Whenever you wish to decorate or redecorate, the most common advice that comes your way is pick a style and stick to it. So what exactly is this style? What defines a style and how many of them are there today? To be honest, every home has its own style, but we have some broad classifications under which they all fall. In case you are just starting to plan on decorating your interiors and are looking for a style guide, here they are ..

Traditional Furnishings

This is arguably the most popular way of doing up your interiors. And there is a reason for that. It looks both official and casual and that degree of seriousness can be altered by mixing it with other styles marginally. The traditional style relies largely on dark, mahogany-styled wooden furniture, leather in dark tones and a few lighter wooden pieces to alter it slightly. While the Old World style is purely classical, the Tuscan Villa style is on the other end of the spectrum and uses lighter tones. No matter what you chose, this style is always a charmer.

The Contemporary Style

Ranging from the bright shades, loud colors and hip-swinging accessories of the Retro to the more up-to-date style of Urban and Chic, the contemporary style is easier to achieve compared to the classical look. It allows you to shop with a lot more freedom, art lovers can chose their favorite pieces and you can either chose the straight lines, sensuous curves or vivacious circular theme. This is more casual and far more comfortable than most other styles.

Minimalist and Modern

We all know about the minimalist style very well by now and while this is also in a way contemporary, it stands markedly away from the likes of Retro, Urban, Art deco and Casual. Highly refined edges, sleek straight lines, simple cubic designs, and the use of neutral shades are its trademark, giving interiors an ultra-cool and futuristic look. Probably the hottest theme around, the minimalist style also presents with an excellent and often excessive use of glass to add glitter and lighting to the room.

The Historical Style

The most popular historical style of decorating is the Victorian style with its tainted glass, dark wooden furniture, picture and object frames that have heavy metal work on them (and even fabric like silk, wool and velvet to accentuate the feel). Then there are styles like Colonial which are far difficult to replicate. A historic style is probably the most difficult to carry off as you are trying to recapture the long gone past and transforming the interiors completely.

The Exotic Style

The exotic style depends actually on the place you hail from. Someone from China and India may not find an Oriental style that exotic or a South African might not feel the same for an African theme. Using something that comes from a different culture, an unusual concept or rare origin, they all fall under exotic. Althought they may look amazing, keep in mind that it’s pretty expensive as such furnishings will be hard to find and will cost plenty if you are getting them shipped across continents.

Country Style

Muted colors, mid-toned woods or painted finishes and vintage fabrics are the hallmark of this style that varies with the region it hails from. Whether it’s the classic English style, the common Cottage style or the charming French model, they all have common elements with cultural variations.

The Eclectic Style

A combination of various time periods, cultural backgrounds and traditions, these types of furnishings are rare, hard to achieve and take plenty of care in need to get the balance right. You cannot just throw in random stuff and call it Eclectic (or a daring experiment). While there are marked styles in this like Tribal and Bohemian, this is a style that is often best left to experts… unless you are really talented that is.

At the end of the day, furniture design styles are flexible with old rules being constantly altered and designs being mixed and matched. You must love a style to bring it home, otherwise it will be just a waste of time and cash.

So chose wisely and decorate aptly!