[$16.49, Amazon]

Since beginning to blog here a little over a year ago, I've started to look at my surroundings with new eyes...and have come away disappointed. My fashion...my decor...there's no cohesiveness.

Which is where Style Statement comes in.

A book designed to help you "live life by your own design," the authors provide readers with introspective questions covering every aspect of their lives. These questions are then supposed to help you come up with a personal Style Statement, two words by which you then live by.

A lofty goal. I merely wanted to pick a style for redecorating purposes.

Still, I ended up surprised by how the questionnaires throughout the book spurred me to self-analysis.

Anyway. If you're looking for your own sense of style, this book is a fun way to find it. My Style Statement? Comfortable Nostalgic. Below, the living room I'd design using this statement as a guide:

1. I'd start with a pretty green couch of sufficient smooshiness, like this one, from Williams-Sonoma Home ($3,550-$7,450).
2. Then I'd start surrounding it with objects passed down from my parents and grandparents. Like the antique side table from my grandparents' living room, similar to the one above from JCPenney ($199). 
3. And those pressed flowers in a frame that used to hang in my grandparents' basement, like this one from Etsy ($15).
4. And I have a ton of porcelain pieces, with sculptured flowers, that used to sit in my grandparents' china cabinet, like these vases above from Velocity ($68-$96), previously blogged about here at MM.
5. I also have a round, velvet pillow in deep purple that my mom used to have in her dorm room (p.s. they have round, velvet pillows at PBteen ($35)!).
6. Right now, it's sitting on my green, wingback chair, also from my grandparents' house. It has green, velvet, damask upholstery, sort of like the upholstery on this bench featured on Apartment Therapy, except that my chair is a much deeper green. You can see it with the pillow right here!
7. And finally, my mother gave me a gorgeous, purple carafe, that sort of reminds me of these vases from Z Gallerie ($22.95-$29.95).
8. I'd probably also spring for some gorgeous purple wallpaper, or at least some purple paint. Do you think I could get my husband to go for this?

Decorating with hand-me-downs is a great way to keep costs down, while also keeping pieces of your past intact. Do you have similar pieces handed down through your own family? Share in the comments! One of you — chosen randomly — will win a copy of Style Statement!

Related: My Living Room Wall: Peacock Prints and Hues, Design Synthesis: Bright, Blooming Colors, Trend Watch: Porcelain Flowers From the Past