style-my-space.com

View saved version →

---
name: decode-a-look
description: Work out what makes a room in a photo look the way it does, and turn it into a reusable style the user can apply to their own room. Use when the user shares inspiration images, a Pinterest board, a hotel or magazine photo and asks "how do I get this look", "what style is this", wants to copy a room they saw, or wants to combine elements from several images (the sofa from one, the colours from another).
---

Turn one or more inspiration images into a style description that would work in a different room, then, if the user wants, apply it to theirs. The job is abstraction: say what produces the look, not what happens to be standing in the picture.

The user's explicit instructions win over the defaults here.

## 1. Sort the images

- **Inspiration images** show the look to decode.
- **The user's own room**, if included, is the target. It is never a source of style.

If it is unclear which is which, ask. If the user wants particular things from particular images ("this sofa, those colours"), note which element comes from which image.

## 2. Decode

Describe the look one level above the furniture, as a designer would if they were not allowed to name a single product. Read `references/decoding-rules.md` and fill these fields:

- **Name** — two or three words, specific. Not a designer's or a brand's name.
- **Essence** — one or two sentences: what the room feels like and what produces that feeling.
- **Palette** — two to four base colours that cover most of the room, one to three accents used sparingly, and the balance between them. Give approximate hex values.
- **Contrast** — how strong, and between what.
- **Negative space** — how full the room is.
- **Shapes** — the dominant geometry and silhouettes.
- **Materials** — four to seven, each with its finish.
- **Texture and pattern** — how textures mix; the scale and density of any pattern.
- **Light** — its warmth, and whether it is even or pooled, high or low.
- **Composition** — symmetry, rhythm, where the eye lands first.
- **Signature** — at most two gestures that make the look recognisable.
- **Avoid** — up to six things that would break it.

With several images, look for what they share and decode that. Say which images were outliers and why. With many images (a whole board), work through them in groups and merge: keep what repeats, drop what appears once.

## 3. Say what cannot be copied

Separate the look from the building. High ceilings, arched windows, stone floors, panelling and a view are part of why the photo works, and the user's room may have none of them. Say so plainly, and say what carries the look anyway (the colour, the pattern, the sheen) through paint, textiles, rugs, lamps and freestanding pieces.

## 4. Offer the nearest library look

Check `references/styles-index.md`. If one of the looks is close, name it and say how the decoded look differs. The library looks have full detail sheets in the restyle workflow, so starting from one is often quicker.

## 5. Apply it

If the user wants the look in their own room, hand the decoded style to the restyle workflow as the style, with their room photo or description, budget level, and renter or owner status.

When combining elements from several images:

1. Mentally empty the user's room down to its permanent architecture.
2. Take from each image only the element the user asked for.
3. Furnish the empty room with those elements. Do not add them on top of what is already there.
4. Make them agree with each other: one palette, one metal finish, one level of formality. Say which element had to bend to fit and how.

Never copy the layout or architecture of an inspiration image into the user's room.

## Do not

- Do not identify the designer, hotel, brand or product in an image unless the user asks and it is clearly labelled in what they shared. Describe, do not attribute.
- Do not list the picture's inventory as if it were the style.
- Do not promise the user's room will look like the photo. Rooms differ; say what will carry over and what will not.

Referenced files: 2 — file references are metadata, not package contents.

View saved version →

---
name: find-your-style
description: Work out which interior styles fit a person, from a few questions or from rooms, images and objects they already like. Use when the user does not know their style, asks "what is my interior style", cannot choose between looks, or wants style suggestions for a home before any room is planned.
---

Match the user to two or three looks from the library in `references/styles-index.md`, with reasons they can check against their own taste. The output is a short list they can choose from, not a personality reading.

The user's explicit instructions win over the defaults here. If they ask for one answer, give one.

## 1. Use what is already there

If the user shared photos of rooms they like, their own home, a mood board or a list of things they own and love, start from that. Name what the examples have in common: colour temperature, how full or empty the rooms are, straight or curved shapes, matte or glossy surfaces, old or new. Skip to step 3.

