Almost daily I get asked what I would call my home style. I don't like to box myself in, but I definitely lean Modern Traditional with an emphasis on comfort when it comes to our home. This especially came up when I shared our Powder Bath Reveal on the blog. I think it changes slightly with each home because I love to listen to the house and incorporate a mix of my personal style and the house's architectural style.
Defining Your Home Style
In our Modern Colonial, I'm loving a mix of classic traditional elements with modern metals and finishes. We also put a big emphasis on livability with three children. We LIVE here and our spaces are designed for living. A big part of me developing my style has been uncovered over the years in how and where I shop. It really got me thinking about what your favorite home store says about your home style. Maybe some of you are trying to figure out what your personal home style is and I say, let's reverse engineer this. If you shop at , your home style might be ______.
A lot of people will start shopping for sofas at Wayfair, for instance, and get overwhelmed with options not even knowing what they are looking for. Don't start somewhere that has EVERY STYLE UNDER THE SUN available to you. Instead, hone in on what style you're looking for FIRST and then try to find a piece within your budget. One more note--you can like a lot of different sofas and that doesn't mean they will all fit within your home's style or should go in your home.
For fun, we listed out some of the top home decor stores that have defined styles, below, to get you started on your journey. We included some notes on what style of furniture you'd find there. Do some window shopping below and see what images jump out at you. It could give you a clue as to what style you like best! Also, we noted the budget rating for each store $, $$, or $$$ indicating the prices you can expect.
West Elm | Mid Century Modern | $$
Mid-century modern is known for its' clean lines, interesting shapes, and variety of materials and finishes. Very art deco and funky.
Anthropologie | Romantic Bohemian | $$$
Elegant, victorian, and bohemian. Again, I'm not typically a boho gal, but I'll buy all of their mirrors for the gold hand-crafted detailed look. Gorgeous.
Pottery Barn | Traditional | $$
Pottery barn is a great place to shop for traditional shaped furniture, warm woods, and all the textiles. One of my go-to's
Crate & Barrel | Classic Modern | $$
Another great resource for more classic shapes. I'm looking at you tapered shaped lamp shade and wood-turned candle sticks.
CB2 | Cool, Edgy, Modern | $$
CB2 is great at pushing the edge with their materials and shapes. Very avant-garde at attainable prices.
Serena & Lily | Coastal | $$-$$$
Another fav of mine because of their classic take on furniture. You'll also see a lot of lighter wood tones and woven textiles on their website. Very coastal.
Urban Outfitters | Eclectic Hipster, Metro | $-$$
Think urban, eclectic loft space. UO is popular with the youth (do I sound old now?) because of the trendy hipster vibes at affordable prices. They love to dip in the boho trends too.
McGee & Co. | Clean, Warm, Modern | $$$
White on white, meets warm woods and clean lines. McGee & Co. always has my back.
Hearth & Hand With Magnolia: Target | Farmhouse | $
Joanna Gaines popularized farmhouse style so we had to include this one. It's affordable and likely local. Hearth & Hand has become the entry level place for everyone's farmhouse needs.
Arhaus | Luxury, Earthy, Transitional | $$$
A higher end, higher quality, globally sourced shop for a diverse selection of home goods that feel classic.
Industry West | Modern Industrial | $$
Leaning towards a minimal rustic look and is perfect for any place with exposed brick, exposed beams, or exposed ceilings.
Horchow | Glam | $$$
Glamorous with a touch of traditional. Think gold finishes, nail trim, wingback chairs.
Chairish | Vintage | $-$$$
A go-to source for any vintage collector. I recently bought our one-of-a-kind vintage mirror in our powder bath from Chairish. This is a collector's paradise and prices range by independent sellers.
Lulu & Georgia | Feminine, Bohemian | $$-$$$
Lulu has all the curvy furniture shapes, with a touch of traditional. Maybe even a combo victorian and bohemian?
Article - Mid-Century Modern, Scandinavian |$-$$
Raw woods, clean lines, simple textiles.
