Shopping Your Home: The Art of Styling with What You Already Own
Why thoughtful design doesn’t always require buying something new.
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Photo by Lu Loveless
Each week, interior designer, artist, and self-proclaimed color obsessive Lu Loveless shares a peek into her design process—whether it’s a smart trick she swears by or a favorite resource from her personal folder. This week, she’s sharing how to refresh a room without spending money.
As I was styling the shelf in my bathroom (as part of my 1950s bathroom makeover), I found myself wanting to shop for new items. I didn’t have the perfect ceramic bowl I’d imagined for my stack of matchbooks (so I thought), and I felt the urge to buy something new.
We live in a culture that tells us the answer to a tired space is always something new—a trendy lamp, a viral TikTok chair, all just a quick scroll and purchase away. But some of the most thoughtful design moments don’t come from shopping at all. They come from adopting a new perspective.
I call it shopping your home.
Shopping your home isn’t just about saving money or resisting consumption; it’s about seeing the potential in what you already have. It’s a practice of resourcefulness, creativity, and attentiveness to your surroundings. Whenever I get the inevitable itch to makeover a room, I start with what I already have and begin to think about it in a new light.
Here are a few ways to try it yourself:
Choose an area to focus on
- It could be as small as a nightstand or as central as your fireplace mantel, but starting with a contained spot keeps the process from feeling overwhelming.
- Think of this area as your testing ground: clear everything out and start with a blank canvas so you aren’t tempted to style with the same objects (this is also a great opportunity to dust things off!).
Photo by Lu Loveless
- Once you get the hang of styling in one spot, you can ripple that same creative energy through the rest of your home.
Gather items to experiment with
Photo by Lu Loveless
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- Pull together a mix of things from around your house that catch your eye. Books, bowls, candles, plants, textiles, artwork, even objects you don’t usually think of as decor.
- Don’t worry yet about whether they “match.” The goal is simply to gather and have fun with it.
- Treat it like playtime: lay everything out on a table or floor so you can see everything and move pieces around easily.
- You’ll be surprised how ordinary items can feel fresh in a new context. A kitchen jar as a vase for showing off your beloved sea glass collection, a scarf as a runner, or a stack of vintage magazines as art.
Start by choosing an anchor piece—usually something larger than the rest
Photo by Lu Loveless
- This could be a lamp, a stack of coffee table books, a framed photo, or even a houseplant—anything with a bit of presence.
- The anchor grounds the arrangement and gives your eye a place to land first.
- Once that piece is in place, it becomes easier to layer in smaller accents around it, like jewelry filling in around a statement necklace.
- Without an anchor, a vignette can feel scattered. With one, everything else falls into rhythm.
Pulling it all together
- Vary the height of your items so the eye naturally moves up and down, instead of getting stuck on a flat line.
Photo by Lu Loveless
- Work in odd numbers. Groups of three or five tend to feel balanced and not too perfect.
- Mix in different textures (like glass, wood, or fabric) to keep the arrangement visually interesting and layered.
Photo by Lu Loveless
The final touch
- As the area starts to come together, take a step back and do a gut check. Does it feel right, or are you unsure about the placement of things? If so, keep tweaking.
- Snap a quick photo and see if you pick up on any clutter or imbalance you don’t notice in person.
- Try removing one piece to give the arrangement more breathing room; restraint often makes the styling feel elevated.
- Remember, nothing is permanent and the rules don’t matter if you love what you’ve landed on. Swap and shift until it feels just right for you.
Photo by Lu Loveless
When you shop your home, you’re not just decorating, you’re getting creative with what’s already around you and stretching yourself to see things in a new way. It’s a gentle reminder that style doesn’t have to be bought; it can be uncovered, re-seen, and reimagined.
With love,
Lu