We say it all the time.

She has such good taste.

Her clothes. Her furniture. The restaurant she picked. The art on her walls. And I get it. I believe in good taste. I’ve spent most of my adult life surrounded by furniture, fabrics, paint colors, homes and incredibly talented designers. You start to develop an eye for what works.

But lately I’ve been thinking about something:

I think we sometimes treat taste like something you’re either born with or you’re not.

But our taste is constantly being shaped.

By the places we’ve lived. The places we travel. What we see around us. What our friends wear. The restaurants we can’t stop thinking about. The designers we follow. Instagram. Pinterest. Fashion. Art.

Sometimes we can trace why we love something.

And sometimes we simply… love it.

That counts too.

Even the things we see over and over can start to feel more familiar and sometimes more appealing- to us.

So yes, we’re influenced.

We’re supposed to be.

The interesting part is figuring out which of those influences actually stick.

Maybe you keep saving rooms with blue in them.

Maybe you swear you’re a neutral person, but somehow every room you LOVE has a floral wallpaper.

Maybe you always stop when you see dark wood.

Maybe you keep buying stripes.

Maybe contemporary art gets you every single time.

Or maybe you haven’t figured any of this out yet.

That’s okay too.

Taste doesn’t require a house full of things you’ve collected for twenty years. It doesn’t require family heirlooms, a signature color or even knowing what your “style” is called.

Sometimes it simply starts with noticing.

What catches your eye? What do you keep coming back to? What makes you want to see more?

Those little preferences are information.

Over time, they become your visual language.

Knowing what’s beautiful isn’t the same as knowing what’s you.

And I think this is where we can get a little lost- especially now.

We have access to SO much inspiration.

You can scroll through hundreds of beautiful homes before you’ve even finished your morning coffee. 😂

And sometimes the more we see, the harder it becomes to answer a really simple question:

Wait… what do I actually like?

We start wondering if our kitchen should look like the kitchen everyone is saving.

If the color we love is “in.”

If we should be buying vintage because everyone else suddenly is.

If our sofa is the right shape.

If someone with “better taste” would choose something different.

But figuring out your taste isn’t about already owning the right things.

It’s about learning what feels right to you.

And honestly, this is one of my favorite parts of what we do with our design clients at MegMade.

Some people come to us with a home full of pieces they already love and a very clear sense of their style.

Others come to us and say, “Meg, I have absolutely no idea. I just know I want my home to feel good.” 😂

Both are great places to start.

Our job isn’t to walk into your home and make it look like our home.

It’s to listen, ask questions and start uncovering what feels like you - even if you haven’t figured that out yet.

We learn how you live, what you’re naturally drawn to, what you need from your space and, maybe most importantly, how you want to feel when you’re in it.

From there, our designers can create floor plans, design boards, material selections and a plan that makes sense for your home and your budget. And when it’s time to make it happen, we can help coordinate the pieces, orders, deliveries and all those little details that can make designing a home feel overwhelming.

Because sometimes you already know exactly what you love.

And sometimes you need a little help discovering it.

Both are great places to start and both can lead to a home that feels completely, unmistakably yours.

If you’re ready to create a home that feels more like you, click here to sign up for our design services. We’d love to help you bring it all together. 🤍

Meg’s Tuesday Tip

“Stop asking yourself, ‘Is this good taste?’ and start asking, ‘Would I choose this because I genuinely love it?’”

Start noticing your answers.

Would you paint the room that color because it makes you happy?

Would you choose the funky chair because you can’t stop thinking about it?

Would you use that floral fabric even if you’ve never used pattern before?

Would you choose the simple white sofa because, actually, simplicity is what makes you feel most at home?

There is no right answer here.

The point is noticing what your answer is.

Because your home isn’t a test.

And nobody is handing out points for getting it right.

Your home is personal.

Maybe that’s ultimately what I’ve learned after all these years of designing homes.

The rooms I remember aren’t necessarily the ones filled with the most meaningful objects or the most expensive furniture.

They’re the ones where the choices start to tell me something about the people who live there.

Maybe it’s a bold color they absolutely love.

Maybe it’s an incredibly simple room because calm is what they crave when they get home.

Maybe it’s an unexpected mix of patterns.

Maybe everything is brand new.

Maybe almost nothing is.

Maybe they knew exactly what they wanted from day one.

Maybe we discovered it together along the way.

There isn’t one formula for making a home personal.

That’s kind of the whole point.

Because a beautiful home shouldn’t just show me that you know what’s beautiful.

It should feel right to you.

So, do you need good taste?

Sure. A trained eye can help. Understanding color, proportion, scale, quality and craftsmanship matters.

But I don’t think good taste is enough.

Because good taste might help you recognize a beautiful room.

Knowing your own taste or giving yourself the space to discover it is what helps you create one that feels like home.

And I’ll take that kind of room every single time. 🤍

Meg