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If your best friend’s uncle’s new wife walked into your home, do you think they would get a sense of who you are, just by looking around?

If it’s giving “dime a dozen”, then it might be time to inject some personality into your place.

After all, it’s 2025, and the days of conforming to a beige cookie cutter aesthetic should be long behind us. 👋

Don’t get me wrong — I love a beige moment. But I also love a pattern moment. And a “wtf is that” moment. And a “remember that time?” moment. And so should you.

Your home should tell the story of who you are — not who you think everyone else wants to be.

Here are 9 ways 👇 to add YOUR personality to your home and make it the best place to be.

1. Find your style

A good place to start is narrowing down what design styles you enjoy.

Some design styles are inherently better at expressing personality, such as my personal favourite, eclectic interior design. That’s because eclectic interiors literally mix and match different aesthetics, without following strict rules.

But even if you prefer a stricter design style, like coastal or industrial, there are still plenty of ways to showcase your personality within those design mantras.

To narrow down what you like, make a moodboard or Pinterest board and see what the common themes are. 📌

But remember — copying someone else’s attempt at your preferred design style isn’t going to tell anyone much else about you. You still need to find a way to express yourself within that aesthetic.

Keep reading for some ways to that 😉

🎬 WATCH: My style’s not complicated

2. Plan your space for how you live

If you have kids, please oh please don’t design an all-white lounge room that they dare not eat a raspberry in, or god forbid, bring a crayon into.

Not only is it kinda cruel to ban your kids from a common space, it’s also super impractical and you’re GOING to get stains all over your 💩.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, it’s crucial you take into account who lives in your home and design your space for them.

It’s important to choose items wisely and arrange them in such a way that is practical for the people who live there. It’s a home, not a showroom.

If you love books, why not turn that second living space into a library? If you love gaming, then dedicate a room to it (instead of trying to hide it). And if you’ve got kids, give them a playroom they can go crazy in.

3. Take your time

Don’t expect to get it perfect straight off the bat.

Even though you might be edging to get a room “done”, don’t rush it.

It’s worth waiting for the perfect piece that screams you. But if you simply cannot wait to fill that void, then consider buying secondhand. That way, when you find that perfect piece, you can just resell the temporary stand-in.

Also, sometimes you really need to live in a space to know what it needs. You need to look at it and live with it to know what would work best.

Good design takes time. Plus, as you grow and evolve, so will your taste.

4. Decorate with your favourite colours

If you love the colours of Spring and the bright lights of Tokyo, why’s your home so sad and greige? 😿

As long as your chosen design style isn’t devoid of it, colour is a great way to inject a whole lot of you into your home.

My favourite colour is mustard. You’ll see it sprinkled throughout my home, including a mustard ceiling in our guest room and a mustard chesterfield sofa in our library.

You don’t have to stick to the same colour scheme throughout your whole house. If your daughter prefers pastels while you love jewel tones, then design a pastel bedroom for her and a jewel tone reading room for you.

To bring it all together, carry some common threads throughout your home, such as consistent white baseboards and black doors with brass handles.

5. Display your collections & interests

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you (or your husband) is a big video game fan, don’t hide it! Design a room around it. Pinterest is proof that you can make any theme work.

All of us have our own interests, hobbies and little quirks 🎮

Personally, my favourite pastime is meandering through secondhand shops hunting for treasure. I display these treasures everywhere I can, including a ledge above my bed.

I love to read when I have time, so I also have plenty of bookshelves full of secondhand books, including my absolute favourites that I may one day re-read. No library card required!

🎬 WATCH: Silly little collections

6. Express yourself through art

Art is probably the number one way to add personality to any space.

I love art, which is why we have an obnoxiously oversized gallery wall in our living room.

On viewing our gallery wall, you’ll discover we enjoy watching Twin Peaks, Seinfeld and Louis Theroux, one of us digs David Bowie, and another one of us likes the Toronto Raptors basketball team.

Please don’t 🙅‍♂️ buy non-descript canvas prints from big brand stores just to fill an empty wall space that “needs something”. Take your time to source pieces you really love.

If you can afford to, commission an artist and get them to create something personal. Otherwise, there are plenty of places to source affordable prints, including:

• Fy! (use code MISMATCHEDHOME for 20% off)
• Society 6
• Da Vinci Arts (use code PAULA-DVA for 5% off)
• Posteroo (use code HOME20 for 20% off)
• Mo & Paul (use code MISMATCHEDHOME for 15% off)
• Cass Danson (perfect for kids interiors)
• Amazon

🎬 WATCH: How to hang a gallery wall

7. Collect travel mementos

We always try to buy little mementos of our travels wherever we go.

Over time, this will help tell the story of who you are, where you’ve been and what you’ve seen.

Martin and I lived in Toronto together for two years. At the end of our working visa, we travelled through the Canadian Rockies. It was a beautiful place and we made beautiful memories.

Three vintage posters of the Canadian Rockies hang proud in our home library. Our fridge is adorned with magnets from every place we’ve visited together. We have artwork from Amsterdam, Detroit and Estonia on our gallery wall. And we have two barrel men from my mother’s home of the Philippines on our shelves. IYKYK.

8. Add something unexpected

What’s your favourite food?

Mine is definitely gelato. I Google “best gelato in [insert city name]” every where I visit. Some might even say gelato is my whole personality 😉

Coincidentally, our daughter’s favourite food is ice-cream. She’s not yet acquainted with the subtle differences between ice-cream and gelato, but she will soon learn. To her, it’s much of a muchness.

When I saw this oversized ice-cream cone planter, I simply had to have it. It now sits in our daughter’s playroom with a snake plant in it (because every room needs a plant).

Sometimes, adding something weird and unexpected actually makes the room better. That’s because weird stuff sparks conversation and curiosity, making the room that much more interesting and unique and personal. So buy the weird stuff!

🎬 WATCH: Buy the weird stuff

That brings me to my final point…

9. Buy what you love

If you love something — if it speaks to you — buy it.

Life’s too short. If you see something you love, even if you’re not sure if it’ll “work”, just buy it. YOLO.

If you really love something, you’ll find a way to make it work.

It’s your house, and I’d bet you spend a good chunk of your wages on your mortgage. So don’t live in a house that you think will appeal to the masses. Live in a house that appeals to you.

Surround yourself with things that spark joy. Do it because Marie Kondo said so, and also because it’s your house and you should live how you want.

The end.

🎬 WATCH: Decorate your home for you

👉 Follow @mismatchedhome on Insta for more from our home.