Integrating Personality into Interior Design Theme, Building Style, Architecture Tips

Integrate Who You Are Into Your Interior Design Guide

International Architecture Theme – Style Dynamics Article

20 May 2019

Integrate Your Style in Interior Design

How To Integrate Who You Are Into Interior Design (Without Being Tacky)

Recently, I ordered a home DNA testing kit. I didn’t expect much out of it. In fact, I assumed I knew exactly where my heritage would place me. It didn’t quite turn out that way.

I expected to be entirely Eastern European, but there’s a fair amount of Asian and West African heritage in my gene pool. You can get your results when you check here for the best DNA testing kits. It inspired me to include my newfound heritage into the interior design of my house.

But then I had second thoughts. I did not want to come off as guilty of cultural appropriation. While I may have Asian and African genetics, that does not give me the right to take advantage of these ethnicities and their histories. I did not grow up with any of the culture or struggles that Asian and African people face.

Furthermore, I know all too well that trying to place yourself within your interior design can easily come off as tacky.

The good news is that there are ways to integrate who you are into your interior design without being tacky.

Contemporary residential building in Suffolk, England:

render : Peter Guthrie

Be sparing when deciding on a theme

The reason many people struggle with this is that they immediately try building a theme around who they are. This always comes off as heavy-handed and naive. Especially when you’re trying to incorporate a culture.

When you are deciding on a theme, do not build it around these things, but rather apply certain aspects of them sparingly. For example, you may include certain subtle color schemes or patterns as part of your design.

Statement pieces make all the difference

Once you’ve picked out a theme and designed around that, you can start integrating more of yourself, whether it is your profession, your heritage, or a nod to your ancestry. You can do this incredibly well with statement pieces.

Statement pieces are not tacky precisely because they are making a statement. You are acknowledging that you want to show this part of yourself, and that comes across as interesting and bold. So, when you do include an aspect of your ancestry, do it with purpose. Acknowledge in its placement that it is not the defining factor of your space but is something you feel reflects you.

render : Peter Guthrie

Hide it

Finally, one of the smartest ways of integrating your heritage and personal quirks is by doing it with things that, for the most part, stay hidden. Get some bold throws that you take out when it is cold. Find or create beautiful placemats or table runners for when you host a meal.

These things do not take over your space and are, most of the time, not even part of your space. Therefore, when you do bring them out, they are admired in their own right rather than judged as part of your aesthetic.

Subtlety is important when integrating who you are into your design. It can be done without seeming tacky, as long as you are mindful about just how you go about it.