Interior Influx

I’m sure you’ve seen the questionnaires in far too many magazines; they read: “To find out if you’re trendy, modern, classic, retro, vintage, chic, and so on, answer these 10 simple questions.” By the time you’re done with the survey, tallying up the equation [right up there with calculus] and having scanned through options A, B, C, D or E to a generic answer that looks a lot like all the others, you’re kicking yourself thinking “I can’t believe I fell for that…again!” Let’s face it, we’ve all been there, so let’s agree to avoid all those run-of-the-mill surveys once and for all. Instead, we shall go to the experts, those at the top of their field in interior design and image cultivation to get information and wisdom regarding what really defines your aesthetic tastes in and out of your home.
Alberto Linero from Alberto Linero Gallery in Wynwood explains that a person’s home is often directly connected with that individual’s personality type. “Every personality comes out in an interior design job,” he says. “Even before I meet a person, I can predict what they’ll be like just by walking into their home and examining their design style.”
But just how interwoven is an individual’s mind with design? Jesper Knudsen, President of Scan Design of Florida believes everyone’s unique. “Most of our clients have a special personality that they’re looking to express in their home or office environment,” he says. “Whether through color, texture or line quality, their choices showcase something in themselves.”
What’s more, an individual’s style and taste and how he or she presents him or herself has the ability to convey a very powerful, non-verbal yet direct message about their outlook, self-image and even personality type. Style in design has a lot to do with where a person has been, how they’ve been influenced and where they might be headed; whether the course is uncharted or thoroughly thought-out is the mystery at hand for many interior designers. “In today’s home furnishings world, clients utilize travel and the Internet to look at everything through their own prism,” says Knudsen. “Each piece is a reflection of that need to create one’s own ‘collector’ style.”
So how then, does experience reflect on an individual’s aesthetic inclination? Leading South Florida Psychotherapist Lisette Beraja believes a person’s experience in life, personality and style are connected. “A person’s surroundings brings them to the place they once felt comfortable,” she says. “It soothes and brings tranquility if the memories are positive.”
Take for instance Coco Chanel who once disclosed, when interviewed in the 1950s by Paris Match Magazine, that her signature black & white palette came from memories of the checkerboard floors in her orphanage. Ironically, what in present day is considered one of the most iconic fashion houses of all-time — an emblem of style and refinement — came forth from the imagination of a child that dealt with abandonment and despair.
The next question that comes to mind is whether design style and personality are ever truly able to conflict with one another. Lori Bruno, Chief Visionary Officer of Ligne Roset in Miami states that style and personality go hand-in-hand, but not necessarily always in the exact manner one would assume. “We can’t generalize that an introverted human personality would want soft, muted and neutral color schemes and uniformity in their design…or that an extrovert will always want bright, vivid colors and active flowing designs to match their big personalities,” she says. “Sometimes the result is just the opposite.”
As complex, unique and multifarious as human beings are, it goes without saying that conflicts in personality verses design style must arise; and if your home is an extension of yourself, what does your personal style say about you as an individual? Knudsen weighs in. “The choices we make in furniture, art, clothing and even cars express everything about us,” he says.
Where we choose to live and what pieces, colors, textures and elements we incorporate; our life’s story, our vision of ourselves, our state of mind and our surroundings all influence how we see what’s reflected back at us in the mirror…and the personality we project onto the world. As such, we must take into account that these are elements that can be used for personal empowerment, and from that growth and self-evolution. Perhaps public relations guru and Magic City trendsetter Tara Solomon of leading PR firm Tara Ink sums it up best: “Style isn’t solely how we dress, the stationary we choose to write on, but how we live our lives,” she says. “The way we carry ourselves, the way we decorate our homes, it permeates our life inside and out.”