The Question Most Clients Struggle to Answer

When new clients fill out my questionnaire, one question stops almost everyone in their tracks. What is your style? I include a photo next to each option, hoping the images will do some of the talking. And still, this is the question I hear about most. Not because it is a trick question, but because most people have never had to name what they are attracted to in a single style.

Here is what I want you to know. That question was never about giving me the correct textbook answer. It is about energy. When you point to a photo and say “this one”, you are showing me something deeper than a label. You are showing me how you want your home to feel.

I have noticed something shift in how designers talk about style. It used to be a place or a period. Scandinavian. Mid-century. Now, more often, it is an adjective. Organic. Layered. Warm. I love this change. An adjective leaves room for a home to be personal instead of a costume. It describes a feeling rather than a formula.

I also want to gently push back on something I see happening in the design world. The shaming of certain styles. Farmhouse gets this treatment often. People will say it has been overdone, as if a style can expire. I do not believe that. Farmhouse is timeless. It draws from real homes across America and Europe, long before it had a trending hashtag attached to it. Yes, one designer brought it into the spotlight. But even she has expanded well beyond it. And if you actually live in a farmhouse, your home should reflect that architecture, layered with pieces that make it feel collected and lived in rather than staged around a theme.

A good designer can work in any style. But most of us have one we do best, the one that makes our work recognizable the moment you see it.

So if you do not know your style yet, that is completely fine. And if you love a style that is not currently having its moment, that is fine too. Your home is not required to follow a trend cycle. I would not want to live in a world where every home looked the same.

This is where the real work of interior design begins. My job is to take what you already love and elevate it into the home you have been picturing. If your questionnaire says mid-century modern, industrial, and contemporary, I already know how to translate that into something timeless, clean-lined, and airy. That's one of the many things I do for you.

If you are ready to start a project, or simply want to schedule a consultation to talk through where to begin, reach out below. I would love to help translate your style into the home you have been imagining.