Page 38 - Decor and Lifestyle Issue 2 2025

or decades, interior design was Light is the emotional conductor of the home. The science is clear: bright, cool
driven by aspiration — colour light sharpens focus; dim, warm light slows heart rate and prepares the mind
Ftrends, status objects, the endless for rest. Yet most homes rely on uniform lighting that erases nuance.
pursuit of “perfect.” But the world has
changed. We no longer want rooms The conscious home layers light — morning clarity, afternoon softness, evening
that simply look beautiful; we want cocoon — using it as a tool to gently choreograph emotion across the day.
rooms that feel true. The new question
shaping design is not “What’s your And then there’s rhythm: the quiet repetition of textures, shapes, or materials
style?” but “How does your space that creates visual coherence and a sense of safety. The grain of a timber table
make you feel?” echoed in a woven basket; the curve of a vase reflected in an armchair’s line.
These subtle continuities tell the body it’s home.
From “Pretty Spaces” to
Feeling Spaces Memory lives here too. The objects we keep — a chipped mug, a faded
The conscious home is emerging as photograph, a hand-me-down lamp — act as emotional anchors. They are,
the antidote to over-curation. It moves in Christopher Alexander’s words, “living structure”: pieces of the world that
beyond aesthetics into the language carry our own vitality back to us. Conscious design doesn’t hide these traces; it
of psychology, inviting us to design not integrates them, allowing history and sentiment to coexist with the new.
just for appearance but for emotional
harmony. A conscious space doesn’t
perform; it listens. It recognises that
light affects mood, that clutter triggers
anxiety, that materials carry memory.
It invites presence, not perfection.

The shift is subtle but profound.
The modern home is no longer a
showroom for trends — it’s a nervous
system. Every choice within it either
calms or stimulates, grounds or
fragments. In an age of sensory
overload, we’re craving spaces that
slow the pulse and let us exhale.

To design consciously is to become
aware of our own patterns: how we
retreat, how we gather, where we
breathe best. It’s not about minimalism
or maximalism but about alignment —
between who we are and where we live.

The body notices what the mind ignores.

Emotional Design: Colour, Rhythm,
Light, Memory
Emotional design asks us to tune
into the sensory rhythms that shape
everyday experience.

Colour, for instance, is never
neutral. It’s a biological signal that
communicates safety, stimulation, or
serenity long before thought arrives.
Muted earth tones — ochres, olive,
sand, soft clay — lower alertness
and evoke the grounded comfort
of nature. Blues and greens open
cognitive space, encouraging
reflection and flow. Even the soft pinks
and terracottas now trending reflect
a return to warmth, intimacy, and
human presence.

36 | DÉCOR & LIFESTYLE Issue 2 2025