I often think about what style elements define one’s look. It would take me quite a few paragraphs (if not pages) to explain how I see my design perspective, detailing the varied modes I draw influence from and how they work together for me. Much easier, however, is to share with you the key visual elements I return to over and over again. In many ways, these 6 components when used together, are the closest thing to defining my look. Almost every room I design incorporates all or most of these ingredients, and in fact, almost every item in each room can be traced back to one of these aspects. Here are the 6 defining style elements I use in every room.
1. Gilding – Probably the single most defining style element is the use of gilding in the majority of my rooms. This most often takes the form of a vintage mirror but can also be seen in picture frames, hardware and other accessories. I’ve been known to roam around the house with gold paint and if it isn’t moving, it has a chance of becoming gilded.
2. White linen – I love contrasts and balance, and so each of my favorite rooms includes pure white to offset the darks and colors and soft linen to balance the harder pieces in a room.
3. Floral – Whether it’s fresh flowers, printed fabrics or delicate floral china, the beauty of floral is present in all of my rooms. Sometimes it’s subtle, sometimes it dominates a room, but always it sneaks in no matter how masculine the space.
4. Crystal – I confess, I have a thing for a bit a bling. It’s often a chandelier, or maybe a pair of sconces, or sometimes just a lovely set of crystal glasses set out on a pretty tray, but when a room is missing crystal it’s like leaving the house without my wedding rings.
5. Patina – The underpinning for all these feminine touches that grounds every room I approach is the gorgeous patina of aged wood or chippy painted surfaces. The contrast of dark wood to white linen is oh-so-gorgeous, as is the mix of elegant gilding and crystal set against a backdrop of rustic aged pieces.
6. Vintage Silver – Similar to my love of gilding is an appreciation for vintage silver. I enjoy mixing the metals together so it’s not an either / or proposition. Where gilding is often found on wood surfaces with finishes chipped or flaked, on silver I love the highs and lows of lustrous sheen against tarnished recesses. I utilize lots of small vintage silver accessories to pepper my rooms like jewelry.
The very same approach of these 6 elements can be seen in my table settings, as well. These are simply the elements that round out a look for me and when one is missing I notice it. Am I the only one who thinks like this or do you have your go-to style elements, as well? I’d love to hear, in the comments below, the items your rooms cannot do without.
Style Elements Source List – Click on the items below for direct links to the products. Where actual items were no longer available, I’ve provided similar options. Since many of these items are vintage, you can find links to the exact places I shop for them, as well as new items in the same spirit in some cases. (This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.)
- New Gilded Mirror or Vintage Options
- Gilded Decorative Box
- Gilded Drapery Rods
- Embroidered White Linens
- White Linen Drapery Panels
- Floral Bedding
- Aubusson Rug
- Vintage Floral Teacups
- New Crystal Sconces or Vintage Options
- Crystal Basket Chandelier
- Crystal Ink Well
- Cut Crystal Glassware
- French Bar Server
- French Louis Chair
- Chippy Stool
- Garden Statue
- New Silver Tea Set or Vintage Options
- Silver Candlesticks
- Silver Dressing Table Accessories
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like these (click on the photos):
Displaying Teacups | Decorating with Mirrors | French Country House Tour
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Those are wonderful elements and they work together beautifully in your style. I need to add a few of these to my decor, especially the silver. I love the depth and hues of real silver.
Thanks so much, Rebecca! I agree about real silver, although I use silver-plate quite often, as well. I absolutely love finding an old tarnished piece in an antique market and shining it up and bringing it back to life… 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!!
Lory, you have such beautiful things and they all work so well together.
Thanks so much, Kim!
I love your design elements. At heart, so many of those elements are things I love in a room as well. Now I have this coastal house on a barrier island and feel like I’m being pulled in a different direction but I’m sort of fighting myself. For example, I just posted my blue and white plate wall and I have gilded shelves in the display…but if I were to take it in a coastal direction I should paint them a creamy white. Oh what to do. Every picture you shared was a treasure.
Thanks so much, Nancy! I feel like I’ve actually seen coastal and French Country mixed successfully, so I’ll bet you’ll work it out perfectly… 🙂 In fact, I think that’s a challenge that would be really fun to explore. I think I would just think of the most beautiful resorts I’ve been to with that mix of European elegance and a relaxed seaside vibe. Places that come to mind – The Four Seasons in Nevis, Le Sirenuse in Positano and pretty much everywhere in the South of France.
And now I’m running to see your plate wall… 😉
Everything is so beautiful!!
