London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Aug 25, 2025

Top Designers Reveal How to Create the Most Serene Home Ever

Top Designers Reveal How to Create the Most Serene Home Ever

Reducing anxiety, one room at a time.

If how we spend our days is how we spend our lives, then if we spend our days anxious, we'll spend our lives anxious, too. And yet, stress is a defining feature of contemporary life-this past year, 55% of Americans reported experiencing "a lot of stress" on a daily basis. Good design might not be able to intervene in a cultural existential crisis, but it can help build spaces that calm and restore us. Here, we talk with interior designers about how they create serene homes that counter the chaos of our lives.

1 Good Lighting is Everything




The value of natural light can't be overstated. A quality source of light makes a space glow and lends a sense of serenity difficult to achieve in its absence. David Mann, founder of MR Architecture + Decor, says, "I find that well-modulated, diffused northern light is a great starting point for laying out a relaxing room." In terms of artificial light, dimmers can "provide a soft light in the evening," says Matthew Caughy, a designer based in New York.

2 Put Outdoor Views Front and Center




Nature is known to have a calming effect on mood-and although we spend much of our lives indoors, exterior environments still affect our experience of being, and feeling, at home. For the project pictured above, Dawn Carlson of MAS Design found that the design didn't require much to imbue it with a sense of space. Rather, she had to step back, and avoid cluttering the home with unnecessary objects that felt designed, rather than natural to their setting: "we think it was successful because it simply paid homage to the environment surrounding it," Carlson says. "Nothing should compete with one's connection to nature in a home like this."

3 Choose a Calming Color Palette




Color helps create a mood that ties together a space. "Color may be one of the easiest tools for manipulating mood within a space," says Mann. He suggests that color can operate on mood in "obvious" ways; bright colors are energizing, while muted colors are calming. "We also use color to denote function, create a narrative, or to connect a space historically," he says. "Manipulating mood is important, but the more layered with meaning a space is, the more interesting it will be."

4 Functional Spaces are Serene Spaces




One of the tenets of good design is to create a space that functions well for your client. However, as a functional design increases the ease of everyday living, it also promotes a sense of calm. As designer Regan Baker puts it, "Ideally you want to feel as though your home is working with you and supporting you as you move through life, and not fighting you at every turn." Baker provides an example: "I think we’ve all had that experience of going to grab one pot lid and accidentally setting off a cookware avalanche-if that happens regularly it can start to ebb away at your sense of serenity." She encourages clients to examine how they use space and in particular, what are their "pain points," those preventable, repeated moments in which stress accumulates, leading us to a feeling of fragility. "If something is a part of your life on the daily, making it more functional is going to have a pretty big cumulative impact on your level of calm," she says. For her, that might mean a stroller closet near the entryway or a set of mugs stored above the coffee maker.

5 Organize, Organize, Organize




After the clutter has been cleaned out, it's time to organize. When everything has a place, we have fewer things to worry about. "When clutter is tempered, styled, organized, or decorated there becomes a flow," says says Melanie Charlton Fowler, owner of Clos-ette, a professional organizing company, explaining how we can allow our energy to flow naturally in a space. No matter the daily routine of the client, interior designers can devise a plan that makes it easy to stay organized.

6 Engage the Senses




Smell, touch, sound: all of these elements can promote calm, and are just as important as the visual design of a room. "I would argue that texture always helps to create a richer experience of a space–and I think it particularly helps create a relaxing space because it engages our sense of touch and requires our brains to slow down and engage at the scale of the fingertip," says Jennifer Bunsa, founder of Bunsa Studio in Miami. "The more you can engage the senses, the more you will impact mood."

7 Create Unique, Designated Spaces




Mixed-use spaces are important, and hard to escape; however, designated spaces also make a design relaxing, whether the client requires a home office, craft space, or meditation zone. "We often talk about a work/life balance in the emotional/mental sense, but that applies to physical spaces as well," says Baker. "It’s much easier to put the stress and commitments of the work day on hold if you can close the door to your home office and join the family in the kitchen."

8 Avoid Seeking Perfection




When a space feels too designed, it isn't homey; at the same time, a "homey" space can also signify homely, or not beautiful. To find the balance between overdone and underdone, Carlson subscribes to the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, meaning "perfect imperfection." For the kitchen pictured above, Carlson used Himalayan water backpacks as pendant lights. "The organic, imperfect finish adds a nice history, but also a visual ease that we juxtaposed against a clean white modern countertop," she says. "Opposing strategies are balanced for just the right harmony and depth."

9 Emphasize Spaciousness




It's hard to read a cramped space as calming. Bounded spaces can create claustrophobia, while wide windows, an open-concept layout, and generous square footage seem to offer possibilities. Mann refers to this feeling of openness as a "sense of spaciousness"-each area flows into the next without inhibitions, and with common elements that tie the various rooms and areas together.

10 Design Like a Film Director




With many designers and design lovers relying on Instagram for inspiration, it's easy to imagine design as a single, framed image, frozen in time and space. However, if we think of design as more of an immersive film rather than a square still life passing through our feed, it's easier to understand how various elements inspire different emotions, like peacefulness. Films are designed to inspire emotion. The color, sound, and frame associated with each image sparks a particular emotion, driving the viewer deeper into the feeling of the story the film is trying to tell.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
×