Beginner's Guide to Finding Your Interior Design Style

Throughout the process of renovating my home, I've found that one of the most difficult decisions to make, early on, is what style to make a particular room. You want the design of that room to flow with the rest of the house, of course, but you also want it to have a unique touch and to reflect your personality. I've often found myself trolling the aisles of the home improvement store at a loss as to what paint colors or tile finishes to choose.

What if there was a tool that could analyze your personal style and translate it into interior design style? Enter the TEC Color Selector Tool, a web-based (mobile-friendly) app by grout manufacturer TEC Skill Set and Lowe's.

The Quiz

The TEC Color Selector Tool will ask you image-based questions about your personality and preferences that will help to determine your personal aesthetic. Then, the tool will generate a mood board with inspirational pictures of kitchens and bathrooms, as well as suggestions on tile and grout colors. Think of it as a design personality quiz, if you will, to help you determine what style you want to go for.

It's a fun little quiz that will only take a few minutes, and you can take it several times to generate different mood board styles. I'm currently working on a bathroom renovation, and since we've basically gutted the bathroom and are rebuilding it from the studs out, some starter design ideas are welcome.

The Results

The first time I took the quiz, I chose a mix of things that appealed to me – a stone cottage, a contemporary painting, and classical music. I really liked the mood board it generated for me, which included sleek, contemporary finishes but with a warm and classic touch. The TEC Color Selection Tool also selected a variety of grout colors, from light grays and whites to darker grays and taupes.

The second time round, I imagined I was designing a classic, vintage kitchen. The TEC Color Selector Tool suggested travertine and ceramic tile and a variety of light colored grout colors. I also found the "modify results" function helpful. If you're not a fan of the first set of images, you can choose to take another quiz question to generate another set.

The TEC Color Selector Tool is especially useful if you take the quiz multiple times, as slightly different answers can generate slightly different styles. For example, you might be looking for a contemporary bathroom, but gravitate towards one that is warm and cheerful versus one that is more sleek and minimalistic. Seeing images of these bathrooms can help you to refine your preferred style.

You Can Keep and Share Your Mood Board

At the end of the quiz, you have the option of saving your mood board or sharing it to social media. I found it especially helpful to share some of my quiz results to Pinterest, where I could look at them side by side, and pin similar photos to help inspire my style.

You can also schedule a free design consultation with a Lowe's designer to talk over your choices. This is a great feature, because you can send your mood board automatically to a Lowe’s designer and she can recommend specific tile, countertop finishes, colors, and more.

There Are a Lot More Grout Colors Than You Thought

I had no idea how many colors of grout were available from TEC Skill Set. There are literally over a hundred colors that you can choose from. No matter what your design choices, you will definitely be able to find the perfect color to complement your tile. While you may not be at the right stage to choose your grout until later in the design process, it is certainly useful to know of the wide variety of colors and shades available.

At the end of the day, the TEC Color Selector Tool is a great first step to see how your personality and style could influence the design of your home. You may choose to take that first step further and schedule a design consultation at Lowe's, or you may want to use the images it generates as a stepping stone to finding more inspirational designs. Either way, you're one step closer to a home that reflects you.

This article was made possible by a sponsorship from TEC Skillset. Please support our sponsor by checking out their Color Selector tool!