What your automations say about your aesthetic

Your home has a vibe. Your wardrobe has a vibe. So why shouldn't your automations have a vibe too?

Just like you'd never put a neon sign in a cottagecore living room or minimalist furniture in a maximalist space, your automations should match your personal style. Whether you're all about clean simplicity or you live for bold, chaotic energy, there's an automation aesthetic for you.

That's where IFTTT (If This Then That) comes in. It connects your apps and devices so you can build automations that actually reflect who you are. Not just what's "productive," but what feels right for your lifestyle.

In this blog, we'll walk through six automation aesthetics for 2026. Find your vibe, then build automations that match it perfectly.

Why your automation aesthetic matters

You wouldn't decorate your apartment with furniture you hate just because it's "functional." The same goes for your automations. When your systems match your personality, you're way more likely to actually use them.

If you're a minimalist who values simplicity, you don't need 50 different automations cluttering your life. If you're a maximalist who thrives on options, a single notification filter isn't going to cut it. Your automation aesthetic should make your life easier AND feel like you.

Six automation aesthetics for 2026

1. Minimalist: Less is more

Clean lines, neutral colors, and radical simplicity. You hate clutter, physical and digital. Your aesthetic is about doing more with less and that extends to your automations too.

Minimalists don't want 20 notifications fighting for attention. You want streamlined systems that handle the essentials without overwhelming you. Your automations should be invisible, running in the background while you focus on what matters.

Top Applets for minimalists

1. Get a summary email of tasks you completed this week from Todoist. Instead of checking your to-do list constantly, get one weekly email showing everything you accomplished. Clean, simple proof of progress.

2. Get a daily summary of all your new iOS Calendar events delivered in one email digest. No app-hopping, no calendar juggling, just a clean overview of what's ahead.

3. Generate a meal plan for the week. Every Sunday at 8AM, Anthropic Claude generates a meal plan for you, including a shopping list and breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each day. This automation handles your entire week of meals.

4. Automatically mute your phone at specific times. Set it once, forget it forever. Your phone silences during work hours or bedtime without you having to remember.

2. Maximalist: More is more

Bold patterns, bright colors, and layered everything. You don't believe in "too much," you believe in living out loud. Your aesthetic thrives on options, variety, and a little bit of chaos.

Maximalists want their spaces to feel alive, and that includes their automations. You're not looking for one perfect system, you want multiple options, custom scenes, and the ability to switch things up on a whim.

Applets for maximalists

1. Add a song that fits today's mood and weather. Type your mood into the Note widget, and the Applet grabs your local weather, combines it with how you're feeling, and uses IFTTT's AI Prompt to pick a matching Spotify track.

2. Make a grand entrance with Philips Hue using location triggers. When you arrive home, your lights turn on in a dramatic color sequence. You don't just walk into a room, you arrive.

3. Update your Android wallpaper with NASA's image of the day. Fresh space imagery on your phone every single day. Cosmic, stunning, and never repetitive.

4. Automatically set your Android wallpaper to the top posts in Reddit's r/wallpapers subreddit. Your phone background changes daily based on what's trending. Always fresh, always interesting, never boring.

3. Vintage/Retro: Old school, new tech

Nostalgic colors, retro fonts, and a love for the classics. You appreciate things that have stood the test of time, but you're not stuck in the past, you just like the aesthetic.

Vintage lovers appreciate simplicity and charm, but that doesn't mean you're anti-tech. You want automations that feel timeless, not trendy. Think classic social platforms, old-school blogging, and systems that don't need constant updates.

Suggested Applets for vintage and retro vibes

1. Post your Blogger posts to Tumblr. Keep the blogging platforms of yesteryear alive. Publish once, share everywhere, just like the good old days.

2. Automatically receive a motivating wake-up call each morning. Just like the old-school hotel wake-up services, get a phone call to start your day—but this one comes with motivation built in.

3. Text me the weather every morning. No apps, just a simple SMS telling you what to wear. Classic and reliable.

4. Save all your liked (favorited) tweets to a Google Doc. Archive your favorite moments on Twitter automatically. A digital scrapbook that grows over time, preserving what you loved.

4. Bohemian (Boho): Earthy and effortless

Eclectic patterns, earthy tones, plants everywhere, and a love for nature. You value sustainability, mindfulness, and staying connected to the world around you.

Boho aesthetics are all about balance, between technology and nature, work and rest, doing and being. Your automations should help you live more intentionally, not just more efficiently.

Boho Applets

1. Get notifications to water your plants. Never let another succulent die. Set up reminders so your green babies stay thriving without you having to remember.

2. A grocery reminder to get your reusable bags. Set the location to your local grocery store and get a reminder to grab your bags on your way in. A small habit that adds up!

3. If the UV index rises above 3 outside, get a reminder to wear sunscreen on your walk. Stay protected without having to check the weather constantly.

4. Automatically save your Strava activities to a Google Sheets spreadsheet. Every run, hike, and bike ride gets logged in one place so you can see your progress over time.

5. Cottagecore: Cozy and intentional

Soft colors, romantic vibes, nature-inspired everything. You want life to feel warm, slow, and intentional. Your ideal day involves tea, books, and minimal screen time.

Cottagecore is about creating peaceful, comforting spaces, and your automations should support that. You're not trying to hustle harder; you're trying to live softer. Your automations should help you wind down and embrace the cozy moments.

Cottagecore automations

1. Recommend a random movie to watch today using Trakt. One tap and you get a movie suggestion for a cozy night in.

2. Mute your Android phone at bedtime. Once it's time to wind down, your phone goes silent automatically.

3. Turn on the light right before sunset using WiZ and Weather Underground. Your lights come on as the sun goes down, creating a warm glow right when you need it.

4. Keep up to date with your daily journal using Day One. Get a daily reminder to reflect and write. Slow down, process your day, and capture quiet moments.

6. Cyberpunk/Futuristic: Neon and high-tech

Neon lights, tech-heavy setups, dystopian energy. You live for RGB everything, gaming marathons, and feeling like you're living in the future.

Cyberpunk aesthetics are all about embracing technology unapologetically. Your automations should be flashy, functional, and reactive. Lights that respond to your streams, your games, even the weather, everything should feel immersive and high-tech.

Futuristic Applet suggestions

1. Blink your LIFX lights when you get a new Twitch follower. Every new follower triggers a light flash for instant hype.

2. Automatically post on X (Twitter) and your Facebook Page when you start a Twitch stream. Go live once, and your followers get notified everywhere.

3. If your character is killed in Rust, blink your Hue lights. Your lights flash red when you die in-game for total immersion.

4. If it begins to rain, change the light colors to blue using Philips Hue and Weather Underground. Your space reacts to the weather outside in real time.

Find your aesthetic, build your vibe

You don't have to just pick one aesthetic, mix and match based on your mood, space, or the season. The point is to build automations that feel like you, not just ones that check boxes on a productivity list.

IFTTT makes it simple: use already published Applets or create custom workflows in seconds. No coding, no tech expertise, just pick your trigger and action.

Your automations should make life easier and more fun. So what's your 2026 automation aesthetic?

Start a free trial of IFTTT Pro and start automating!