## 2. Otherwise ask

Ask these five questions in one message. Offer the options so the user can answer with a few words.

1. **Full or empty?** A room with almost nothing in it, a room with a few chosen things, or a room layered with art, books and objects.
2. **Colour.** Whites and naturals, warm earth tones, deep and moody, or bright and saturated.
3. **Surfaces.** Matte and raw (plaster, linen, oak), polished and rich (marble, brass, velvet), or sleek and cool (steel, glass, lacquer).
4. **Shapes.** Straight and tailored, soft and curved, or a mix with one odd sculptural piece.
5. **The feeling when you walk in.** Calm, cosy, glamorous, playful or impressive.

If the user answers only some, work with those. Do not ask a second round unless two answers contradict each other.

## 3. Match

Read `references/styles-index.md` and pick:

- **The match** — the look that fits most of what they said.
- **The stretch** — a bolder look that keeps what they like and pushes one dimension.
- **The quiet option** — an easier-to-live-with look in the same family. Leave it out if the match is already the quiet one.

For each, give the name exactly as the index has it, the index line, and one or two sentences tying it to the user's own answers ("you chose matte surfaces and an almost empty room: that is this look's whole idea").

Only use looks that are in the index. If nothing fits well, say so and give the nearest two, with what is off about each.

## 4. Say what it rules out

Add one line on what the match means giving up, taken from the mood and description: a minimal look means storing most objects out of sight; a maximal one means dusting and editing. People choose better when they see the cost.

## 5. Next step

Offer to apply the chosen look to a real room: ask for a photo or a description of the room, the budget level, and whether they rent.

## Do not

- Do not diagnose character, class or life stage from taste.
- Do not attribute a look to a named designer or brand.
- Do not invent style names that are not in the index.

Referenced files: 1 — file references are metadata, not package contents.

View saved version →

---
name: restyle-room
description: Turn a room photo or description into a concrete restyling plan in a named interior style. Use when the user wants to redesign, restyle, redecorate, refresh or make over a room, asks how their room would look in a style (Scandinavian, Quiet Luxury, Amalfi Coast, mid-century and so on), wants several versions or directions for one room, or shares a room photo and asks what to do with it.
---

Produce a restyling plan the user could act on this weekend: what stays, what goes, what comes in, where it sits, and how it is lit. The plan is specific to their room, not a description of the style in general.

The user's explicit instructions always win over the defaults in this skill. If they say they own the home and want to retile, plan for that. If they say "no plants", there are no plants.

## 1. Read the room

Work from the photo if there is one, otherwise from the description. Establish:

- **The shell**: walls, floor, ceiling, windows, doors, built-ins, radiators, fixed lighting, sockets. Treat it as fixed.
- **The movable layer**: furniture, rugs, curtains, lamps, art, plants, objects.
- **Size and light**: small, average or large; where daylight comes from.
- **Purpose**: what the room is for. If it is ambiguous, ask; everything else hangs on it.

Name what you see ("the grey three-seater under the window", "the pine wardrobe on the left wall"). If a photo shows fewer than three walls, say what you cannot see and plan only for what is visible. `references/photo-tips.md` has the advice to give when a better photo would help.

Never guess measurements from a photo. Ask for the room's dimensions when a recommendation depends on them (sofa length, rug size, walkways).

## 2. Settle the three choices

Ask only for what is missing, in one short message. If the user gave enough to start, start.

- **Style.** Use a look from `references/styles-index.md`. If the user names a style that is not in the library, pick the closest look, say which one and why, and carry on. If they have only a theme or no idea at all, give contrasting directions as described in `references/variations.md`, or suggest the find-your-style workflow. If they bring inspiration images instead of a style name, use the decode-a-look workflow first.
- **Budget level.** Low, mid or high, as defined in `references/budget-levels.md`. Default to mid.
- **Renter or owner.** Default to renter rules: nothing structural, nothing that needs a landlord.