An important note: If you find you prefer mid-century modern, you don't have to get all of your furniture from West Elm and if you're loving Arhaus, you now know you're attracted to transitional and you can go from there. I don't have an ounce of boho in me and I shop at Anthropologie all the time. Honestly, I have pieces from every site listed above! For me, it's all about mixing a collection of pieces makes things interesting.
Did you figure out your preferred home style? Are you pairing any styles together? Let me know what your preferred style is, and if we missed any in the comments!
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I always start first with restoration hardware. Even for my design clients. And then I fill in the edges with Anthropologie, Terrain, McGee + Co, Rowen + Wren, Etsy, Zara Home and even H+M home for a more curated feel. I lovvvvvve article although I haven’t yet purchased any items from them for myself!
Earthy/Vintage/Midcentury/Coastal/Boho
I live in NC in a traditional (i think, lol) home. But these are the styles which are reflected as I look around my home. Definitely not a minimalist. ♥️
My all-time favorite is Schoolhouse Electric!
Room and Board for super timeless pieces that last forever and can go with almost any style, but especially that warm but modern look, along with some mid century. It’s our favorite!!
You left out Ballard, and that has a very distinct style that none of the shops you listed have (southern/feminine/grandmilennial/traditional). Also Ikea with its cozy skandi vibes.
Loved it!! Gave me words to grow on. Thank you!
I like a more warm traditional style but could pick pieces from each of these places!!
110% I am Arhaus. I love moody, earthy tones, nothing too over the top or fake. I love comfy but a touch of fancy
🤍 I’m so pleased to confirm this, as I’ve tried to reflect my home choices in what I really love.
Love this post! I am definitely warm and traditional but like a modern twist. It’s interesting to see how the stores we shop in reflect our style.
My favorite is Rejuvenation. Not sure what that says about my style?
I love this post! I think I finally help me see what I’m drawn too. Nailing it down helps me focus instead of jumping all over the place! LOL!!
Love this post! I have struggled so hard to define my home style in the almost 7 years I've been a homeowner. We moved in May, and in our new house, I really want to hone in on my style and find pieces that really speak to me. My husband leans much more farmhouse/rustic than I do. I like some of it, but our house is traditional/colonial, so I'm taking a page out of your book and letting the house speak to me! Of the above, I'm loving Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, and McGee & Co.
So I guess that makes me Clean, Warm, Classic Modern/Traditional?
Ha, I guess that I am Romantic Bohemian Clean Coastal Traditional. ;)
Would love to hear your take on Restoration Hardware! My go-to and I call my style “modern Mediterranean” 🤷♀️
Restoration Hardware is Luxe Rustic, imo. But they are gooooooood.
OOooo! I like Modern Mediterranean, I might start using that!
Yes love that! We have travertine stone floors in our entry and kitchen so I've tried to mimic a Mediterranean feel!
What about RH?
Love RH. I would say they are luxe, and can go glam, traditional or loft.
Rejuvenation! Just got a chance to visit their store in Minnesota. Love their style!
Yes! We actually had them on this list as a historical shop, but they are still amping up the furnishings so it was hard to compare them. But you all know we are MASSIVE fans.
This is so helpful. One question and one observation/comment. What is transitional? I love Arhaus but I don’t understand the label “transitional”. I think of it as warm but modern? help? I found it interesting that you say you don’t have an ounce of boho in you but yet when you’re in your pretty long flowy dresses and booties boho is the first thing that comes to my mind. Maybe just a hint of boho 😊 still lovely regardless of the label.
I have been trying to figure out my home style and how to blend what I like together! This list is great - My top three are pottery barn, Serena and Lilly, and McGee and Co. I like to think of my style as a slightly coastal, slightly traditional, mixed with easy/California-ish elements…does that exist?!? 🤣
I love love love this. I’m mid central modern/classic modern. I like the heavier furniture pieces from C&B but the lighter touches lighting, accessories, side table to lean mid century. I’ll even do some CB2 but I prefer a touchable look on the main areas. But you’re right I’ve got things from most of these places especially ANYTHING at Target. I’m learning it’s ok to mix it up as long as there is some cohesion. Thanks!
