No words of wisdom, but I'm with you on this one. When I'm in Arizona I love the southwest decor. When we visit our daughter in NYC it's the sleek urban contemporary feel. When we visit our son in the Philippines, it's the tropical beachy feel I'm drawn to. I love the darker colors of paint in my friends homes, but just can't live with it in my house. I live on a farm in the Midwest and my choices reflect my likes and lifestyle here. Everything tends to be practical. I'd love vessel sinks and granite countertops, tile floors and beautiful landscaping with pavers, etc. but it doesn't make sense for my lifestyle and the geographic area we're in. We're probably in our forever home. Someday I may call an interior decorator and ask what I need to do to pull it all together, but the frugal side of me probably won't do it. Just last week we were looking at a lake home or vacation place. But if we bought it, we'd never use it. We decided it would make more sense to invest in the few things we want in our current home and travel to the many places we want to see on our bucket list. I always have to remember the phrase "I can have anything I want, I just can't have everything". It applies to decorating too. So, you're not the only one who feels this way. I talk myself in circles.

Don't look outside yourself for "styles". Choose pieces that you absolutely love, put them together and make your own style.
If you love everything that you get it will all work out fine. As long as you define how you specifically intend to use the space first- pet, or children or other issues need to be clear from the get go. But then shop for something- say a lamp, and see where it takes you.

If you absolutely don't know where to begin you need an inspiration piece. It could be a photo, a fabric, a painting, or a postcard, but it will contain the colors and mood you are after. Mine was a simple print ad of pebbles under running water- it was serene and it had all the blues and greens and earth tones that I wanted.

Yours could be anything, but you need it to carry around with you all the time. Then when something strikes your fancy look at your piece and if it feels right it is right.

The advice about every piece having to be either stunningly gorgeous or marvelously functional is good, too.

I'm a firm believer in eclecticism. Like cearbhaill, I would suggest that you fall in love with one thing, not a whole room, just one thing and use it as your inspiration for your entire house.

I think the reason you are responding positively to your friends' houses is that they are warm, inviting and cohesive. It's not just the style that you like, but also the way it has been pulled together.

While some people believe that the exterior style of a house should dictate the interior style, I disagree. I've seen centuries old castles decorated with mid-twentieth century style and lofts with beautiful traditional pieces. It may mean that you have to change some of the interior architectural elements to tie into the feel of your style, though. I'm sure I need to say something about re-sale concerns since that seems to be a major issue for some, but I can only tell you that my personal philosophy is to save some of my decor budget in a special place so that I have the money to change what I need to change if I decide to sell my house. That way I don't have to limit my creativity with regard to my decor while I'm living in my home.

Thank you for the responses. I re-read my post, sounds a bit rambling. I just finished looking at an Elle Decor, then going into a Marshall's Homegoods...and feeling overwhelmed.

Fortunately I *LOVE* eclectic style. I like quirky, and I already know that I don't want my home to look like a builders model or that every room look like it was decorated from the same store. That being said...I have seen some pictures of "eclectic" that pretty much look like "crazy" so I am just wary of that.

hilltop-yes, I can see you get what I am feeling! I like that quote about having anything, just not everything. So true, and I will try to remember that.

forhgtv-For some reason, I feel very strongly that the exterior of a house should be somewhat continued inside...and I am not sure why I feel this way? I guess because I do feel strongly about it...I should roll with it and not fight it. I do like my house exterior, so that's a plus.

I do agree about my friends'houses. You know that feeling after having your first glass of wine, and everyone is talking and laughing and the kids are playing outside...and you notice some quirky piece of art or furniture...or how the light of the sunset changes the hue of the wall paint...or how the sleek stainless steel bowl of chips looks so cool against the rough, rustic wood table. THAT'S the feeling I want people to get in *MY* house...although I know it has more to do with the good company (and good wine, LOL) than anything else.

cear-yes, I am trying to do that. You know, as depressing as this is...I think being on a tight budget makes it difficult, too. I saw a piece of artwork that i loved...and considered it for our dining room. It was $400 and while that is not much for artwork for some people...it is a lot of $$$ when I don't have much of anything else in the dining room. I am afraid that even though I love this piece of art...now I am locked into that color scheme/style...and I still have not done window treatments, or gotten an area rug etc. I just don't know what to start with, and if money was not such a big issue, I could say, "Well, if this piece of art doesn't work in here, I'll get something else." I am scared to commit.

But sheesh...i gotta start somewhere, and I know this!

Ok, I am afraid I am rambling again. I am glad to hear the word "eclectic" tossed around, because that is the direction I am leaning towards anyway. Thanks again.

