Elements of Signature Style Part 01 | Style vs. Aesthetic

Watch the video or read the transcript below!

Hey, y’all hey!

Welcome back to the VIP Vault! I have been working on a fun little project for you and I’m excited to share it with you today.

When it comes to creating your home, the very first thing you have to figure out is, well, YOU! You need a good understanding of what you like and what you don’t.

And you need to be able to communicate that, whether you’re working with an interior designer or contractor or even just doing a quick Google search.

It’s important to understand the language of design so that you can clearly articulate what it is you want and what you’re looking for.

That’s where your Style Signature comes in. Your Style Signature is the unique combination of elements that come together to reflect who you are and how you want to live your life.

It’s not based on trends or what you “should” do. It’s all the things that make you feel great in your space and it’s 100% you.

Inside the VIP Vault there is another video and worksheet diving into how to discover your style signature. So if this is all new to you, you can start there.

I believe it’s important to go beyond generic design styles and clarify the exact elements and features that make up your unique aesthetic so you can make better design decisions and finally love where you live.

So today I’m giving you part 1 of my Elements of Signature Style Series. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to dive into some of the most common interior design styles and the specific elements and features of them so that you can start creating your own little style lexicon.

This is going to help you create a better, clearer style statement – a quick little one-liner describing your aesthetic – that you can use to communicate with anyone from designers or contractors to skeptical spouses.

But before we can even do that, let’s get on the same page about what we’re talking about when we talk about style.

The words “Style” and “Aesthetic” are often used interchangeably. I believe style and aesthetic are actually not the same but they are connected. Style is the beginning of your aesthetic but it’s not the whole story.

What is style?

I look at style as a history of trends, both old and new. We have things like traditional style (old) or mid-century modern style (new-ish) or Japandi style (new new). At their core, the design styles we look to are a defined set of elements that, when put together, create a general look.

Styles are distinctive. They do represent a certain manner of expression. It’s just not necessarily a personal expression. The way we tend to use the word ‘style’ in the design world, it relates more to the distinctive design features of a particular era and/or location.

In other words, a set of rules to follow to get a particular look. For example:

Traditional style takes its cues from 18th and 19th century European design trends. General rules: be consistent, match furnishings, make it symmetrical, use warm color tones, dark wood.

Mid-century modern style takes its cues from the mid-21st century (hence the name) American design trends influenced by the Bauhaus style from Germany. General rules: form follow function, clean lines, minimal ornamentation, organic curves, geometric shapes.

Japandi style takes its cues from contemporary Scandinavian minimalism and wabi sabi Japanese design trends. (Wabi sabi is an ancient Japanese philosophy centered on the idea of imperfect, impermanent beauty.) General rules: clean lines, bright spaces, light natural colors, focus on quality and craftsmanship, sustainable materials, minimal clutter and ornamentation.

Style is what the algorithms of Pinterest and Instagram feed you. Once they pick up that you like a certain set of elements, they show you more of that. This can leave you locked in that style box.

But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. Discovering what style(s) you are attracted to can be a great place to start your journey to unlocking your signature aesthetic. So what makes an aesthetic different from a style?

WHAT IS AN AESTHETIC?

Where styles are more prescriptive, an aesthetic is particular and individual. It is a set of guiding principles of a particular artist governing their idea of beauty. When we’re talking about your personal aesthetic, you, my dear, are the artist.

Aesthetics are about beauty and you know what they say about beauty, it’s in the eye of the beholder. It’s not about cultural or societal ideas about beauty and taste, it's about your individual set of ideas about style and taste and how you express them. Your personal aesthetic works as a set of principles not rules. Rules are external and imposed from the outside whereas principles are internal and based on what you believe to be true and right.

So to me, your aesthetic is how you combine styles, how you take elements from styles that intrigue you and mix and match them to create something that you find beautiful.

But it’s also something more than that. It’s your lifestyle, what is important to you, what you value, your hobbies, all of the things that govern how you create your life as well as the visual and physical representation of it.

I had a client that had been told she needed to pick one design style and stick to it. I’m sure whoever told her that thought they were helping her focus so she could have a cohesive style. When she came to me, she told me that I was the only one that seemed to understand what she likes.

I reassured her that I could see her vision. I could see the fresh colorful home she really wanted to create even though she was currently living with subdued gray interiors because she thought that’s what she was supposed to do. I assured her that there’s no real reason to pick one design style and that the only style she has to adhere to is her own.

Here’s an excerpt from her one-on-one consultation notes clarifying her style and aesthetic.

Her style shows the trends from different eras and places that she is attracted to.

Her aesthetic details the particular combination of elements that combine to create her idea of beauty.

While considering design styles you like can be a great place to start, I want to encourage you to go a step further into developing a signature aesthetic.

I know that’s easier said than done so this series is meant to help you do just that.

Next week, we’ll cover 4 things you can do to move from a generic design style to signature aesthetic. After that, we’ll start breaking down the elements and features of common interior design styles.

If you have any questions, comments, tales of home decorating woe, to share, I’d love to hear from you so leave a comment below and hit the like button before you leave! See you next week!