Many interior decorating styles don't fit into a definite time period

Learn the characteristics of garden style, shabby chic, retro, and southwestern decorating styles to name a few

Trying to put interior decorating styles into neat cubbyholes is a futile exercise. This is especially true when we stray from the traditional time periods of the major decorating trends such as Traditional, Victorian, and Colonial.

There are as many or more sub styles as there are period styles. Here I will try to analyze some of the more popular interior decorating sub styles along with giving some hints to help you achieve the look you may be aiming for.

The 80/20 Rule

It is important to keep in mind that a room doesn't have to follow a particular decorating style 100% of the time. What you are trying to achieve is a look and an ambiance of a certain style or time period. If you are decorating in Colonial style but have a favorite comfortable contemporary chair you can't live without, why should you do without it? If the color is way off, re-upholster or slipcover it to match your other pieces and you are golden.

Just remember to keep the primary decorating style in the forefront. If you style is more like 50/50 than 80/20, you will end up with a hodge-podge of design ideas and your room will lack a sense of design to say nothing of lacking peace and harmony.

Designing with Other Decorating Styles

Many interior decorating styles do not fit into a specific period. These styles are more eclectic and are more about creating a certain regional ambiance or evoking feelings of nostalgia, romance, nature, etc.

Listed below are a few of the styles I will be reviewing in the next few weeks:

• Retro Style
• Spanish Style
• Art Deco
• French Country

Contact Me if You Would Like a Style Review

If your favorite interior decorating style is not on this list, contact me and I will do a review of your choice. Unfortunately, this is a website and not a book, so it is impossible to go into great detail. However, you will get enough information to decide if this is a choice you would like to explore further.

For now, be sure to visit the styles already reviewed at Types of Home Decorating Styles

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