Designing a Sensory Sanctuary: How We Create Comfortable Spaces For Lingering
Home should be where your family is comfortable lingering, and people linger when they are content. We create spaces for contentment by satisfying without overstimulating your senses. To create this sensory experience, we get to know the family we serve.
What makes this family comfortable? What are their needs? How does the family plan to use a home? Do they read together or play board games? What do they need in the evenings when the family is home alone? How often do they need space for lots of guests?
Once we get to know your family, we tailor your home to nurture all 5 senses. By designing your family's sensory experience, we create spaces where you can be content and linger to enjoy time together.
Here's how we nurture all 5 senses to create the perfect home for your life.
Sight: Harmonizing Natural and Artificial Lighting
We balance natural and artificial lighting to create a relaxing atmosphere. Large windows and skylights allow natural light to flow through the space, while adjustable direct and indirect lighting provides control over the ambiance. We seek to capitalize on the sun’s movement and how it accents various rooms depending on the time of day, thus tailoring the lighting experience from room to room because a kitchen has different lighting needs than a study.
Sound: Creating a Sound Oasis
Your family will linger when your home provides a respite from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. To ensure that noise from one room doesn't affect the ability of someone in another room to enjoy the space, we create peaceful environments through strategic floor plan design and by incorporating sound-absorbing materials and details such as water features.
Touch: Embracing Tactile Elements
We use various textures and materials to create a comfortable and engaging environment. We create spaces for different seating depending on the family's needs. Soft fabrics provide warmth and comfort, while wood, stone, and leather convey groundedness and stability. Incorporating tactile elements into textured walls and flooring further enhances the sensory experience.
Smell: Introducing Aromatherapy and Natural Scents
A well-designed home promotes good ventilation and airflow, allowing the opportunity for fresh air to circulate using strategically placed windows to harness natural breezes from the site’s prevailing wind direction. We also consider natural materials such as wood and stone that set a neutral canvas for candles and other calming elements, which sometimes includes water features and landscaping with seasonal native plants.
Taste: Designing a Welcoming Kitchen and Dining Area
Apart from designing in good taste, we don't incorporate the 5th sense in our work. But we do design the kitchen and dining areas where our clients will prepare and enjoy countless delicious dishes, creating a comfortable and inviting kitchen and dining area to foster a sense of relaxation and contentment.
Conclusion
The home experience you've longed for but not realized can be a reality when an intentional and creative design process cultivates a sensory experience. By paying careful attention to sights, sounds, touches, smells, and tastes, we honor the unique lives lived within the walls.
The design process differs for every family that walks through bDot's door. Our approach is unique because the people the design represents are unique, and a structure doesn't define a person or family. The collaborative journey develops a space that honors your uniqueness as individuals and as a family, creating a safe place for your family to celebrate life in all its messiness and joy so that you can dwell together in understanding, love, and truth.
The opportunity to come alongside families to design their dwellings delights us. We do not take this privilege lightly.
Do you want to create your perfect sensory experience? Call bDot Architecture, and we will show you options and give you a feel for the life you could have in your new home.
