ESTJ Decorating for the Guardian

Welcome back to a 16 part series, looking at how your Myers Briggs personality profile affects your decorating choices. Last week I addressed the INTP (Thinker) type, and this week I’m back to discuss the ESTJ (Guardian). In this series, it’s important to remember that everyone has different tastes when it comes to home decor, but each of us have preferences that can often be traced back to our personality profile and how we perceive and react to the world. By better understanding our personality profile, we can make informed decorating decisions that can lead to more peaceful living and well-rounded lives.

In this guide, I will not attempt to tell you whether country cottage fits you better, or if you are more the modern eclectic type. We all are drawn to different styles, and similar personalities will not necessarily have similar decorating tastes. But, they will have similar ways of making decisions, evaluating choices, and experiencing the decor in their homes. Which is why, in this series, I will be focusing on broader concepts and decision making in your home decor versus specific design styles.

I’m excited to talk today about the ESTJ, as this is the personality type of my dear sister. As the only true extrovert in our family, she helps balance us all out. 😉 Below is a quick overview of this type. For a more indepth analysis of the ESTJ, visit here.

If you are an ESTJ, you are outwardly oriented: focused on what’s going on in the external world around you. You value tradition and order, and feel strongly about the principles you believe in. Your focus is in the here and now, and you highly value facts and logic. ‘Joining’ is in your nature and you love to be a part of happening groups and organizations. You are a great organizer and leader in group situations. And, you put forth tremendous care and effort into what you do.

ESTJ Decorating

Create organization. As an extroverted thinker, it’s very important to you that things operate efficiently and well. You are most at peace when you have a detailed to do list, and plan of action. Because of this, your home should reflect this strength and showcase the driven and organized side of your personality. Put pretty labels on all of your cleaning supplies. Display your cupboards and ingredients. Seeing your household in organization will help you to keep on top of it all without having to stress.

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Create a space for Entertaining. Guardians love social groups, church, work and family. For you to enjoy this characteristic of your personality, create a space in your home where you can entertain, and host social events. Large dining tables, and open layouts with plenty of seating are key. Consider dedicating a guest bedroom, for when family or friends are in town. Upholding family and friendship ties is one of your strengths!

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Follow rules and ‘the norm’. Am I saying you shouldn’t try and get ‘out of the box?’ Absolutely not! But, as the Guardian, you often value upholding the rules and recognizing norms. Because of this, too crazy of decorating choices could ultimately make you feel uncomfortable when others are present and may not view it as normal. Stay classic and listen to these wise tips from long time decorating experts to ensure you have the best decorated home.

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Emphasize tradition. Tradition is very important to you, and you certainly should display that proudly in your home. Do you have an advent calendar every year? Incorporate it into your holiday decor. Enjoy your annual boating trip with the fam? Use a nautical theme throughout your home. Whatever is important to you, display it proudly! It will likely spark conversations with visitors where you can share the fun and unique traditions you enjoy.

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Emphasize family. Family is extremely important to you, and should be displayed proudly in your home decor. Does your daughter compete in gymnastics? Create a cute trophy display to celebrate her achievements. Have a sister who is a photographer? Frame some of her shots as meaningful (and cheap) artwork. Putting family in the forefront is natural for you, so why shouldn’t it be in your decor as well?

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Promote order. As a natural leader, and a take-charge kind of person, you likely are excellent at organizing yours and your family’s lives. By creating chore charts and family-wide activity calendars, you can make sure everyone is staying on track. Be proud of this ability, don’t hide your chore chart or calendar. Display them on the wall so all can see the order in your household (and so your family can be more easily reminded).

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Minimize stress. While generally you are a fun-loving and open personality, under stress you tend to feel isolated and unable to express your emotions. That’s not a fun place to be, so try and prevent this by minimizing the tasks in your home. While you are a great to-do-list-tackler, you can focus your energies on more important areas of your life by reducing the amount of time your household chores take.

Good News for the Guardian

1. You are very open and honest about your opinions. Meaning that shopping with others can be a very enjoyable experience. You won’t feel obligated to choose their favorites, and can freely express your likes. And if others don’t like your taste, it’s ok because you don’t tend to take critism personally. Also, having such a developed opinion and taste is extremely helpful when faced with hundreds of paint swatch choices.

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2. You have a strong sense of normalcy. When you identify what you like, chances are it’s likely to appeal to many others too. As a result, you can become a trendsetter with your home decor choices. While you won’t be the first to jump for the newest trends, you will identify which of the hottest trends are worth keeping and thus turn your family and friends on to them as well. Being able to identify what has wide-appeal is a great asset in home decorating.

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I hope you all enjoyed this analysis of decorating techniques for Guarding (ESTJ). Any ESTJ’s out there who want to share their organization tips, or their sweet entertaining set up? As an INTP, I’m jealous of your all’s decisiveness! 😉 Stay tuned next week for: INFP Decorating for the Idealist.