She glides down the street with the gracefulness and poise of gazelle.  Every hair is in place, accessories are tasteful and minimal.  And her clothes are tailored with impeccable precision.  This is the profile of a well-dressed woman.  Imagine your shock then, when upon entering her you home, you are welcomed by a disheveled, disjointed mess of hodge podge furnishings in one room after another.  What the heck happened??? 

The scene above plays out in real life more often than any of us realizes.  Despite the fact that fashion and interior design are inextricably linked, I still run into hard core fashionistas who insist that they can simply cannot decorate their own homes.  Why the continuing dilemma?  And how can we bridge the gap between how we dress and the way we decorate our homes?  The answer lies in following basic principles.   

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The Principles of the Matter

True, there are some devoted followers of fashion who could care less what their homes looked like.  But if you'd like to bring your sense of fashion into your home, this post is for YOU.  

Our personal style is simply an extension, a reflection of how we live at home.  And on the flip-side of that, unless we become someone different behind closed doors, our home usually serves as an indication (albeit subtle) of how we like to dress ourselves.  Simply put, one hand helps the other.  Does that make sense? 

Both fashion and interior design rely on color, composition, and texture to create beautiful aesthetics.  Color is often used to direct the eyes. Composition is the part where all the separate elements come together to form one cohesive look. And texture keeps the look from becoming boring.  

Additionally, both fashion and interior designers start out with a focal point, create a silhouette (or outline), and then finish off by balancing out all the details.  What works on the body often will work in a room too.  Isnt' that amazing?   

Taking it From the Catwalk to the Home

Recently I was chatting with a successful millennial whose personal fashion style I absolutely love. She's planning to move into her first apartment soon, and was concerned about how she was going to style it.  

I asked her to take look at her closet, and let me know what the story was behind her clothing choices.  At first the idea seemed strange to her.  But after thinking about it, she realized that she was subconsciously making very deliberate style choices.  Ironically, the same thing happens when pulling together a space.  

She's a huge fan of the color black.  Hellooo, what woman isnt't a fan of black?  It's chic, classic and looks good even on animals - cats, dogs, cows you name it!  Ha! Appropriately then, She calls the color black her "comfort."  Then she added that she loves green because of the way it looks on her skin. She's even been secretly pinning for a velvety green sofa.  Do you see where this is going?  Gold is also a color of choice because it reminds her of the tribes back home in Africa.  She also adds pops of strong colors like red and yellow to her closet, so that she can wear them when her mood dictates to do so. 

Using these ideas, I made the color green the star of the show and constructed the following fashion mood boards for her.  

Okay, so fashionista extraordinaire- I am not.  But imagine my surprise when she liked these?  Since this will be her first apartment, she's decided to start small with a studio.  Here's how I translated these items into home decor. 

Notice all the layering of textures. We've got rattan, gold, velvet and even wood.  I also used the tanish brown color to highlight the heavy green, and added black accents to anchor everything into place.  Although it doesn't show brightly, the pillows on the bed are actually a pinkish-red color.  I then changed out one of the prints to introduce just a bit more color.   

Et voila!  Every color or pattern in the fashion board has been incorporated in some way.  Isn't it funny how it all works?  The great part is that accessories can easily be changed out to add stronger or lighter pops of color when wanted.  Ultimately, she wanted more black featured, and requested a black and white print featured in the first mood board above.  And I just love it! 

I hope this post encourages you to take a closer look at how you can translate your own personal style into home decor.  Focus on the colors that bring you "comfort" and work outward from there.  Most importantly, make sure you have a fun with it!   

Please tell me in the comments below.   What are YOUR thoughts on this concept?  

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