Your Personality Type & How It Influences Interior Design
Your Personality Type & How It Influences Interior Design
When you are looking to create an environment for yourself you need to understand yourself first. Your home should always respond to who you actually are, not just create a static picture of the trends of the time.
When you lean in to what makes you special, you bring your best self to the world. When you start with your inner self when decorating you create from within.
For example, someone who is introverted and a bookworm needs a different environment, and will be attracted to different objects, than someone who identifies as an extrovert and enjoys hosting large parties at home!
I know for most of my clients they get stuck in the trap of “ I want my home to look like those rooms on Pinterest and instagram” not knowing that the way to have a truly beautiful environment always starts from within, just like everything else in this life.
People don’t realize the unique relationship of home design and your personality and psychology has. Everything stems from within and I believe that “form follows feeling”.
I wanted to share some paths to discovering your inner path for yourself.
When creating a new space and you focus on what makes you special as a human being, you effortlessly create a space that makes you an even better version of yourself. When thinking from a deeper place you begin to follow your innate desires and choose items and furniture that speaks to you effortlessly.
When you know who you are and focus on the beauty within the pressure to create an instagram worthy room evaporates. When you love who you are and engage with that, your ability to create a beautiful room becomes accessible. The only rule that you have to remember is to follow your inner desires.
When thinking about design, if you choose to continue to operate on the surface level you miss out on all the opportunities that your unique perspective offers you. When you are busy trying to emulate an image on the outside the world misses out on the beauty that only you can provide, by tapping into your deeper self.
Now how do we discover what our inner desires are? There are so so many paths and it’s a journey that will never truly end. However we can enjoy the journey and have fun along the way. I’ve included some personality quizzes and subjects for you to explore below. Before embarking on your design journey be sure to check back in with yourself so that you have a blueprint to derive inspiration from!
Here are some links to thoughts that I have found interesting as a creative with a passion for spirituality and psychology. Some of these modes of thinking are more esoteric which I enjoy and tend to lean into, but feel free to discover and engage with the subjects that resonate with you the most!
1. Myers - Briggs Type Indicator
This is a great place to start if you are new to personality types. It follows the teachings of Carl Jung a Psychologist and contemporary of Sigmund Freud. “The MBTI is based on the conceptual theory proposed by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who had speculated that people experience the world using four principal psychological functions – sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking – and that one of these four functions is dominant for a person most of the time.”
Through this quiz you will be “typed” into one of sixteen personalities designated by four letters. Always a combination of an I for introversion, or an E for extroversion, N for intuitive or an S for sensing, an F for Feeling or a T for thinking, and finally a J for judging or a P for perceiving. When you receive your four letters I wouldn’t stop there! Continue to look at others that may have your same letter combination and also take a look at your functional stack to understand the unique lens through which you view the world.
ex. my letters are: INFJ, which stands for introverted intuitive feeling judgement. Which means my functional stack is: Introverted Intuition, Extroverted Feeling , Introverted Feeling, and last Extroverted Sensing
Find the link to the Test HERE.
2. Enneagram Number
The enneagram is also a great place to start if Myers - Briggs doesn’t resonate with you (or if it does and you want more like me).
The system is illustrated by a wheel of numbers, #1 through #9 that are all connected to two other numbers. When you discover the number that best describes your personality you also see how you may behave when under stress (disintegration) as well as in growth (integration), which is illustrated by the two other numbers you are connected to. Also people tend to have a personality flavor that leans towards a number you sit next to.
ex. my Enneagram number is 4 and my “wing” is 5, I show growth toward type 1, and under stress I show up as a type 2.
The best place to start with the enneagram is HERE, start with reading the nine type descriptions and see what one sounds the most like you. If you get stuck between a couple of numbers, ask people that you are close to they can help clarify your number!
When you find your number look into it further! Try and find others that share it and learn how they engage with the world.
Also you should look into these concepts around the enneagram for further information : Directions of Integration (Growth) and Disintegration (Stress), The Three Instincts, and “wings”
My girlfriends and I have had a lot of fun engaging with this personality system, its a great one to share with those around you!
3. Alignment
The alignment test has a more philosophical bend to it. This test shows you where you land on the moral alignment spectrum.
It establishes where you fall along Good vs. Evil as well as Law vs. Chaos.
You can take the test HERE
It is interesting to see how you align yourself with the world and through what perspective you look at the universe.
Again like always once you get your alignment, you should look into it further seeing what people may share it with you. With this result it is also fun to look up what the alignments are of fictional characters and see where you fall.
4. Astrology
Your horoscope is a wealth of fun exploration. Most people start with their Sun sign based on the date of their birthday which is one of twelve zodiac signs most of us know of illustrated below.
