Find Your Style: Traditional

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and welcome to another ‘Find Your Style’, where we take your results to our less-than-perfect quiz and help you figure out what being your style really means (if you haven’t, take that quiz!).  Like I have said before, it isn’t perfect but it can help, and it’s fun. Then you can hop on over to the other styles we have covered so far: Scandinavian, Luxe and Glam, Global, and Mid-Century Modern. This time we are talking to you ‘Traditional’ folks which I am channeling more and more with my new house, so let’s get into it. Some of you think I’ve gone way too traditional, but I know that traditional is in my bones….my very traditional bones. Here’s my pitch:

If you appreciate classic design motifs and want a home that feels pulled together, decorated, and totally cohesive – then consider ‘traditional’ style all yours. In the past traditional has sometimes been thought of as stuffy, or too formal but that is not the case at all. Traditional does not mean boring or uptight by any means and you can have a lot of fun mixing and matching pieces into the traditional style to find a fit that feels unique and fitting for you.

When it comes to traditional there are a few tips to get you started:

1. Look for furniture with feminine curves and decorative detailing, tufting, piping or carved woods. These carved chairs and the decorative side table definitely evoke a traditional vibe and the symmetrical arrangement also instantly makes the entire vignette lean more traditional. While adding the small modern figure and a few accessories help to keep it personal and feel unique and collected.

2. Mix textures like linens, cottons, velvets and silks. This chesterfield couch has a combination of silks, velvets and nubby cotton pillows which all help make the setup traditional yet cozy while the addition of the modern silver metallic pillow again modernizes it a bit and keeps it from feeling too uptight or pulled together. If you want a more old world traditional vibe then you can always add in classic patterns like stripes, florals and damask. Just keep the patterns tonal or to a few colors so that things don’t start getting too busy and loud for the eye which would go against the traditional rules of traditional style. See what I did there?

3. Large scale curvy lamps: Go big with these guys, like you see in the picture above. It is all about making a statement with your lighting in traditional. Big boxy shades or large tapered shades also help to bring traditional elements into the room. Symmetry in your lighting will also instantly give your room a traditional vibe. Flanking your sofa with matching tables and lamps is a quick and easy way to keep things traditional, just be sure to accessorize the tables differently so that you still keep it feeling unique.

4. Silver or Gold accents: Just because it is traditional doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t have a little bling. Bring in gold and silver in a side table, on a lamp, in the textiles (like you see above and below) or through a few accessories peppered around the room.

5. Woods or ceramics in classic shapes and with some extra detailing: Large urns with classic motif’s, wood turned legs, or decorative wood detailing or scrollwork is always a yes when it comes to traditional design.

While all of the above photos are full of vintage, one of a kind traditional pieces, our friends at Target sponsored this ‘Find Your Style’ series and we wanted to use some of our favorite traditional inspired pieces from their collection to showcase how to pull together a traditional vignette. We created this video, which takes you through it all step by step by yours truly. So head on over and watch it if you are ready to get your traditional on, and if you are into the look it is all linked up below. Happy Friday Folks –  the weather is finally warming up here so we plan to spend lots of time outside enjoying the sunshine and our backyard.