Thanks, Jeanie!
Lory, you know that I love your decorating sense. I utilize the same elements in our home. We have more English than French pieces of furniture, but these elements look just as nice in either. I’ve always been drawn to “bling” done elegantly—when I was seven years old, I saved all my allowance for over one year to buy an amethyst necklace I fell in love with, and the shop owner was kind enough to let me make payments on each week (a plus to living in a village where most people know each other). I guess I just love to look at beautiful things, whether it be home décor or a pretty sunset. I love the detailing done by artisans who took great pride in creating something beautiful that would last, allowing many to enjoy their time-honored craft. So much today is just thrown together, which makes me appreciate the things we have all the more.. Loved looking at YOUR gorgeous things, as always. Hugs!
Thanks, Bobbi! I love your amethyst necklace story… 🙂 I enjoy English as much as French, in fact I think my style is somewhere in between (which is why I say it would take paragraphs to define it – easier to just show it… lol.) I, too, just love being surrounded by beautiful things. It makes life so much more pleasant!! Thanks for visiting!
Love! Pinned and tweeted! Thank you so much for sharing this with us at our linky party. We hope to see you next Monday @ 7 because we can’t wait to see your new creations! Happy Friday! Lou Lou Girls
Thanks so much!!
Our tastes are similar many ways, and your list is mine, but I would add books, so I guess that would be seven things? For me the white linen is more likely to be found in warmer months, so maybe it would be six after all.
Ha ha, thanks!! And you’re so right. How could I have left out books? For me it’s especially vintage leather bound books, but also beautiful coffee table books, the photo books I do and of course just books I love to read… 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!!
Oh be still my heart Lory. You have exquisite style and taste. Such gorgeous details. Great post. I have to go back to read it all again and look at your amazing photos again.
Have a great week.
Thank you so much, Janet! What a lovely comment… 🙂 Thanks for making my day!! (Yesterday I spent at an antique market, so more goodies are on the way.)
Thanks for this post, Lory. I’m a serious non-fan of the minimalist look. For me, too much is just right. I absolutely loved looking at the photos you included here. Enough elegance and detail to make my little soul very happy!
Thanks so much! Ha ha, I so agree about the minimalist thing… 😉 I must be surrounded by pretty things!! Thanks for stopping by!
Wow! Thanks for the information!! It helps my thinking to understand what goes into your style!! I find that I have already been drawn to these elements in my collections of my treasures from my garage sales.
Question: I have made several bears from family and friends clothing. I call them “Memory Bears” I collect teapots. I have now gotten around 50+ teapots in my collection. I also have vintage handkerchiefs.
How would you incorporate those collections into your planning?
That’s an interesting question, Pamela. Do you mean in displaying them or creating them? For displaying, I think they sounds lovely together. Certainly teapots and handkerchiefs go perfectly together. So why not have a Memory bear sitting right nearby, maybe against a pillow that ties the whole package together, in a vignette on a shelf?
Lori, everything is lovely and I would totally agree! Your mix is my mix! Beautiful!
Thanks so much, Nella! Yeah, it’s not really intentional, but I just noticed I always use this mix of elements. Not surprised at all that it’s your mix, as well, since I love your style… 🙂
I too love this mix! Another thing I always add is a touch of black to each room. My husband always jokes about my love of silver and asks me, “Is the queen coming?” Well, I’m ready when she does!
Ha ha… me too with all my gilding… 😉 Thanks for stopping by!!
I really liked this article. Although my style is nothing like yours, reading this post helped me look at what design elements are important to me. I think of my style (loosely) as modern rustic, and I realized that in each of the rooms that I love, there are always some seashells, raw wood elements, large colorful glass floor vases, at least one antique piece, live plants, and modern cleaned-lined espresso/black furniture pieces. There are a few rooms that I have been wanting to tweak because they don’t feel quite right, and this article helped me realize what elements are missing in these rooms. Thanks for such an insightful article. I know this comment is coming nearly 6 months after your post, but I just found it on Pinterest. BTW, I really enjoyed the pictures of your home, it is lovely.
Thank you so much for your lovely comment! I am thrilled to be able to help someone else see their own design style in a more clear way. I’ve noticed for a long time that these elements are common to so many rooms that I love, so bravo to Pinterest for keeping still relevant posts in circulation… 🙂 And thank you for taking the time to let me know what I wrote resonated with you. It means a lot to me!
Lory,
thank you so much for this post! It is such a pleasure to find like-minded people 🙂
Your design style is so elegant. I love all the vintage pieces and feminine touches!