## 3. Load the style sheet

Read the full sheet for the chosen look at `references/styles/<slug>.md` before writing the plan. Do not write the plan from the index line alone.

Each sheet has two layers. The first (essence, palette, materials, shapes, light, composition, signature moves, avoid) holds for any room and any tenant. The second, "The full-build version", lists concrete pieces and staging rules; use it to choose actual furniture and objects, and pass anything fixed to the building through the sheet's renter swaps.

## 4. Fit the look to the room's purpose

A style is a look, not a furniture list. Most sheets are written through a living room. Read `references/room-purpose.md`, fix the room's anchor piece (the bed, the desk, the dining table), and translate any piece that belongs in another kind of room into its equivalent here. A bedroom plan that reads like a lounge is wrong.

## 5. Write the plan

Use this structure. Keep it tight; a plan nobody finishes reading helps nobody.

1. **The idea** — two sentences: what this room becomes and the one move that does most of the work.
2. **Keep** — existing pieces that already fit the look, and anything the user said must stay.
3. **Remove or relocate** — what fights the look.
4. **Bring in** — new pieces in order of visual impact. For each: what it is, material and colour, rough size class, where it goes. Scale to the budget level.
5. **Palette** — three to five colours from the style sheet, with hex values where the sheet gives them, and where each one lands (walls, large upholstery, accent).
6. **Layout** — where the main pieces sit and why. Apply `references/scale-rules.md` for small and large rooms.
7. **Lighting** — the lamps and bulb warmth the style sheet calls for, with positions.
8. **Renter notes** — for every built-in or structural feature the look normally asks for, the freestanding or removable equivalent from the sheet's "Renter-friendly swaps" section or from `references/renter-swaps.md`. Skip this section for owners who asked for construction.
9. **Do first** — the three steps to take this week, cheapest first.

### Standing defaults

Apply these to every plan unless the user or the style sheet says otherwise. They are ordinary interior practice.

- **One living element**: a single plant, branch or vase of flowers. Never a jungle.
- **One warm metal** somewhere in view: brass, bronze or copper on a lamp, a frame or a table base.
- **Generous negative space**: leave floor and wall empty on purpose.
- **One distinctive piece**: a single object with character (an odd vintage lamp, a sculptural chair, one strange vase) so the room looks designed for someone, not assembled from a catalogue. One, not three.

Where a sheet contradicts a default (a look that forbids plants, or allows no accent), the sheet wins. Where the user contradicts either, the user wins.

### Rules for the plan

- Keep every permanent feature exactly as it is unless the user asked to change it. Do not invent beams, arches, fireplaces, mouldings, skylights or built-in shelving, and do not remove or move windows or doors.
- Respect the sheet's limits where it gives numbers (how many accent colours, how many statement pieces, how many objects per surface). They are what keeps the look from turning to mush.
- Recommend types of pieces, not brands or shops. Do not state prices as facts. If the user wants costs, give ranges and label them estimates.
- Do not present a guess about the room as an observation.

## 6. Optional: show it

If the user asks to see the result and an image generation or editing tool is available, build the prompt from `references/render-prompt.md`, using their photo as the base image, and check the result as that file describes before presenting it. Tell the user plainly if the image changed the room's structure (a window gone, a wall moved), then retry once.

If no image tool is available, say so and offer the plan as a written brief instead.

## 7. Follow up

Offer one next step that fits: sibling versions of this look (`references/variations.md`), a completely different look for the same room, a phased shopping plan, or the same look at another budget level.

## When not to use this skill

- Structural, electrical, plumbing or building-code questions: say this is styling advice and recommend a qualified professional.
- Exteriors, gardens and floor plans drawn from scratch: outside what this workflow covers. Say so and help generally if you can.

Referenced files: 38 — file references are metadata, not package contents.

View saved version →

---
name: room-quick-wins
description: Give improvement tips for a room as it is, sorted by cost and effort, without changing its style. Use when the user asks how to improve, tidy up, upgrade or cheaply fix a room, wants ideas under a budget, shares a room photo asking "what would you change", or is staging a home for sale, rental photos or guests.
---

Give the user a short list of specific improvements to the room they have, ordered so the cheapest and fastest come first. This is not a restyle: keep their furniture and their taste.

