Sit Back and Relax With Sensorial Interior Design

Explore the transformative power of sensorial design in your home. By engaging all your senses, you can create a space that feels calming, safe, and beautiful. 

What Is Sensorial Interior Design? 

Sensorial design is about crafting interiors that engage all your senses to create a sanctuary of calm and comfort. It involves curating elements – like soothing colours, soft textures, inviting scents, and gentle lighting – that evoke positive emotions and prioritise relaxation. By focusing on calming sensory stimulation, this design approach transforms your home into a safe, secure space that feels like yours and where you can truly unwind. 

Activating the senses through environmental factors has been utilised by designers for decades in many different ways. However, the modern approach to sensorial home design was explored and popularised by interiors expert Pippa Jameson in her book The Sensory Home, describing the approach as “the act of styling a space in a way that reflects who we are and what makes us feel at peace”. 

Featuring our Handloom Beige Rug. 

How Can Sensorial Design Elevate Your Home? 

The GoodHome Report found that “73% of people who are happy with their home are also happy in life” and that our home “accounts for 15% of our total happiness”, with our jobs only making up 3% by comparison. This is why it is so important to curate a home that brings you comfort and joy. 

Sensorial design focuses on fostering happiness and a sense of safety throughout your space. By engaging all your senses, it encourages relaxation and an emotional connection to your surroundings. For neurodivergent individuals, this approach is particularly impactful, reducing overstimulation and creating calm, safe spaces. Thoughtfully integrating textures, colours, lighting, and scents allows you to build a home that soothes and inspires, ensuring every element contributes to a harmonious and supportive environment.

Featuring our Chicago Cream Shaggy Rug. 

How To Engage Every Sense in Your Space 

Incorporate sensorial design into your home with thoughtful elements like soft furnishings, calming colours, gentle lighting, and more.

Lush, Plush Furnishings 

Soft furnishings are key to engaging your sense of touch and crafting a serene, cosy space you’ll love sinking into. Prioritise quality fabrics and materials like velvet, wool, or cotton to create a tactile experience that exudes comfort. Plush furnishings – such as shaggy rugs, fluffy cushions, and cosy blankets – add layers of softness and warmth to your interiors. These textures prioritise comfort in your home while also contributing to an inviting, tranquil atmosphere that encourages relaxation and indulgence in your everyday life. 

Featuring our Chicago Rust Shaggy Rug. 

Calming Colour Palette 

Sight is a cornerstone of sensorial design, making it an essential pillar for creating harmonious spaces. Colour psychology reveals that different hues evoke various emotions - bright, vivid tones can energise and uplift, while softer shades soothe and calm. In sensorial design, the goal is to foster relaxation and serenity, which is best achieved with warming neutrals, tranquil pastels, and muted earthy tones. These colours create a peaceful atmosphere, helping to ease the mind and body. By centring your interiors around these calming palettes, you can craft spaces that not only look beautiful but also promote well-being and balance, as can be seen with this beautiful neutral space featuring our Scalloped Elsie Rug in Natural Brown. 

While neutrals are usually what first springs to mind when you think of calming colours, they are not the only option. For a space to feel truly relaxing, it needs to reflect your personality. So if you love colour, you can still incorporate this through beautiful pastels and more muted tones, as can be seen with our stunning Elsie Scalloped Rug in Duck Egg and Ochre. 

Evocative Scents 

Scent plays a powerful role in sensorial design, using candles, diffusers, potpourri, flowers, and even washing powder to create a calming space. Aromas like lavender, jasmine, and cedarwood can promote relaxation and help to calm you down. Scents also evoke memories and emotions, transforming your home into a space that feels both comforting and personally meaningful. 

Gentle Lighting  

Lighting affects our well-being, mood, and happiness, making it an integral element in sensorial design. Natural sunlight boosts your serotonin, improving your mood and mental health. Create relaxation spaces where you have the most natural light in your home and avoid heavy curtains that block your windows.

As evening falls, soft, low, warm-toned lamp lighting creates a tranquil atmosphere, encouraging restful downtime. Thoughtful lighting design ensures your home feels inviting and supports a balanced, healthy lifestyle.

Featuring our Cairo Origins Rug. 

Calming Sound Design 

Sound is another element of sensorial design, with quiet spaces promoting calm and focus. Reducing unwanted noise creates a peaceful atmosphere, and rugs are an excellent way to improve your room’s acoustics. By absorbing sound and softening echoes, rugs help transform your home into a serene retreat. 

Biophilic Design 

Biophilic design integrates the outside into interiors, enhancing mental and physical well-being through nature-inspired elements. Incorporating plants, natural textures, and earthy colours fosters a calming connection to the outdoors. This approach to sensorial design nurtures relaxation, reduces stress, and creates harmonious, revitalising spaces that reflect the soothing beauty of the natural world.

Featuring our Morris & Co Acanthus Mole Rug. 

Find the Perfect Cosy Rug to Complete Your Home

From soft furnishings to calming colour palettes, noise reduction, and more, the right rug is an essential piece when incorporating sensorial design into your home. Explore our stunning collection of rugs today and enjoy free UK delivery on every order.