Beyond the Trends: How to Find Your Authentic Home Decor Aesthetic

Finding Your Home Aesthetic in a Fast Paced World

 

In today's fast paced world, we often get caught jumping from one trending aesthetic to another. We collect decor that looks great on it’s own, but won’t be the vibe in about, let me look at my watch, oh yeah, .5 seconds.

Everything is changing, but you don’t have to. You can find a timeless aesthetic that truly aligns with your personal lifestyle.

Because there are so many different ways to decorate, we are going break down a few aesthetics, explain what makes them unique, and help you find one that suits you best!

Let’s get to it! Because, I want to get to the fun part. Decorating!

 

Popular Aesthetics

 

First, I would like to mention that there are a lot of aesthetics. Too many, in fact, to get into them all, but if you’re curious beyond what we are going over today, then take a look at this list of aesthetics. so you can find one that catches your eye.

Here are the main aesthetics we’ll be going over today:

 

• Cottagecore

• Dark academia

• Minimalism

• Y2K

• Boho-Chic

 

While we go through this list keep these questions in mind to help narrow down your choices:

 

• Do you prefer dark or light spaces?

• Do you like vibrant colors or do you prefer neutrals?

• Do you like to feel energized in your space or do you want to feel at ease?

 

Cottagecore:

This style draws from the Romantic and Victorian periods, mainly taking from the English countryside. Key elements associated with it include baking, gardening, hand made crafts, and, of course, cozy cottages. It relies on earthy tones and soft pastels like beige, lavender, and moss green.

Dark Academia

This style take from Gothiscism and American Prep celebrating self-discovery and a passion for learning. As you might guess, libraries vintage books, candles, and old architecture, are key ideas of this aesthetic. The color palette includes browns and black, burgundies, dark green, and some soft cream accents.

Minimalism

This style is all about simplicity, simple living, and lack of clutter. It tends to use the colors, white, black, and neutral tones with clean lines and not many patterns.

Y2K

Born in the late 90’s and early 2000’s due to rapid advancements in technology. It captures a time when people were excited for a clean, high tech future. It features 3D graphics, bright colors, and different textures like chrome, metallic, and translucent materials. It favors cool-toned ice palettes mixed with bright colors like pinks, lime green, red, and oranges.

Boho-Chic

This style feels free-spirited using patterns and heavy layering to create the effect. It uses earthy colors like white, brown, beige, accented by turquoise and muted jewel colors.

 

Making a Style Distinctly Yours

 

If one of these jumped out to you, that’s great! If you’re still not sure, check out this website. It has a huge list of aesthetics and maybe one will peak your interest.

However, sometimes a single aesthetic cannot fully encompass who you are. As many of these trends were pushed forward by internet subcultures, but your home doesn’t have to feel like a carbon copy of a social media feed.

So, how do you create something distinctly yours?

It can take time to know your tastes. You might need to experiment with different colors and furniture styles before finding what you love. And sometimes, it doesn’t truly hit you until you have a space of your own to decorate.

For me, once I had my own space to decorate, I was able to discover colors and atmosphere’s that suit my lifestyle.

• In the kitchen: My kitchen (which is still a work in progress) draws from cottagecore, but I’ve made it my own. My main inspiration came from a dish set, which used to belong to my mom before she gave it to me. Instead of the typical cottagecore colors, I’ve found that light blue, rich yellow, maroon, and an earthy green to suit me better.

• In the living room: I’ve drawn inspiration from dark academia, but I’ve added Gothic details and brighter colors than the ones you’d traditionally draw from that style.

These choice have all contributed to my unique style. It’s not exactly cottagecore or dark academia, but it’s a bit of who I am.

When making choices about your home, consider who you are, who you were, and who you want to become. Then you will find a style that suits you.

Creative Bear Den

Written by Emma.