What is an interior stylist? Guess what? Most people have no idea what it is we do. Of course, you get the gist of it, as in “styling the interiors of buildings” but when it comes down to out actual services, nada, no idea. You are not alone.
Most people believe an interior stylist is someone who uses the word “darling” as punctuation and who walks around animatedly, spending a client’s money on things they don’t need. No wonder the world is confused, they think that they will be paying an interior designer thousands for a mood board (that they haven’t a clue what to do with, by the way) and to walk around their home, wave their hands about telling them what it is “they” will be doing to the place.
Historically, an interior designer would be paid quite a lot of money to put their design “mark” on someone’s home, so this idea of over the top interior designers is not totally unfounded. Indeed there are still high profile designers who are paid a LOT to deliver this type of service today, but they have a definite style that clients are paying for. An interior stylist was unheard of.
The interior design industry has really changed in recent years and an endless amount of niches and off-shoots have added a bit of confusion to the mix. The introduction of E-services, online design, blogging/vlogging, home staging, property styling, interior decorators and all things #decor have opened up interior styling services to many new markets and also to new customers who can afford their services.
So let’s sort this out once and for all. Here is an easy explanation for interior styling.
Interior Stylist
In order to clarify we need to understand what styling is. Styling, (like what hairdressers and fashion stylists do) focus on making the end result look a specific way.
(That is not the dictionary meaning, however, as it’s quite misleading: The Oxford English Dictionary says that styling is: “The way in which something is made, designed, or performed”. I hope you agree that my description is much more useful!)
Both an interior designer and interior stylist focus on making the end result absolutely perfect, but the interior stylist’s main role is to focus on the end result, whereas for an interior designer, the styling part is usually the final result or the icing on the cake and usually, a lot of work has been undertaken to transform a space prior to getting to this point (depending on the project of course).
This is the magic in their skill – they can change the complexion of any room without any structural alterations.
If you’ve always dreamed of having a house that looks like something that you see on TV or in a magazine, you can get it by employing some interior styling techniques and principles. Here’s what you need to know about exactly what interior styling is.
About Interior Styling
Interior styling is basically about “dressing” a room so that it looks as good as it possibly can while still being functional and expressing your taste.
There are several elements involved in interior styling such as:
- Creating a new colour scheme to suit the space
- Adding new textures into a room
- Implementing clever storage solutions
- Optimising the layout of the room
- Adding new furniture or replacing existing furniture with more suitable alternatives
- Using lamps and lighting to create an attractive yet functional lighting scheme
- Clever use of soft furnishings such as curtains, rugs, cushions, throws and so forth
- Creating a room that is trendy but will not date quickly
- Creating a space that is easy to use by all occupants of the home
If you feel a little overwhelmed and don’t quite know where to start, you can hire a professional interior stylist. We will work closely with you to find out your needs for the rooms being styled, your budget, and what type of things you want to see (what colours you want to use, what materials you like etc). We will then create a design and tweak it with you til you are both happy with what you see. You can then relax as we will have everything done for you – we will source materials, furniture, fittings and so forth and call in the necessary people to complete the job. All you have to do is to enjoy the room!
