Those of you who bought the book (THANK YOU) have seen and possibly taken the style diagnostic. It’s basically a series of questions to help help guide you to your style, or at least provoke a dialogue about it. To help promote the book I reached out to some of my blogger friends and asked them to take the quiz, and if they would post about it, I would do a custom inspiration AND product board – so they can really see what that style looks like. So, Heather Armstrong, of Dooce fame took the bait, probably because who doesn’t want to see how someone else would interpret their style? A few words about Heather: she started her blog in 2001 as a personal journal. But, since she is funny, smart and relatable in every way it became a big, nay HUGE successful blog. I met her a few years ago at Alt (after reading her blog for years) we commiserated on our former mormon-ness, as well as all the other things professional bloggers have in common. She has since started a consulting company for online sites – to strategize and help companies reach their audience. She still writes a few articles a month but has expanded her business as any smart business woman would do (kudos to you Heather).
When Heather took the style quiz (which you can find in the book) she got ‘contemporary’, which I know is a very controversial word. What ‘contemporary’ should mean is; current, modern and living in 2016. What the rest of the world calls contemporary tends to look generic and often cheap, referencing no real style eras or having very little personality. But for the style diagnostic we had to have 8 different styles, and four of them needed to be on the more modern and minimal side, so we threw in ‘Contemporary’ to see if we could make that work. It did. It’s kinda a combination of minimal, Scandinavian and modern with hits of color throughout but with white and black as a big foundation.
For Heather, her version of contemporary is definitely on the more feminine side of ‘contemporary’ which we also gleaned from her Pinterest boards. For inspiration we pulled rooms that evoked a soft, fun, minimal and feminine vibe with notes of Scandinavian, and contemporary design in them. It is very pretty in pink meets structured and minimal contemporary.
For her moodboard we pulled from items that she already loved and had pinned and then expanded from there to create a room that is contemporary, feminine, fun, and very family friendly. The only thing missing is a big glass of Rosé.
1. Pink Vase | 2. Geo Vessel | 3. Woven Pouf | 4. Pink Chair | 5. Black Table Lamp | 6. Metal Accent Table | 7. Black and White Pillow | 8. Pink Throw | 9. Abstract Art | 10. Arc Lamp | 11. Pink Velvet Pillow | 12. Faux Fur Pillow | 13. Gray Couch | 14. Lucite Coffee Table | 15. Shag Rug | 16. Standing Bookcase
Thank you, Heather, for being consistently honest, smart, unique and most importantly NOT GENERIC. Heather has opinions. Heather expresses them. Heather is the best version of my fate. If I am lucky.
***Image Sources: 1. David Tsay for STYLED | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
I am new to your blog and have been poking around a bit. I really like how you are doing things. We don’t have the same style. I am from the East Coast and have a more traditional style, but I can really appreciate your perspective. I noticed that there are a lot of mean and critical comments on many of your posts. Please don’t let those opinions influence you. Do your thing. Change if it makes sense for you or stay the same. EVOLVE. We are all meant to do that anyway. Just wanted you to know that I am a brand new reader, have a different design perspective and still love coming to check out what you (or your approved contributors) have to say…
Well said Jody!
http://www.worldkids.es
Yes!
What Jody said!
Tell it Jody!
I often wonder why you pass nasty personal attacks through moderation. I get leaving a different perspective if you want to encourage debate, but this is not CNN or reddit or whoever, this is your online home and I think curating comments that ruin the atmosphere for the rest of us would make it a nicer place for you and for us. What is the worst that will happen – they complain about you somewhere else? wouldn’t that be the best thing?
Same here! Love the positive comment.
YES. SECONDED and I’m a long term fangirl.
Totally agree with all of this! It has majorly bummed me out lately seeing the negative comments and thinking how that must feel for you to read. Your blog has been one of my favorites for a long time and continues to be.
I am an unmarried renter with no children and I find your blog totally enjoyable anyway. It is MY choice to read and if I didn’t find your posts relatable or enjoyable to read, no one is forcing me! Keep it up, I’ll keep coming back!
Very pretty. Love seeing a softer side of “contemporary”. This is what my house would look like if I was not married to a dude.
I purchased your book and my husband and I really enjoyed taking the style diagnostic. It would be great if you could continue to do these posts showcasing the various styles. I lean “zen” while my husband prefers industrial but it seems most of your makeovers and photos featured in the book don’t capture those. It’d be very helpful to have more ideas on your styling techniques that could play into the other styles.
