How to create spaces that factor in sensory wellness for everyone!
Great interior design does more than simply display your love for modern art or eclectic tastes. It helps the entire family by supporting their nervous systems and tends to their individual sensory needs. It gives everyone a place in which to feel relaxed, recharge, and call home.
This blog will show you why it’s important to consider the sensory needs and health of the whole family as it relates to interior design and get you started with simple steps towards doing so.
What are Sensory Needs?
Sensory needs refer to the specific needs individuals have to feel safe and regulated within an environment. One important thing to keep in mind is that these needs vary from person to person and one person’s calming sensory input is another person’s overstimulation. Paying attention to sensory needs is extremely important because it can be the difference between an individual seeking out certain places and experiences and avoiding others.
There are eight primary senses including:
● Sight
● Hearing
● Touch
● Taste
● Smell
● Proprioception (the position and movement of the body)
● Vestibular (the sense of balance and spatial orientation)
● Interoception (the sensations within your body)
(For the purposes of interior design, we’ll exclude taste and interoception and focus on the others.)
Some individuals may have higher needs in relation to one of these senses than others. Some may need more proprioceptive input and seek out places that allow them ample room to move or work out. Some may have hearing sensitivities that require quieter spaces and a volume of sounds that allow for more peace and calm.
Taking into account what the sensory needs are for the whole family can help to create a supportive, inclusive environment where everyone feels at ease and at home.
The last thing you want in your home is to create a space that family members want to avoid or run away from!
Not everyone has sensory needs, but everyone has sensory preferences.
Everyone has sensory input preferences that make them feel most comfortable, safe, and relaxed. Engaging in a conversation with the family about what people like and dislike in certain spaces is a great way to start learning about what these preferences are.
Questions such as:
● How do you feel about bright lighting?
● What kind of music do you like to listen to when you’re in a space?
● What colors do you feel most attracted to?
● What fabrics and textures are coziest for you?
● Do you like smaller, cozy nooks or large, open spaces?
● How do you feel about clutter and the overall organization of a space?
● How much “stuff” feels good to you in a room?
These questions are a great way to start understanding what are the sensory needs in your family.
From there, you can start incorporating colors, textures, and designing spaces to foster activities that meet these needs.
When I work with my clients, I get to know more than just whether or not they like Farmhouse Chic or Bohemian Design, I ask them questions like these to deeply understand what are sensory needs of the whole family so we can create spaces that fill everyone’s cup and help them to feel at peace when they enter.
When a space is designed with the entire family’s sensory needs in mind, the entire family feels balanced and the feeling in the home is more peaceful.
You shouldn’t be living in a space you never want to step foot in because it doesn’t feel right typo. The entire family deserves to be comfortable and have their sensory needs considered.
You shouldn’t be living in a space you never want to step foot in because it doesn’t feel right typo. The entire family deserves to be comfortable and have their sensory needs considered.
The way you feel at home affects every aspect of your life, even when you’re not in it! Your home fosters creativity, health, inspiration, focus, and connection and when it’s intentionally designed in a way to support you, your entire life will be better. That’s where sensory design steps in and why I do the work I do.
I’d love to be the interior designer by your side who helps you take into account every aspect of your family’s unique lifestyle and design a space that helps everyone grow and THRIVE.
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