Author and designer Sharon Hanby-Robie offers this helpful and insightful way to discover your personal style. This self-test may seem simple, but it offers helpful information, according to Hanby-Robie, who has used this test for nearly 20 years. Colors, pattern styles and textures that evoke a positive emotional response during this test will always appeal to you.
Step One: Compiling the "Yes" Pile
Check out sample books in a wallpaper store, including patterns and styles you would normally avoid. By expanding your horizon, you will further develop your sense of style. Just because you always thought you were straight-laced traditional, doesn't necessarily mean you are. It may be that you've chosen a traditional style because it's all you've known.
Start making a stack of samples. Put the "Yes, I like that, I'm not sure for where, but I like it" patterns in the "YES" stack. After about an hour of looking, you will be pleasantly surprised to realize that there are similarities between your choices. Usually, color, pattern or overall personality will be very much the same from one "YES" sample to the next. You may, for example, find that many of the samples you have chosen are plaid. They will also have similar colors. They may be different hues (shades) of the colors, but usually fall within the same color families, like warm or cool colors.
Step Two: Analyzing the Colors
Hanby-Robie has determined that people are basically divided into two groups: Blue and Green. Blue people, which include the majority of men, tend to be happier with peach, mauve, gray, beige, rust and brown tones. Green people prefer brighter, more adventurous tones, such as purple, red, yellow, teal and hot pink. While you may like both colors, you will generally find that if you are a blue person, the shades of green that appeal to you have blue undertones. It is possible for Blue and Green people to like the same patterns, but in different color combinations. For the most part, blue people will prefer calmer, less radical patterns. The Green people, often will like things with more "zing."
Step Three: Analyzing the Style
Recognize the elements of the styles you have chosen for your "YES" pile. Are they formal, such as silks and brocade patterns? Or are they informal with rough-textured weaves? Determining the level of formality that appeals to you will make it easier to arrange your room. Formal style dictates a more symmetrically balanced plan, while informal has fewer rules and is more casual.
Are the samples representative of traditional or contemporary style? Some patterns can be used for either style, but generally speaking, there will be a focus to your selections in one direction or the other. If you find you have chosen several patterns that "feel" as though they could be traditional or contemporary, then this may indicate that a combination of styles would be best for you.
Summary
By now, you should have a good idea of what appeals to you. Remember, this is based purely on your immediate emotional response, and you shouldn't be concerned about what anyone else will think. If you have a housemate or a whole family of housemates, have them do their own "YES" piles. Once the preferences of the household members have been established, begin to compromise on whose style will dominate and whose will complement. You may even decide to give someone his or her own room to experiment.