Each sun sign holds their own specific personality traits, but don’t stop at your sun sign…
Aries: March 21 - April 20
Taurus: April 21 - May 20
Gemini: May 21 -June 20
Cancer: June 21 - July 22
Leo: July 23 - August 22
Virgo: August 23 - September 22
Libra: September 23 - October 22
Scorpio: October 23 - November 22
Sagittarius: November 23 - December 21
Capricorn: December 22 - January 19
Aquarius: January 20 - February 19
Pisces: February 20 - March 20
…If you want to go deeper you should do your full Birth Chart . This gives you a whole chart of where each astral body was at the time of your birth. Explaining many different aspects of your personality. The sign the moon was in at the time of your birth describes your emotional personality, and your rising sign describes how you may come across to others when they first meet you.
There is a lot of information in your birth chart, learn more in depth about what you are looking at HERE
6. Archetype
This is a fun one that I recently discovered. Carl Jung is my favorite psychologist (everyone has one of these right?!) and I love his insight. “Jungian archetypes are defined as universal, archaic symbols and images that derive from the collective unconscious, as proposed by Carl Jung. They are the psychic counterpart of instinct. That is to say they are a kind of innate unspecific knowledge, derived from the sum total of human history, which prefigures and directs conscious behavior.” -Jan Jilecek
He describes the concept of the collective unconscious and how us as human beings tend to play out similar patterns over time in our existences throughout his books which I highly recommend.
This quiz shows you what archetype you show up as and what that may mean for you. Take this quiz HERE.
5. Spirit Animal
Animals have a spirit all their own. Because they aren’t saddled by the big rational mind it’s easier for them to operate closer to their true nature. Discover your spirit animal and connect back to your instincts. Your spirit animal is the one that you have a deep seated connection to. Maybe it was your favorite animal as a child, or you had an encounter with a special animal out in nature that you felt connected to in that moment. Your personality has ties back to nature since you are made of nature as well. Discover what animal reflects your inner being through reflection on your own, or by taking a quiz to get your imagination going HERE .
6. Four Temperaments
The four temperaments test has you take a personality quiz that sorts you into one of the four temperaments. Sanguine - outgoing, popular, life of the party, lives for fun, Choleric - leader, confident, goal oriented, forceful, Phlegmatic - easy going, gets along with everybody, balanced, steady, Melancholic - Thoughtful, independent, creative, planner. Understanding your temperament and the temperament of those around you helps you to orient yourself in your world as well as give you insight into others. It is interesting to see how your temperament may view and interact with the others as well!
Here is the test for the four temperaments, when you discover where you fit in read the explanation that fits below:
6. Human Design
Human design is another modality that is very interesting. It uses your birth date time and location (like an astrological birth chart) to map out your individual energetic map. This system is based on the idea that we are all made up of energy and that each of us have a specific and detailed way of engaging with our own energy and the energy of our loved ones and the rest of the world. This system is probably one of the more complex that I have introduced here. There are many great resources online if you are interested in learning more about human design!
The Jovian Archive is a great place to get your chart like the one shown above.
I also wrote an article on how to read your human design chart HERE.
Below are some further paths you can look into!
• Numerology- There is a great article from the Law of Attraction explaining numerology and how to calculate your numbers HERE
• DISC Assessment:
This tests focuses on four aspects. Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. It also is specific to how your type may work with other types. Take the assessment HERE
• Empathy Quotient:
This test focuses on Empathy and tests for that ability. Take the test HERE
With all of my clients I have them write out their internal insights about themselves before I design anything for them. I ask some pretty personal questions regarding what makes them tick. This information is completely invaluable to my creative design process. It allows me to be inspired by who my clients are when creating an environment for them. My job is not just to make a beautiful room (which is easy), its to create an environment that reflects my clients inner beauty.
The concept of nature and nurture in human development continues throughout our lives. When you create an environment that supports you, you can bring the best to the world.
As an Meyers Briggs: INFJ, enneagram: type 4, Libra, magician archetype, melancholic (Haha!), it is deeply important that my environment reflects my need for depth, individuality, serenity, and beauty, and allows space for my inner exploration.
You should try looking into these thought exercises before diving in to a new design project. When you center yourself and operate from who you are you can not possibly make a mistake, the world needs you to be who you are and show up as that person!
I would love to know if any of you have any interest in the above topics or tried this inner exploration and learned anything new about yourselves?!
When you embark on this journey remember this quote from one of my heroes and fellow intense inner explorer,
Now let’s discover our inner worlds so that we can create spaces that reflect that beauty above all else!
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Love,