I must admit that when I read your original post my creative juices started at the thought of contemporary Spanish. It would not be a super expensive look to create and could include those materials and pieces that you love. Like that rustic wood table juxtaposed with some sleek accessories that you mentioned, some beautiful Spanish tile and some wrought iron, textured walls and vibrant color splashes. It would work with the style of your house and yet while not 'super modern' it would be fresh, light and interesting. And eclectic! Yummy! Just MHO of course!

I had a similar question about a very blah (compared to yours!) 70's ranch that we had considered buying until just recently. Responses here reminded me that Cliff May - a mid-century architect from Southern California - was basically the father of mid-century Spanish Ranch architecture. Your house sounds like it has all the right elements to follow his style as well as incorporating a little bit of what you like.

Here are a few links about Cliff May:

http://www.modernsandiego.com/Book.html

http://ranchostyle.com/cliffnotes.html

http://www.eichlernetwork.com/socal_hacienda.html

http://heartofkensington.org/32401.html - this is the area we wanted to live in when we lived in San Diego. We lived about 2 miles away in a similar but smaller-scale neighborhood of 1929 area Spanish Colonials and bungalows. I absolutely LOVE this style and everything we own style-wise is geared towards this style.

You might want to take a look at my former boss's house in Santa Barbara County. When they bought this house, I thought they were nuts. They dropped a pretty penny (millions of 'em, lol) on renovating it in their eclectic Mexican style (they are not Hispanic but love the culture). They've since sold this place & moved to San Miguel de Allende.

It's very colorful. I took all the "under construction" pics but the others were from their album when it was on the market.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rancho de los Colores

There are so many beautiful styles. It's hard to commit when most of them appeal to you.

You have the house with the fabulous stone floors, right? You're lucky you have a house with that much character, unlike those of us with featureless 60s tract homes! At least you have a wonderful base to start with.

Does anything in this photo of Spanish Colonial decor strike you? The seagrass rug is not expensive, as far as rugs go. And the linen curtain panels are available via catalogs or you can sew your own. Those can help nudge you in a direction. I like the animal print fabrics too. Maybe you could sew some animal print pillows for the same effect. That wouldn't be too expensive. The plates on the wall can be inexpensively copied. Anyway, just tossing some ideas around that won't break the bank. Hope you don't mind.

{{gwi:2106929}}

Here is a link that might be useful: from Christopher K. Coffin design

binsd....wow that link is awesome...I sooooooo love it when people embrace their inner child and just go for it. Having money helps...wish I had the cash to do all I want to do. ;~]

dirtymartini...love your post...welcome to the mind of an eclectic decorator. Basically here is the deal...some of us like so many things we can't make up our minds so we use it all. Blending it together in the same house is the challenge. You've got to go with the styles/colors you are overly passionate about and need to live in or you will get lost in your thoughts. We collect magazines, scour the web, tour homes...we can't get enough...we want more...more Victorian, more Spanish, more Modernism, more Traditional...it goes on and on and on.

If you need to coral your thoughts and start a project, then choose a small room first and try to stay focused on finishing it at least to that 90% level. Doesn't mean ya can't do stuff in other rooms, but if you stay focused it will help to give you a sense of accomplishment when you complete it. Go for it and have fun!!!

Wonderful answers....good luck and can't wait to see what you decide to do.

Absolutely agree about not locking yourself into one style, but finding your own which means picking each item because you love it. You can still 'match' things in the sense that once you have a couple, pick the next ones in the same general color scheme, maybe just taking one strong color in a patterned pillow (or Oriental rug) and making it either the background, or accent color for the rest. Your innate taste will find its own style has pulled things together in the end, and you'll be the envy of everyone else with a theme (and those get dated so fast!).

I am another eclectic decorator. In my house, I have some typical Pottery Barn stuff (sorry to say it, but budget dictates certain choices!), Mission antiques, other antiques, a kitchen table made from an old sewing machine base, too-big-for-the-room Crate & Barrel coffee table, a little West Elm, and a ton of flea market finds. My "art" ranges from original oil paintings from local artists to a framed shell I found on the beach. Also lots of souvenirs from traveling. And to me, the whole mish-mash works. There are ways to make it work without it feeling completely random -- with color, for instance. I carry the same colors from room to room, and the same general style (which, again, I'd call Eclectic!). So, for example, don't decorate one room in Santa Fe style, and decorate the next room in MCM, and the next in Spanish/Mediterranean. Mix them all up in the same space! Have some fun and don't worry too much. If you're really unsure, find a decorator who will work by the hour and hire him/her for an hour or two to pick his/her brain.

Finally, I just want to comment on one thing you said about the artwork you liked for your dining room -- "...even though I love this piece of art...now I am locked into that color