I think that style exists! It is called YOUR style! :-)
I love too many styles! But my fave is Crate & Barrel (classic/mod), Lulu & Georgia (feminine, a little bit boho), and Studio McGee (warm and mod/traditional). I love Article as a more affordable option for real wood pieces. Ballard Designs is one not listed that I always peruse too!
My style tends to be mostly Japandi, but I don't think there's any one store that specializes in that yet (C&B is usually the closest). Someday hopefully!
I like to mix it up. Ethan Allen, CB2, McGee Co and a few Hearth and Home.
This is so helpful! I’m still educating myself on what each style looks like so this was great. There wasn’t a store for “contemporary”. Is that still considered a style or is that now considered “classic” or “transitional”?
This article was so very helpful! I’ve struggled with naming what my actually style so going by where I like to shop was makes complete sense.
Your topics are ALWAYS on point! Congrats to you and your team for always coming up with such great content!
I’m probably a mix of Studio McGee and Arhaus with a little Crate & Barrel, West Elm and Pottery Barn (Haha…I like it all!) But you left out one of my favs….RH!
Agreed RH is such a favorite of mine too!
What about Ballard Designs? Or Restoration? OAK? Just wondering how you'd define their styles in comparison to the other retailers above.
I'm Modern, Scandi, Cozy, Industrial? Making it a thing.
Own it!
Tara, check out the Faux Martha blog (Melissa Coleman)!
I love that you did this! Personally, I know my style and the style of my home but SO many people don’t! And get overwhelmed snd confused! What an easy way to help people figure it out. Now they type their new key words into a browser or Pinterest and get more and more options that fit for them apart from that one store they love. So smart. Very thoughtful post. ♥️
Now that you're in NC, check out Society Social, (shopsocietysocial.com) an affordable custom furniture company (made in Hickory, NC) loved for their play with fabrics!
This was SO fun. I can now say my home style is Clean, Warm and Transitional. I love McGee & Co and Arhaus, but the first is sometimes a touch more modern than me, the second a touch too lux. What a great way to help us define what we love — thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it!
This is SO helpful. My husband and I just bought a traditional house. We love it and it perfectly meets our needs. I am finding myself shopping at Pottery Barn a lot, and was feeling a little self conscious about that but it makes sense because those items are at home in our house. I do think that our style is more luxury, earthy but not in this house - I learned from you, listen to the house.
I wonder if you could expand on this post and talk about how to combine styles in a good way. Is that even possible? Like, yes, our house is traditional and most of the things we buy are traditional. But somethings there's something romantic at Anthropogie that I can't get out of my head. We are planning to buy a couple of RH pieces - will they look out of place? We love them.
We are so overwhelmed haha.
Yes, agree! How to combine would be so helpful.
I’d say first and foremost I’m vintage but I love a good earthy, feminine bohemian. While trying to not neglect my husbands taste of vintage and coastal.
What about the more affordable stores? Why not feature collections from there? It would be nice to see more than just one collection at Target and UA as the affordable options. Why not Kirklands, Sonoma Goods for Life at Kohl's, Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart, IKEA collections, etc.? There's a big gap here, want to see more please!
These stores have curated styles. So they can help someone figure out what their style is and then definitely hone in on your budget and pieces that match that
I also have a variety or pieces from several of these stores: CB2, Article, Anthropologie, West Elm. We are in a house built in 1950 and though I like mid-century, furnishing my house with only that does not interest me, so I've been working on a complimentary mix...traditional/romantic/mid-century. For me that means cozy and classic with a dose of eclectic (vintage finds and fun accents like brass serpent curtain tiebacks). Basically I want to feel like I live in a Parisian apartment. :)
No Restoration Hardware?
How could we forget!
This is so fun!!!
This post is so helpful. Thanks.
Great summary. I also find Restoration Hardware has an industrial vibe. Lots of oversized furniture for loft living.
Ballard Designs is another favorite of mine. Traditional/Transitional with some touches of glam, modern and Asian inspired pieces.