The user's explicit instructions win over the defaults here. A stated budget or time limit cuts the list at that tier.

## 1. Look before advising

From the photo or description, note what is actually there: the items, colours and positions. Every tip should point at something real in this room ("the three small frames above the sofa", "the bare bulb in the corner"). If you cannot see it or were not told it, do not comment on it.

Ask one question only if the answer changes the advice: is this for living in, or for selling, renting out or photographing?

## 2. Write the guide

Use these four tiers. Four or five bullets per tier at most, one line each, under 600 words in total. Leave a tier out if nothing in the room calls for it, or if it is above the user's budget.

- **Quick wins (free or under 20)** — decluttering, rearranging, restyling what they already own.
- **Easy upgrades (20 to 100)** — plants, cushions, a lamp, bulbs, small decor.
- **Weekend projects (100 to 500)** — curtains, a rug, an accent piece, simple DIY.
- **Bigger changes (500 and up)** — replacing furniture, painting, light fixtures.

The amounts are in the user's currency and are tiers of effort, not quotes. Do not name prices for specific products.

Draw on `references/room-by-room.md` for the room type. If the room is small or very large, the scale mistakes listed there usually matter more than anything decorative.

Be encouraging and direct. Say what to do, not what is wrong with their taste.

## 3. Staging mode

If the home is being sold, rented out, listed for guests or photographed, read `references/staging-tiers.md` and use its five tiers instead. The goal changes: help a stranger imagine living there. That means depersonalising, which is the opposite of the advice for someone living in the room, so do not mix the two.

## 4. End with the first move

Close with the single change to make today. If the user is renting, check that nothing in the list needs drilling, painting or a landlord, or mark the items that do.

## Do not

- Do not turn this into a full restyle or propose a new style unless asked.
- Do not recommend structural, electrical or plumbing work as a quick win.
- Do not invent details of the room.

Referenced files: 2 — file references are metadata, not package contents.

View saved version →

---
name: shopping-plan
description: Turn a room design, restyling plan, render or inspiration image into a prioritised shopping plan with a buying order in phases. Use when the user asks what to buy for a look, wants a shopping list or budget breakdown for a room, asks what to buy first, or wants to spread the cost of a makeover over time.
---

Produce a buying plan the user can follow over weeks or months: every piece that makes the look, ranked by how much it changes the room, grouped into phases so the room looks deliberate after each one.

The user's explicit instructions win over the defaults here. If they give a total budget, the plan fits inside it.

## 1. Establish the source

The plan needs a look to work from. Use, in this order: a restyling plan already made in this conversation, an image the user shares (their render, an inspiration photo), or a description. If there is none, ask for one. Do not invent a look to shop for.

Ask what they already own that stays, if it is not clear. Never put something they already have on the list.

## 2. List the pieces

Go through the look and list each piece of furniture and decor. For each:

- **Item** — what it is, in plain words, with material and colour.
- **Category** — seating, tables, storage, lighting, rugs, textiles, art or decor.
- **Priority** — 1 to 5. 1 changes the room most and is bought first.
- **What to look for** — the details that make it right for this look: proportions, leg style, finish, fabric, size relative to the room.
- **Price range** — only if the user wants costs. Give a low and a high figure in their currency and label the column as an estimate.

Assume a renter unless told otherwise: only furniture, textiles, lighting that plugs in, decor and removable items. No flooring, tiling, joinery or wiring.

## 3. Order by impact

Priority follows visual weight, not price. Usual order:

1. The largest surface you can change: rug, curtains, bedding.
2. The anchor piece: sofa, bed or dining table.
3. Lighting.
4. Secondary furniture: side tables, chairs, storage.
5. Art, plants and objects.

Break the order when the room demands it. A room with good furniture and bad lighting starts with lamps.

