Design Style vs. Design Aesthetic, ...do you know the difference?
People are confused. I can’t blame them.
Did you know that there is a BIG difference between your personal design style and personal design aesthetic!?
Don’t worry most people don’t even know what these concepts are, and I’m going to go over what they mean below, and how you can use them in your own design journey!
I want to explain what these concepts mean to me as a designer, and how I use them to create what I want in my environment, and use them to create through my clients what they want in their environment! I’m going to show you how you can apply these concepts to re-creation of your own environment too!
Lets start with a scenario…
Let’s say you want to re-design your bedroom. You have never done this before. You look around and your room now and it is an amalgamation of all of the things that you have collected over the years. Some of these things you love, and some of these things you have because you inherited them or picked them up for a need you had at the time. It all feels disjointed and dysfunctional, and you want a new beautiful plan to be excited about and move towards!
So where do you begin? You remember seeing some really pretty bedrooms on Pinterest and maybe you have saved a couple. Ok cool I like this you say…why, you wonder. Maybe this decor is a specific kind of style? So you reverse image search and find more rooms that you also like! Awesome! You feel like you are on to something. The descriptions keep calling this style of room “minimal” (let’s say). Great you found your design style!
You are proud of yourself because knowing nothing about design you now have a word to describe the kind of room that you want. You can even tell a designer your design style now and feel confident you will get one of these kinds of rooms that you found! You can really get this project started now and you are excited!
I hate to burst your cute little bubble darling but we have just scratched the surface here! There is a whole wide world of design that the system in place hasn’t allowed you to explore appropriately!
On one hand it’s not trying to mess with us. The design world is overwhelming, there are so many moving parts, not to mention the whole thing is subjective. The internet helps us narrow down and define these amorphous things for us. And this is a necessary part of the process, but did you notice that this design style thing kind of ignores your input!?
But! Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater here either. Start as we have above, figure out what design styles light you up, it is still a great way to start but we are not done here! If you need an easy way to discover your own design style here is my Free Interior Design Soul Styles Guide!
+ Plus Here is a YouTube Vid of me explaining some popular design styles and what you can expect with each of them. To get you started…
Hi Darlings, it's Catherine with Catherine Rose Design. This video serves to help you figure out what design styles you are attracted to.
If you are still confused I made a Pinterest Board to illustrate these styles further for you! DESIGN STYLES
Ok awesome you now know your design style but we are worlds away from where we should be before re-designing your environment!
Heres where your design aesthetic comes in. Where a Design Style is narrow a Design Aesthetic is open. Where a design style is rigid, a design aesthetic flows freely. A design aesthetic encompasses a wider variety of things that light you up! Pretty much everything you like actually.
When viewing design through the narrow lens of a design style your home will never really feel like its yours. Design styles force you to follow “rules” and I am here, as a designer, to tell you that there are none!
Now this sounds scary, you are saying, ok Catherine it was hard enough to figure out what design styles I liked now I need to re-widen my horizons and try and navigate my design aesthetic! Yes, and you have this, and only you have this for you!
Don’t worry ll you really have to do is expose yourself to new rooms through:
Pinterest
Instagram
Magazines
Books
Movies
Your best friend’s house
That new gorgeous restaurant
Pretty much anywhere… even places that aren’t pretty to you help inform your aesthetics edges!
Now actually think about these places make it a habit for yourself to take a deeper look and focus on your reactions.
Get really specific! Write down for yourself what about these rooms makes you so happy?
is it the color of the paint?
Is it the oversized cozy furniture?
Is it because it is so well lit naturally?
Is it because there is such a pretty view?
Is it because a bunch of people can gather there?
Is it because you feel a sense of clarity?
Is it that awesome light fixture?
Now have you come across any spaces that really bug you? Describe why!!
Is it the busy pattern all over the walls?
Is it the dark colors?
Is it the too small rug?
Is it the awkward space?
