Want to have great style in your home, but don’t know where to start? Think about what you love. Think about the clothes you wear. Do you like to dress casual in your favorite pair of blue jeans or do you like to dress up? Do you prefer pajama bottoms with house shoes or are you more comfortable in a style that makes a dramatic statement? Do you like to style your hair and have a pulled together look when you leave the house or just throw on a ball cap and go out? What else do you love? What fits your personality? Think about the pets you own and the car you drive. Think about restaurants you like and pastimes you love. What makes you comfortable? What fits your lifestyle? Are you a collector or more of a minimalist? Do you like romance or drama? Do you prefer dramatic and bold or neutral and calm. Just remember that your style at home is very private and personal. It’s not about the latest trends or keeping up with the Jones family next door. Your home style should reflect your personality and your character. So if you love dramatic clothes that make a statement, then you probably like drama in your design style at home. And if you love to hang out in your favorite pair of blue jeans, then your home style is more about casual comfort. But what if you’re like me and sometimes you love to be comfortable, but other days you’re ready for a little drama. Then your style’s probably more eclectic, perhaps a casual elegance that combines comfortable with traditional elegance.

Do you love the past look of beautiful European architectural details like columns and pilasters that are elegant and symmetrical, but restrained with some more updated trends? Then you might prefer a traditional classic style which is the most common preferred style in Kansas City. Do you prefer the simple clean lines of rough hewn ceiling beams and stone fireplaces with sturdy simpler furniture pieces? Then, possibly you’re an Arts and Crafts style fan. Or maybe you prefer really simple clean architectural lines and furniture with a neutral or simpler color palette in a sparse environment. If that’s true, then you’re leaning towards a modern style. Let’s say sweeping verandas, shutters, pillars and simple slatted furniture get your heart beating faster. If that’s true then your style might be colonial. Or do you love a warm casual atmosphere with natural materials like painted plaster walls, hefty ceilings, rusted metal furniture or fixtures with rich colors like sunny yellow and red with an old stone fireplace? If so, then you’re most likely a French country style fan. And what if you prefer an adobe fireplace, plaster walls, bold Indian rugs and pottery? Then you’re heading southwest. Or how do you feel when you’re in a room with natural materials like stone or tile, old textured walls, big architectural pieces, large furniture pieces and rich earthy colors? If you’re right at home, then old world charm is a good fit. What if you’re attracted to more simple rustic furniture like benches and slip covered upholstery, mix n match plaids and floral fabrics with a garden feel? Then country is more your style. And how about a romantic look with embellished details and a lavish feel? Then Victorian may be your style. Or how do you react to current trends in furnishings and colors? If you love them, then you might call your style contemporary. But if a mixture of styles from around the world makes you happiest, then you prefer a global style.

Designer’s Eye column was written by Karen Mills of Interiors by Design, Inc. and host, Living Large.