Your book arrived from amazon on Friday and I was so excited to finally sit down with it yesterday and get my style groove on!! When I saw there was a quiz, I was stoked. I love quizes and I love to be right and I am competitive, so I jumped at the chance to get all the right answers! I am also painfully indecisive so when I tried to answer the two preliminary questions, I asked my husband to help and he laughed at me for not immediately knowing my answer to the ‘shelf decor question’. I believe his exact comment was, “haha, seriously?! lots of stuff all over the shelves…that’s totally you”. Then, I realized after I read your piece about how you love color so you have to keep yourself in check with bold crazy accent walls everywhere, that what I tend to do isn’t what I love to look at in photos! Ugh…why do I buy traditional style dark brown wood coffee tables when I love pictures of tufted upholstered ottomans?! Anyway, back to the quiz. I completed it although it took me a few minutes to get over the disappointment that I was instructed to… Read more »
Am lovin’ your posts lately, Emily. And think pink is creeping into my home; what’s the name of the pale pink paint on the walls? Soo pretty. Thx.
I’m feeling the same way on that dusty/blush pink that keeps popping up.
I love that rug! It’s gorgeous!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
is there an updated link for the pink vase? its not working. thanks!
Love this series!!!!!
Please tell me someone came up 70s!!!! I want to buy some stuff!
Hey, I think the floor lamp could work for us 7o decor-ers; no?
Thanks for the posts, team EH! Longtime fan, and always will be…you guys are excellent and I appreciate all the hard work that goes into this blog every day. Thank you also for introducing me to Dooce! She would make for an excellent contributor here…obviously she has her own full time successful blog so maybe that doesn’t make sense, but her voice definitely rang out as a perfect fit for Style by EH as well, just a thought!
Emily,
THANK YOU FOR THIS POST!
Entering the post-college life and moving into my 1st apartment soon, so I bought your book to help identify my style. Prior to the quiz, I wasn’t sure what my style was because I enjoyed so many different looks.
When I took your quiz I was confused how the result lead me to ‘mid-century modern’. Like, I was initially distraught- I wanted to be traditional, soooo bad, but I trusted you. (since I love everything you do)
This post further strengthen’s the style wheel, which made me realize that your quiz knew me more than I know myself! Thank you for pointing out that ending up in one category doesn’t mean I’m stuck in that category, but can influence my space with the style.
Love the book! Thanks!
I don’t often comment here. I usually don’t have anything profound to add. When I saw the comment about the haters, I wanted to add my voice to those who say don’t let them through moderation. Different viewpoints and style decisions are great to hear and think about. Nasty, condescending drivel is not. I enjoy your work so much. Reading and looking at this post, I thought, I could easily live in these rooms and I do not like contemporary at all (lol). Beautiful!
You sourced my pink couch! Thank you!! Not that I’ll buy it anytime soon, but my Pinterest boards will be more… full and more authentic. That sounds pretty unimportant now that I’m typing it… But not to my heart?
Really great post. Normally when I’m trying to quietly insult someone I say that they’re style is “contemporary”. For me that’s code for you are a lifeless, soulless creature who has no depth nor real knowledge of how to mix and blend eras!” Woo … Now that I’ve gotten that out… Your post showed me that in some ways… Even I have a bit of a contemporary bent… Who knew. I did buy the book and that’s not my primary style but what an interesting look at this one. Thanks!
I really love the artwork you featured but I’m a little confused by the site. I’m not sure how to find out if stuff is available/how much it is. I would LOVE to be able to spend thousands on a big piece of abstract artwork but I don’t have it. I’d love a roundup of that style artwork (which seems super popular) at different price points. I know you’ve done art roundups before but I’d love to see one in the “Design Mistakes” series because you’re so great at putting together nice things at different price points. Maybe an “artwork that is too small” one? I desperately want large scale artwork for over my sofa but have had a tough time finding something in the $300-$400 range.
Glad I start reading this. Didn’t know there is a book. Really inspired and I agree Jody.
I thank you for my favorite Christmas gift.. the book! Although I love many aspects of Scandinavian/Modern design it’s sometimes lacks a little warmth for me. The pink really helps to soften the look. I love what you’ve done here! I also appreciate your explanation of conemporary design. Thank you.
I looove your book! You really helped me to better understand how styling could make my home more MY home. Thank you so much.
I’ve been loving these plush colours lately! They are so soft and feminine! The design on these pictures fits me – sometimes people take it too far. But I love how the plush is used as an accent. Very beautiful! 🙂
Emily, where can I buy your book “styled”? I am from the Philippines. Thank you!