Home isn’t just where you live – it should make you feel at ease, inspired and truly yourself. Every little detail should be a reflection of you and the way you want to live.
A home designed with care and consideration can soothe the soul. And excite the senses.
“We have agency over what we surround ourselves with. We must feed ourselves with the experiences we need to feel healthy and happy,” says Susan Magsamen from the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University, a leader in the field of neuroaesthetics.
Forms with feeling
There is growing evidence showing how interior design can lift the way we feel. Designing a home with intent is about filling it with your favourite colours, patterns, textures and things that make you smile. Interior designer Sonja Hawkins has seen first-hand the connection between well-designed spaces and wellbeing.
“I have always been intuitively aware that our environment can affect our emotions. This has certainly been heightened through my work with interiors.”
Everything we surround ourselves with – colour, texture, lighting, sound, smell – matters.
“When I travel, either locally or abroad, I am constantly looking at the built environment and critiquing my surroundings, asking ‘how would I make this a better place to be?’ I’d like to wave a magic wand, and improve our world for everyone,” says Sonja.
In her work, featured in international interiors magazines, she aims to evoke an emotional response.
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Advertise with NZME.“I don’t really subscribe to the ‘show home’ immaculate aesthetic. When a space feels right, when it’s somewhere you want to linger, then you know it’s a success,” she says.
A space for being
Everyone has their own interpretation of what makes a home beautiful. Creating a space where you feel relaxed and at ease is all about making it as unique as you are.
An experiment at the Milan furniture fair in 2019 revealed just how varied our taste in décor can be. The exhibit, A Space for Being, consisted of three living rooms, each with a unique look and feel.
The first room, Essential, had soft lighting, curved walls and a calming atmosphere. A tapestry wall-hanging in wool, coloured using natural dyes made from flowers, added a large textural element.
The second room, Vital, was decorated in vibrant colours, with beams of light and a citrus smell. Interactive pop-up books filled with 3D artworks were dotted around the room to spark visitors’ interest.
The third room, Transformative, featured steel, wood and leather. It was animated with a neon light and smelt of charcoal. All the rooms were furnished with products by Danish design brand Muuto to give each space a common aesthetic. This was to help minimise personal taste influencing visitors’ reactions, which were tracked with sensory triggers.
When the data from the approximately 3000 participants was analysed, one-third preferred Essential, one-third, Vital and one-third Transformative. In some instances, the participants said they liked one room, yet their body responded to a different room.
It seems our mind can tell us one thing and our heart another. One thing was clear – there was not an outstanding favourite. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.
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Advertise with NZME.Heart and mind
Aesthetics and its impact on the brain is a relatively new but growing field of science. Interior designer and founder of Good Space, Jade Hurst, has followed the work coming out of Johns Hopkins University’s Arts + Mind Lab for a while now.
“It deeply inspires me. It’s exciting to see science backing what many designers have instinctively felt for years, that the spaces we live and work in profoundly shape our wellbeing and health outcomes,” she says.
“I’ve always been affected by my surroundings, how a space made me feel, not just how it looked. But it wasn’t until I began working in design that I really started to understand the science behind it. When I came across A Space for Being, it was a lightbulb moment. I remember thinking, Yes! This is what I’ve been feeling, and now there’s research to back it up.”
Her path into design was via wellness architecture.
“It really had its grip on me,” says Jade. “My study explored the connection between the built environment and human health outcomes. Elements like air, light, sound and access to nature, and how they influence our nervous system. That foundation really shaped the way I approach design today. I studied via the International WELL Building Institute, and was the eighth person in New Zealand to receive my WELL accreditation. That experience reinforced everything I believe about design. I really hope more designers continue to explore this direction, because the ripple effect on human health is so powerful.”
Lived-in beauty
A home is to be enjoyed – a sofa for relaxing, a dining table for gatherings, a sunny spot to read a book, a bath to soak in, a comfy bed for a great night’s sleep. Designer Angela Wickstead, NZ-born and raised and UK-based, deeply appreciates aesthetics.
“My background is both interior design and fashion and I firmly believe that well-designed surroundings can make a difference to one’s wellbeing,” says Angela, who designs and produces a collection of Italian-made luxury linens.
“Creatives generally have the gift of seeing the world in a way that closely examines and takes in their surroundings. They are used to looking at the world in this way, really taking in what’s around them.”
She believes good design is to be enjoyed, not just admired. “Use your beautiful things every day. I set my table with beautiful linen every night, even if it is just me at home for dinner,” says the designer, who has a studio in London and lives in a country house in Shropshire.
Considered living
Aesthetics is not just making something look good, it’s about enlivening our senses. It is what brings us joy and makes us feel alive. Our body and mind are sensing and feeling our surroundings all the time.
“There’s a growing understanding that aesthetics aren’t just visual – they’re emotional, physiological and deeply sensory,” says Jade.
“Good design should engage all the senses. When we layer sight, sound, touch and smell with intention, we create spaces that support wellbeing in real, tangible ways. That’s when design becomes truly human, it’s where I get the most satisfaction creatively.”
Spaces designed for considered living are not an idealised version of home, a place that’s perfect all the time. Interior design is gaining recognition as more than a tool for decoration or status – it’s about forging an emotional connection with the space that is the backdrop to your daily life.
“I see my role as helping clients tune in to how they want to feel in a space, then translating that into something tangible,” says Jade. “It’s less about imposing a style, and more about unlocking a sense of clarity and connection they didn’t know they had.” Home is a space for being, and a space for being you.
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