Finding your style is more than picking the things you like the most.

Sure, you know that your favorite color is blue or teal or purple. You know what colors you look best in and you know what color makes you smile. But finding your style evolves from understanding your own temperament and fine-tuning your individual, signature focus.

Are you one of those lucky people who can concentrate on the task at hand in any environment as long as you’re motivated by the task itself? If you are, you can probably tolerate a décor style with more focus on embellishments. You appreciate lots of visual and tactile stimulants – the more going on, the more your creativity perks. A cacophony of color or texture or both is just the ticket to get your day off to a roaring start. And once the day begins to unwind, you want to relax with your feet up on a colorful kilim hassock. Even at ease, you enjoy an abundance of interesting, thought-provoking décor.

Conversely, some of us require order and organization around us before we can give an issue or important chore its due. For some, focus is intensified by eliminating physical and mental clutter. However, stark white needn’t be the sole prerequisite for an uncluttered look. Muted, like color tones flowing one into the other can evoke serenity and calm for some. Think cream, khaki tan, a tony taupe and subtle brown. Counterintuitively, high contrast can also create sophisticated order and organization. A carefully delineated contrast of opposites defines zones, composes focal points, draws attention. Imagine a skillful pairing of classic black and white or a fashion-forward meld of Yale blue and the palest cameo blush.

If you prefer a single-color décor, texture will be essential. Textural contrast can be the secret sauce in a laser-focused design plan. Seasoned designers use varying textures to finesse elevated style from a monochromatic color scheme. A room full of super high-gloss acrylic everything, especially in white, is the epitome of the cleanest of clean designs. But it can leave an impression of icy sterility. Add the texture of a frosty glazed white oak run of base cabinetry to pure white acrylic upper cabinets and you have an instantly fresh and sleek room with tons of personality, even though it’s technically ‘just white.’ Honed (rather than polished) natural stone in a polar hue can easily be added to escalate the mix of texture while holding fast to the clean directive.

But whether you choose a single-color scheme, muted tones-on-tones, opposites attracting, or a rainbow assortment, it doesn’t really matter as long as you’ve done some soul-searching and discovered your own personal sweet spot.

True style requires a strong point of focus: you!