Is it the clutter?
Is it the plaid pillow?
See no rules here. You make the rules. Complete freedom to react to spaces that you are in contact with! All of this information although it may seem disjointed to you informs your true design aesthetic. It also isn’t scary, you don’t have to have the correct “design words” to describe what you like and don’t like!
Create a YES list and a NO list of all of these things that you have observed. If you can add a picture that’s even better. Next to every item write down how that thing makes you feel!
“The reason you have these opinions on things is that, subconsciously, you understand that the things you love about a room support who you are, the life you want to have, and the person you want to become. And the things that you do not like do not resonate with the deeper parts of who you are!”
- Catherine Rose
Your design aesthetic encompasses your lifestyle, your values, your fashion sense, your art sense, pretty much anything that has to do with your life, or the way you would like your life to be.
A great way to gather inspiration from your deeper self is through platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. Your own feed shares a lot about how you want your life to be, from concrete design things like colors, to activities that make you happy, all of these things can be used as inspiration for the design of your environment!
In this post on color psychology I took a picture of my Pinterest feed and it really revealed a lot about my deeper self, including the colors and textures that make me the happiest:
My Pinterest feed, has similar colors and textures in my design aesthetic board too…
Now that you have your list of things that you like from the outside world, make sure that you incorporate the things in your life that already light you up too! Sometimes when we stay inside the box of design styles lay out for us this doesn’t leave room for the things that we already have and love, which I want to free your from because it isn’t true! If you are wondering if you should keep a specific piece in your environment check out this article here!
Now just like when you discovered you liked the minimal design style, search for those reasons that you loved the spaces you have seen, and go down this rabbit hole that has released you from the “rules”!
Now you have a big collection of different rooms that you like for different reasons. Make yourself a vision board of your space! Here is my post on how to make a deeper self vision board, but the same exact steps apply here (since your environment is an extension of your deeper self anyway!)
You can see that there are similar elements in my deeper self vision board and design aesthetic board shown below…
There’s your design aesthetic! You did it!:
Everything that you love informs your design aesthetic.
Now you have something concrete to compare your new design direction to when you get started.
If your new design direction makes you feel the feelings your aesthetic board makes you feel you are on the right track!
If it doesn’t time to lean back into what lights you up about your aesthetic and incorporate more of these elements back in!
See! I told you it was easy!
Start where you are when thinking about design, no-one out in the world can tell you what the perfect space for you is! You are unique and cannot be crammed into a style box of rules, thank God!
Here is my other Youtube video explaining this process if you would like to take a look!
If you get to this point, but If you need help with more practical matters like how to best use your space physically as well as making sure it is designed specifically for who you are, first check out this article here!
Or as always reach out to me directly here!
Design is a big and beautiful universe, in cannot be fit into a design style box, and neither can you, even though that may be what you have been shown thus far.
By following your gut and your desires you have the power to gather inspiration for your new environment through what you love!
If you lean into your design aesthetic you are opened up to all that your environment can be for you!
Through this process you will create a space through you, that truly supports who you are on the deepest levels.
If we are scared and stop at the land of design styles only we risk losing all of the personality and uniqueness that is you, manifesting in your space!
Let me know if you guys found these distinctions helpful. I would also love to hear how you found your design styles and design aesthetic if you are up for sharing! I love seeing what lights you up!
“Design Styles say I’m looking outside myself for direction, while a Design Aesthetic says I’m designing from my inner intuitive guidance.
”
Thank you so much for reading!
Hi I’m Catherine,
“I balance authentic interior design with intuitive insight to help my clients connect to their deeper selves by empowering their own creative self expression.
I create space for them to follow their desires and depth of feeling, into a new environment that supports them, mind, body, & soul”
Love,
Catherine Rose
• If you would like to read some of my own random journal entries go to •Musings•
• If you are interested in more Interior design, deeper self, wellness, or psychology posts…
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