When Style meets Soul - Getting Clear

In brief, last week I covered my method for helping my clients begin the clearing process. This is followed a dreaming practice that invites the heart to connect with what it seeks, with elements that provoke a sense of creativity and peace — what speaks to the heart.

With this in process, we move forward with unearthing your unique soul style. This is where ‘style meets soul’ and it is where many of my clients begin to deepen their understanding of the how design aesthetic evokes their sense of Self, and how we are uniquely impacted by the elements we bring into our homes space.

If you have not yet downloaded my complimentary Soul Style Compass pdf, please do so by clicking here so you can follow along as we discuss the first two (out of four) unique design styles.

When you look at the Soul Style Compass, you’ll notice that I placed Traditional and Modern Soul Styles on a North/South axis. I did that because, in my experience, that’s almost always the first thing people start talking about, as a means of distinguishing themselves and their preferences. Traditional and Modern are for me, the two Primary Soul Styles, with Practical and Sensual being the two Secondary Soul Styles…

Traditional

There are two types of traditional styles. One is family-focused and is inclined to be community-minded. They are highly involved in creating regular ‘family or friend’ get-togethers. Dinner time or holidays are very important to them.

The other, the “Historian Traditionalist,” is the person who has a deep aesthetic appreciation of history and its artifacts. They also enjoy historic or vintage homes, towns, farms, or parts of a city.

Modern

As with Traditional, there are two types of Modern style. One is ‘Zen Modern‘ which reflect modernists who really love the simplicity of form and minimalism. They also love such things as white walls and furniture in simple sculptural forms.

The other side of the Modern style is what I call the ‘Techie Modern.’ This is a style for the person who deeply values innovation and who often expresses himself, or herself, through their love of technology.

And as with Home and ‘Hearth’ or ‘Historian Traditionalist’, an individual can be a mix of ‘Techie and Zen Modernist’

Discovering Your Soul Styles

What is the process of unearthing your soul style? Well, we’ve created clarity, then decluttered, took our nature walk and got very quiet… And we followed that with a dreaming and visualization process. Now it’s time to pour through the magazines.

Set aside fifteen minutes and sift through them. Pull out images that fit within the soul styles referenced above and in the soul style compass.

When multiple styles are represented in one photo, focus on what in the image speaks to you. Use the four characteristics in these styles to tease out any confusion on what each image is saying to you.

This part of ‘the magazine exercise’ can admittedly be somewhat confusing at first. What if you’re looking at a room that seems largely Traditional—cozy and vintage, yet which has a white, modern, minimally styled sofa over in the corner? This is where you lean in with this inquiry: “What do I particularly like about this room?” As you move through this process, you’ll know your soul style and understand your appeal to other elements, other styles… What comes next?

So there you have it — The first two primary soul styles. In my complimentary soul style compass, I share more on the characteristics of individuals that fall into these two unique soul-styles, as well as the other three styles that we’ll be discussing in the next week’s blog.