Decorating is as much about style as substance. You can fill a home with the most fashionable colours and the latest furniture, but without a personal stamp of style it will lack a sense of warmth. (This explains why model suites or homes often feel empty of more than just occupants.) Homes are most homey when they reflect the people who live there. So, if you think it might be time to add a little style and personality to your surroundings, look no further than your own.
Here are a few ways you can make your home more uniquely you:
 | Use your heirlooms. Your mother's china, your great-aunt's silver tea service, your grandmother's linens — anything from the past (or more specifically your past) offers a great way to add a rich sense of hominess. Bring them out, display them — better yet, use them. |
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| Almost anything can be turned into a DIY lamp base — a childhood trophy, a figurine, a favourite vase, even a bowling ball. Talk to the folks at your nearest home-improvement centre. They have the know-how and the lamp kits to help you make it happen. |
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| Monogrammed towels, robes or table linens offer a great way to add your signature style. |
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| Surround yourself with family photos. If you're feeling crafty, you can take your own (consider black and white film), have them printed on 8 x 10 paper, frame them in simple frames (black, chocolate brown or off-white, depending on the wall colour), then fill a wall with images of your loved ones — in the family room, living room or along a hallway. |
| Do yourself and your decor a favour and display your collections. Hang your plates, set your teacups on floating shelves or put your spoons in shadow boxes. Collections look best displayed together — they look even more striking in unexpected places; for example, a wall of plates above a family-room couch. |
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| Although they're often stowed away in boxes or drawers, souvenirs — especially if you're an avid globe trotter — make wonderful accessories. You can fill a bookcase with all your worldly treasures (pottery, carvings, artwork, etc.), or you can display a row of T-shirts hanging along a wall. |
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| What's your motto? Whether it's "carpe diem" or the immortal words of Mae West ("Don't marry a man to reform him — that's what reform schools are for"), Ingrid Bergman ("Happiness is good health and a bad memory") or Amelia Earhart ("Adventure is worthwhile in itself"), jotting down your favourite message on a blackboard, stenciling it around the top of a room, or — if you're in need of a new hobby this winter — learning to embroider it on a throw cushion are all ways of getting your message across. |
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| Mothers and fathers have used their children's artwork to decorate the fridge for generations. Elevate your kids' handiwork and choose various pieces each month to slip into frames in the playroom, kitchen or family bath. |
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| One of the easiest tricks to accessorizing is to use your favourite books. Stack them on a side table, line them up along the mantle or fill an entire wall with bookshelves. |
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| Another way to add your own personality is to feature your favourite pastime. You might want to add a dress form to a corner, use a music stand as an easel for artwork, hang a bicycle on a wall or fill an umbrella stand with antique golf clubs. |
