Discovering Our Style

So, we are buying a house! BUT it is in Florida. I never thought I we would be buying a house in Florida. We have always wanted to be in the Midwest, but God has other plans for us. So, here we are. In the past, I have not paid much attention to the TYPE of style I use to decorate our home. I usually look at Pottery Barn and love everything I see. :) When we decided to buy a Florida, aka Mediterranean style home, I had to start educating myself on design styles. So, I went to hgtv.com and took a discover your style quiz, and the education began. The result was that my style is "Crafted Simplicity", also known as Craftsman or Arts and Craft. Described as: Simple shapes and strong lines. Fine craftsmanship mixes with natural materials. Arts and Crafts, Mission, or Shaker.

We want to make our home feel like home. A place where we can be comfortable and feel settled. It is very difficult to do that when our home is designed like a Florida home. We are Boilermakers, not Gators! So my goal in designing and renovating the house was to make it "less Floridian".

Our home has the architecture of a Mediterranean home, which is inspired by the architecture of the areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Major areas surrounding Mediterranean Sea are: Spain, Greece, and Italy. Most homes in Florida are built Mediterranean style and most homes are decorated using a Spanish style. The Spanish style does not suit our taste. So I started researching other Mediterranean styles that are inspired by areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and found Spanish, Greece, and Italian styles. I thought that the Italian style might fit our taste, so I started looking through examples of homes decorated in an Italian style called the Tuscan style- inspired by architecture and design of buildings in Tuscany, Italy. By choosing to use elements of the Tuscan style, we would still be complimenting the original architecture of our Mediterranean home. However, we are not Italians and we don't want our home to reflect only that. So, I have done some research on the "Midwest Style" which is usually either Country Style or Craftsman Style. We really like the Craftsman Style, so I decided to combine the two styles of Tuscan and Craftsman. Despite the fact that there are architectural and design elements already built into the home that I would not choose, my hope is that combining Mediterranean and American styles will make our home a warm and inviting place to live and visit.

Here are the definitions of the different types of styles:

Crafted Simplicity:

Arts and craft style furnishings became popular in the United States between 1910-1925. The focus was simple in form without extraneous decoration, often showing the way pieces and materials are put together. Architecturally speaking, this style covers Arts and Crafts, Craftsman style, work by Frank Lloyd Wright as well as the bungalow style. "Truth in Materials" was very important to Arts and Crafts designers, who often used local materials.

Tuscan Style:

Tuscan interiors feature a rustic, sun-baked look characterized by crumbling stone patios, simple and sturdy furnishings with elegant iron accents, terra-cotta tiles, textured wall finishes, elegant, detailed murals and trompe l'oeil designs.

I love the warm and inviting colors and strong lines in each of the styles. I have so many ideas! We hope to close on our new home in 3 weeks! I am so ready to start designing our new house and make it our home. :)