, Scandi vibe? This will show you a lot about what your design style is when you don’t even know it yet!
- Watch a few Architectural Digest’s Open Door — start with about 5. Which one was your favorite and why? Whose home stood out to you, and which features specifically did you love? What feelings were you most attracted to — cozy, inspired, clean, dreamy, moody?
- Look into your wardrobe. What do you love wearing and why? Lots of times this might show you the colors you’re naturally attracted to.
Some Different Interior Design Styles
Remember — you don’t have to squeeze yourself into a design style. The way to know how to find a style is simple: you are your own home studio’s design style. Take what you love about each inspiration image and leave the rest.
However, it’s helpful to know a few interior design styles that you love. For example, I know I love:
- Cottagecore
- Japanese
- Japandi
There are so many popular types of interior design styles that you can use to start your Pinterest searching:
- Farmhouse
- Contemporary
- Industrial
- Mid Century Modern
- Scandinavian
- Art Deco
I like to use Marie Kondo’s principles of “sparking joy” — if you look at an image and it gives you that little twinge in your heart, then you know it’s something worth noting.
Here are 3 common ones, not necessarily to learn how to find a style, but what styles to add to your overall essence.
Minimalist: Simplistic, Clear, Clean
Minimalism is all about the “less is more” vibe. Think clean lines, neutral colors, and clutter-free spaces. For those who get overwhelmed by constantly needing to clean your space, minimalism can really help give you a peace of mind, as it’s meant to naturally look clean (even if it needs a bit of TLC).
Infusing elements of minimalism into your space can alleviate that visual clutter, leading to less mental clutter so you can focus more on your creative lifestyle and work.
(I don’t know about you, but I can’t get anything done if I’m in a messy space.)
Plus, when you do it right, it actually takes a lot less time to clean because there are fewer things to dust — hello, more time for creating.
Some elements for minimalism:
- A neutral color palette with one or two accent colors
- Multi-functional furniture to reduce clutter
- Hidden storage solutions so visual clutter (storage, supplies, etc.) is out of sight
- Embracing negative space, knowing that not every wall needs to be filled
Boho: Eclectic, Free-Spirited, Expressive
Boho style is like that free-spirited friend who always has the coolest stuff. It’s a mix of colors, patterns, and textures that somehow all work together. Think global-inspired decor, vintage finds, and lots of plants.
As an artist, I think it’s so amazing to have a little bit of a bohemian element to your home studio — like those records you played on or collected from shows, framed posters, etc. That’s the sort of vibe I love when I go into people’s space as well, telling me more about their space.
Some elements for boho:
- A neutral base and pops of colors through textiles, art, sections of wallpaper
- Mixed patterns but all in a cohesive color palette
- Layered textures with rugs, throws, and pillows
- Natural elements like plants, woven baskets, and wood
Cottage/Fairycore: Whimsical, Vintage, Feminine
This is my favorite — probably because it’s part of my band’s name. 🤪
Cottagecore and fairycore is like stepping into a cozy storybook. Soft colors, vintage finds, floral patterns, and whimsical touches are all big parts of it. It’s dreamy, nostalgic, whimsical, and definitely a huge part of my style.
I personally love the vintage elements, which can add a lot of depth and history to a space. I feel like our home looks a lot more expensive than it is simply because I spent some time thrifting vintage pieces.
If you want to pepper your home studio with this magickal vibe, here are some elements:
- Soft, pastel color palette with pops of deeper, nature-inspired hues
- Vintage furniture or decor items (thrift stores are your best friend!)
- Whimsical touches like fairy lights, pressed flowers, or a crystal collection
- Floral patterns in small doses (curtains, throw pillows, or a feature wall)
Incorporating Cozy & Curated Elements into Your Studio
Whichever design style you choose, it’ll need 3 main elements to make it a true home studio feel:
Cozy = this all goes back to making your creative space feel like home. Because you can really only be yourself, express yourself, feel yourself when you feel safe and grounded — at home.
Curated = this is about making the space not just a home, but your home.
Conducive = it needs to have the right flow for your creative projects.
Soft Lighting Options for a Warm Ambiance
Lighting is such a fundamental part of home studio design. Most homes just use overhead lighting, but nooooo. Please no.
You’ll want to layer soft and warm lights. There are three main types of lighting:
Ambient lighting, which is overall room light.
Task lighting, like for your work area by your piano or desk.
Accent lighting, to highlight cool features or artwork. This is like a sconce, artwork lighting, little corner lamps that add some vibe.
You’ll want to combine all three of these elements in your home studio, and make sure the actual lighting is a warmer tone (which is more library, cozy-like) as opposed to a cooler tone (which is more Home Depot vibes).
Comfortable Seating and Work Areas
In acting school, we were given countless tools on how to release tension from our bodies to fully access our emotions. The same goes for making your home studio comfortable — you can’t truly access your deepest art unless you’re physically and emotionally cozy in your space.
You need to really be intentional about finding comfortable seating, plush blankets and pillows so you can feel welcomed into the space. Likely, you’ll be spending hours in it, so you want to make sure when you look at the space, you feel relaxed (and not like you’d rather pass up being creative because of how uncomfortable it is).
Texture with Rugs, Pillows, and Throws
Texture is the spice of interior design — it adds depth, interest, and coziness to your space. It’s really the difference between a 2-dimensional space and a 3-dimensional space. It’s the difference between knowing something’s off but not knowing quite what it is, and having that magical balance of different, fun textures.
Blend smooth surfaces (like a sleek desk) with rougher textures (like a woven wall hanging). Add softness with plush rugs, chunky knit throws, and velvety pillows. The contrast will make your space feel dynamic and interesting.
You can also use textiles to define different areas in your studio. A cozy rug can anchor your seating area, while a different texture on your chair can signify your work zone.
Switch things up with the seasons too, if you feel like you need some changes throughout the year. Lightweight linens and cottons for summer, chunky knits and faux fur for winter.
Curating a Collection of Thrifted/Vintage Items
Any interior design style can find amazing thrifted finds to up the allure in them.
Thrifted and vintage pieces add character, tell a story, and make your space totally unique. Plus, it’s eco-friendly and often budget-friendly too.
Thrifting is all about keeping an open mind. You can sand, change colors, paint over, add texture to many pieces — it’s about seeing the shape of it and how that works with your space. You should also be looking at things creatively.
That old ladder could become a cool display for your artwork.
A vintage suitcase might be perfect for storing supplies.
Look for pieces with good bones that you can upcycle if needed.
How to Find a Style: Get More Creative Inspiration From My YouTube Channel!
You no longer need to ask “what is my interior design style?” because the answer is YOU. Your studio is a reflection of YOU and YOUR creative journey — so be unapologetic!
Plus, the fact that you’re already creative means you don’t need to spend money on interior design — you already have everything you need to get started.
If you want even more tips on how to be creative, join the creative community and subscribe on YouTube to the channel so we can create magic together in our spaces… and beyond.
