An Ethan Allen quiz paired me with a"green tea" style of furnishings.
I really loved Pat's post last week about the Facebook quiz that tells you what your "house sign" is. Like Pat, the quiz told me -- a true suburban, walk-in-the-woods type of gal, that my ideal home is a lofty apartment on Park Avenue. This is for a person who gets butterflies in her stomach whenever she has to take the New Jersey Transit train into Manhattan. Not quite on the mark.
Well, I found another fun home-style quiz that is on the money (at least for me), so I'd thought I'd share it with you. But unlike the Facebook app, this quiz, from ethanallen.com, doesn't say what kind of home best suits you, or where you'd like to live, but the decorating style that'd suit you once you have a home. The quiz gets a handle on your decorating style by showing photos of rooms furnished in various ways -- from traditional, to eclectic to contemporary -- and asking you to pick your favorites.
By taking the quiz, I've found a few styles that suit me, from "Global," to "Loft," to "Country House" -- it seems that each time someone take the quiz, she is given different rooms to view, which for me, changes my result. I think my first result was the one that describes me best: "Global": "So many beautiful looks, so little time," ethanallen.com says. "It’s normal to love more than one design style. Check out your first runner-up—Global. Global is all about the international mix." No wonder the quiz likes to pair me with so many different looks. (And this result might explain why the Facebook app picked a Park Avenue loft for me -- since Manhattan offers a mix of cultures and flavors.)
Style -- with kids
When I clicked on the "Global Link" in the Ethan Allen quiz, it offered a few subsets of the global style -- my favorite is "Green Tea." In that design style, I found some furnishings that would suit my awkward living room/dining room perfectly. The space is long and narrow and serves as the main thoroughfare from my home's front door to the kitchen and the rear family room. (Our home is an open floor-plan Colonial that sadly lacks the center hall found in center-hall Colonials.)
Among the photos shown for the "Green Tea" style is a rather nifty "British Classics" console/folding dining table that can serve as a desk or display table when pushed up against a wall, or when company arrives, folded out to serve up to six guests. It seems perfect for my very narrow room (which my kids now claim as their playroom), and I like the table's stylish legs. Also, that way, I can still have my dining room table without sacrificing too much of my daughters' play space.
Coincidentally, the table was featured in the May issue of "Real Simple" magazine. "If you need to make room for a kid's birthday party, reduce the size of this maple table by folding the top in half and sliding the back legs in," said the magazine, which claimed the table good for those growing a family. I guess that's me -- a typical suburban mom raising a family -- and my design choices reflect that.
Readers: Have you tried the Ethan Allen quiz? I'd love to read about your results.—Lauren Baier Kim