This was a feature on Oprah.com that I really enjoyed reading. Check it out for more...Anthropologie Style
By Erin E. White
Photo: Sundance Channel
Bring style and personality to your home with four design tips from Anthropologie's buyer-at-large Keith Johnson.
1. Envision Your Dream Life: Johnson says the best way to begin a redecorating project is with a little exercise that requires you to put down home décor magazines and shut your eyes. He says you should conjure up a fantasy person—a person who is really an extension of you. "Maybe she's a woman living in the south of France and she is married to an explorer. Come up with a total fantasy and then you start to think, 'What would she have in her house?'" Johnson says. "Then it becomes easier and you say: 'Well, she is never going to have a chrome shelf from Home Depot—that is not going to work. But she would have this or that.' It is a really fun exercise.
2. "Don't Be Afraid of Color": Painting and decorating in neutral colors can look sophisticated, but Johnson says the trend is becoming boring. "I'm so tired of everything being white and off-white. I think we all got a little bit too exposed to good taste. We need to be comfortable jazzing it up with color and pattern. Just go for it. Great colors are so pleasing and so uplifting," he says. Johnson says he came across homes on a recent trip to La Boca, Argentina, that were painted in bright, bold and random colors. The people living there were using paint left over from fishermen and boatmakers who painted their vessels in town. "They are just the most random, crazy colors—I mean it's leftover paint!" Johnson says. "There was purple, bright blue, bright green and yellow—all in one house—and it looked so wonderful. It just looked fantastic. Who would have believed it? It shows that so many unexpected things do go together, and I think we are so cautious about what works and rules and I think we box ourselves in too much."
3. Decorate with Letters: Some of the top-selling items at Anthropologie stores are decorative letters, Johnson says. "A dozen years ago, I bought an old, fake, letter pharmacy sign in the south of France and we reproduced the letters and we still have them [in the stores]," Johnson says. Whether you use large letters to spell out a name or phrase or use a single letter to add interest to a mantle or wall, Johnson says decorative letters add a personal touch that resonates with many.
4. Investigate People with Great Taste: If you're in love with your neighbor's décor or a co-worker's flair for turning on office into a well-decorated oasis, pick her brain, Johnson says. "Identify people in your life with great taste and ask them where they got something and what they love and what they appreciate," Johnson says. Once you begin to identify the roots of great taste, Johnson says you'll begin to acquire your own sense of style.