## 4. Group into phases

Three or four phases. Each has a name, the items in it, and a rough subtotal if costs were requested. After each phase the room should look finished at that level, not half-moved-in.

- **Phase 1** — the few things that set the look. Often textiles and one anchor piece.
- **Phase 2** — the remaining large pieces.
- **Phase 3** — lighting and secondary furniture.
- **Phase 4** — art, objects and the last 10 percent.

## 5. Present it

A table for the items, then the phases as a short list. Add the total range if costs were requested. Close with the one purchase to make first and why.

## Rules

- Estimates are estimates. Say so once, clearly. Do not present a figure as a shop price.
- Describe types of pieces. Name a specific product, brand or shop only if the user asks for that and you can look it up; never invent product names, links or stock.
- Sizes must suit the room. If the room's dimensions are unknown and a size matters (rug, sofa, table), ask or tell the user what to measure.
- Suggest second-hand for solid wood furniture, mirrors, lamps and frames when the user is cost-conscious.
- If a total budget cannot cover the look, say which pieces to drop or substitute, in order.

View saved version →

---
name: where-to-start
description: Help someone who is redoing a whole home, or several rooms, decide which room to do first and how to finish it. Use when the user is overwhelmed by a home makeover, has just moved in, asks where to begin decorating, asks in what order to do rooms, or worries about making the whole home match.
---

The hardest part of redoing a home is starting. Help the user pick one room, finish it completely, and only then move on.

The user's explicit instructions win over the defaults here. If a room has a deadline (a baby, a guest, a sale), that room goes first.

## 1. Find out what there is

Ask, in one message, for whatever is missing: which rooms the home has, which one bothers them most, roughly how much time and money they have for the first step, and whether they rent or own.

## 2. Recommend the smallest room first

Most people start with the living room because it bothers them most. It is also the biggest, most expensive, most used and most visible room, so the project stalls halfway and the home stays under construction.

A small room is cheap enough to get wrong, fast enough to finish in a weekend, and teaches the user what they like before they spend real money. One finished room becomes the reference for the rest.

Suggested order, smallest to largest. Adapt it to the rooms they have.

1. **Powder room or entry** — tiny, cheap, done in a weekend. Proof that it can be done.
2. **Guest bathroom or laundry** — low stakes, low traffic. Mistakes cost almost nothing.
3. **Home office or guest room** — one function, few pieces, nobody sees it mid-project.
4. **Bedroom** — bigger, but behind a closed door. Liveable half-done.
5. **Kitchen and dining** — more money, more decisions. By now they know their taste.
6. **Living room** — the biggest and most visible. Last, on purpose.

Give the user a specific first room from their own list and say why that one.

## 3. Define finished

A room counts as finished when nothing is left on the mental to-do list. Half-finished rooms drain motivation more than untouched ones. Give this checklist for the first room, adjusted for renters:

- Walls and trim painted, including the touch-ups that keep being postponed. Renters: skip, or ask the landlord once.
- Lighting handled: fixture or lamp, shade, warm bulbs.
- Everything hung: art, mirrors, hooks, curtains high and wide.
- Nothing borrowed: no temporary chair "until we find the real one".
- Clutter has a home: a basket, a drawer, a shelf.

## 4. Take the colour worry away

If the user fears that rooms will clash: unless they are styling a show home, it does not matter. Nobody sees two rooms at full brightness at once; doorways, walls and time separate them. Keep one or two threads through the home, such as a repeated wood tone, one metal finish or the same white on the trim, and let each room have its own character.

## 5. The weekend loop

Give this as the method for the first room:

1. **Empty it.** Take everything out. Photograph the bare room.
2. **Decide once.** Pick one direction and commit. No parallel options.
3. **Bring back less.** Only what earns its place returns.

## 6. Next step

Offer to plan the chosen room: ask for a photo or description, and whether they already have a style in mind.

## Do not

- Do not produce a whole-home plan with every room at once. The point is one room.
- Do not schedule structural or trade work; say that needs a professional and comes before decorating.