Within seconds of entering a room, the human brain processes visual stimuli to determine if a space feels safe, clean, energetic or chaotic.
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The most comfortable homes to live in or visit often have a certain je ne sais quoi, that indefinable quality that gives spaces an easy-going and calm ambience. Sometimes imbuing that relaxed atmosphere into a home just requires a few tweaks and one way to find the missing pieces of the puzzle is to consider how all five senses are integrated in the interior design.
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Sight is usually the first way a person interacts with a space, and it shouldn’t be overwhelming, says Natalia Kwasnicki, partner at Vancouver-based Portico Design Group.
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Westcoast Homes
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“You want the space to wash over you and allow your eye to consume it for all its parts and then enjoy those parts together. Things like balance, proportion and alignment help to build up the narrative of the space in a gentle, smooth way. It’s like a lightbulb slowly glowing brighter versus it suddenly turning on at full volume,” she says.
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Oriana Gagnon Martinez, colour specialist at Sico Paint also notes that within seconds of entering a room, the human brain processes visual stimuli to determine if a space feels safe, clean, energetic or chaotic. Colour is a way to immediately assess that space, Martinez says, adding there is a shift in neutrals from whites and greys to greiges and soft browns, as well as an increase in popularity of greens and blues.
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“Greens, blues and earthy tones mimic the natural world, which has been scientifically proven to reduce cortisol levels,” says Martinez.
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While people still want neutral paint colours, they want warmth and to feel grounded, she says. Earthy browns and greens bring a sense of cosiness that greys or whites simply cannot provide, says Martinez, adding neutral tones and earthy colours suggest stability and cleanliness and lowers the cognitive load, making the space feel more inviting.
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Job booking platform Taskrabbit, launched in Canada in 2020, released its first trend report earlier this year, The Five Senses of Home: How Canadians Are Designing Spaces in 2026. To compile the report Taskrabbit evaluated year-over-year growth in specific task categories and keyword search frequency within service requests. For sight it found tasks featuring neutral tones are up (+53 per cent), including greens (+35 per cent), browns (+23 per cent), and blues (+17 per cent).
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While it’s difficult to separate sight and touch when talking about texture, touch is vital when it comes to items that you physically interact with.
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“The feeling of a carpet underfoot, the softness of a sofa, the fluffiness of a throw pillow creates a certain cosy mood in a home. Texture creates a feeling of something that you can tuck into, like a sweater,” says Kwasnicki.
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Charyle Ross, principal of Burnaby-based Ross & Company Interiors says including different textures of fabrics, woods and metals gives a space visual depth.
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“Without the combination of multiple textures, spaces can become very flat and one dimensional,” she says noting if you are designing a minimalist home, it’s important to add texture such as a wool throw so that it creates contrast with the clean, simple lines of the other contemporary pieces in the room.
