The Newbie Has Some Questions

Hello all, my name is Andy, and I am new around these parts. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to the community and ask a couple questions.
A bit about myself; I work as a mechanic for Caterpillar Construction Equipment. I spend my spare time skateboarding, creating art and more recently reminiscing over cool car projects. I used to be into Honda's (It's a family thing), but became interested in the AWD systems on Subarus. I went out and bought a 2009 Subaru Forester a few months back and have been pretty satisfied with it so far.

I am a mechanic, but am pretty new to car modding. Lately I've been thinking on lowering my Forester. I've looked over a couple write ups and projects on this forum that seem pretty close to what I want.

Now for my questions. I am looking for about an inch and a half drop; more of an aesthetic thing than anything else. Does anybody have any suggestion on a setup to lower my Forester and should I go with struts and springs or coilovers?

Thank you in advance for any help you can give.

-Andy