When a smile is draped across someone’s face, we can see their joy. When a person’s eyebrows furrow, it reveals their confusion and anger. Not only do our faces have the ability to express emotions, but they have the ability to quietly reflect the unnoticed details of our personalities. A person’s face is the first thing you notice when you approach them, but I can think of something else that exposes an inkling of what may lie within: a front door.
Think about it: the overall condition, color, and charisma of a front door can carry a presence, just like a face does. It can match the façade, or it can stand out on its own. It can put your style on display, or preserve your privacy. Front doors are the face of the entire building.
Just as every face is original, every door has the potential to be unique in some way, shape, or form as well, and can represent the inside of the home. What would your door say about the personality of your home? Using the theories of Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, two women who paved the way for one of the most common personality tests in the world today, you might be able to tell what your front door says about your personality.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
With no psychology, statistics, or psychometrics background at all, Isabel and Katharine rose to fame by creating the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Despite the odds being stacked against women in the 1960s, Isabel and Katharine were determined to spend any extra time they had outside of tending to their homes and children to the studying personality types. Considering the fact that their theories have remained popular to this day, I’d say they managed their time just fine.
The idea behind personality testing is that it helps us to categorize people in terms of the way they think and act. The main goal of personality testing is to broadly classify the factors that make people different. Myers and Briggs suggested that four key dimensions can be used to determine someone’s personality. That means that there are sixteen possible personality combinations, depending where you stand on each of the dimensions.
Dimension 1: Introversion vs. Extraversion
Introverts are motivated by time spent alone or with a small group of people, are more reserved and are more thoughtful.
Extraverts enjoy spending time with people in an environment that is busy and active. They are more expressive and outspoken.
Dimension 2: Sensing vs. Intuition
Sensors utilize information that they can directly see or obtain using their five senses. They are often hands-on learners and are described as “practical”.
Intuitives tend to think more abstractly. They are interested in theories, patterns, and explanations. Typically, they are more concerned with the future versus the present moment and are described as “creative”.
Dimension 3: Thinking vs. Feeling
Thinkers typically base their decisions on logic and reason.
Feelers usually make their decisions based on emotion and are interested in how their choices will affect others.
Dimension 4: Judging vs. Perceiving
Judgers crave structure and order. They like things to be planned and dislike last-minute changes.
Perceivers are more flexible and spontaneous. They like to leave plans open in case they change their mind.
Which Door Matches Me?
Now that you’re armed with everything you need to know about the Briggs-Myers test, it’s time for the fun part! If you were a door, which one would you be? I bet that’s the first time you’ve been asked that question.
Take the Briggs-Myers test here and then click your personality type below to see which door matches your personality! Or, you can look through the doors to see which one speaks to you, and try to guess your personality type from that!















