Designing with Relaxation in Mind

It's true that a "house is not a home". A real home loves the people who live there as much as they love living there.
    Surely we'd all like our home to be a haven and a refuge, the place where we are most comfortable and relaxed. But there are many decisions to be made, and money and time to be invested between wanting that and achieving it. Creating an overall design, selecting colors, shopping for furniture and accessories, and pulling the whole thing together can be anything but relaxing.

That is, unless you call upon the design savvy of some of Louisville's most talented (and relaxed!) designers, which is exactly what Home Design & Living did. But that's not all. We talked to one of Louisville's most well respected psychologists, and gained some fascinating insight about the relationship between home design and relaxation. They each shared years of experience and advice that you can use to design a room that's the ultimate in relaxation.

Lisa Metrovich-Knight,
interior designer with
Lisa Lynn Design Services

I try to get in touch with all five senses. Typically the first step is the wall color. It shouldn't be too bright or electrifying or vivid. Then I think of the sense of smell because it has a major relaxing effect on the brain. I introduce aromatherapy candles, or if it's an outdoor area, fragrant flowers and trees.
    Next is the sense of touch, which can be achieved through things such as soft fabrics, a thick carpet, or a fan that stirs up a breeze. I like to add soft fabrics to a screened porch or a deck to give the sense of wispiness or a sense of movement.
    It's easy to forget about the importance of the sense of hearing. Soft music is great inside the house but it can also be piped in to an outdoor area. Wind chimes can add another comforting sound. And why not install a couple of bird feeders to attract birds that will bring their own natural, calming sounds.
    A bedroom is an ideal room in which to relax. Silky fabrics on the bed are a must. Forget about a white ceiling and paint the walls a warmer color for a sensation of warmth. Décor greatly enhances relaxation, but don't ignore something as simple and practical as a mattress you can sink into.



    Splurge on the master bath by treating yourself to thick, soft towels and nice, thick area rugs. Use candles or dim the lights so they're not as harsh. And don't forget to add a bottle of wine!
    Every home should have a special retreat. In my home, it's the master suite that I designed to be soothing. For the bedroom, where I mixed silks, satins and cottons, I chose Porter Paint's new Spruce Shade, a kind of blue/green, for the walls, painted the ceiling chocolate brown and creamy beige, and painted the trim camel. I love the thick multi-flecked frieze carpet with its beiges, browns and camel. It's so soft it invites you to get out of bed and sit on the floor in front of the fireplace.
    The headboard is tufted in a chenille chocolate brown. Recessed lights around the circumference of the room and a lighted ceiling fan are on dimmers. Some people like a chandelier in the bedroom, but I prefer a fan because I want the air movement in the room. There are lots of fans today that have both uplighting and down lighting, which are great design touches.
    Looking out onto trees or a lush lawn is very calming. But everyone doesn't have the luxury of such a view from every room. If the view from your master bedroom is the neighbor's brick wall, plant a tree in front of the window to afford privacy and to give you the feeling that you're in a place of retreat.

Dr. Stanley Frager,
of Frager Associates, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Louisville

Design, colors and contents of a room can affect a person emotionally and physically. An extreme example is the optical illusion room at an amusement park midway where the circles and spirals can cause a person to become physically ill. On the positive side, certain colors and types of objects in an environment can make us very relaxed and content, sometimes even romantic.
    Color is a powerful design tool because of its impact on brain waves, heart and respiratory rates, oxygen saturation, eye blink frequency and blood pressure. Our individual life experiences sometimes determine how we react to color, but there are some general concepts about color that hold true for most people. According to research, and detailed in Nurse Educator magazine, yellow is the most cheerful color, with red being the most vigorous and exciting. Blue is the coldest, but suggests calmness and tranquility. Green expresses fruitfulness, contentment and hope. Both blue and green are associated with sedate moods.
    Selecting a color is only the first step when using color as part of relaxing design. The amount of light and the control of the light source and direction are also important because light reflects color.
    Art connoisseurs have bristled at the idea of choosing art based on how the colors in a painting coordinate with other colors in the room. But because colors affect one another and the people in the room, the idea turns out to make some sense.
    Color is only one contributing factor to a room having a relaxed feel. Too little furniture can make a room feel impersonal and cold, but there is a fine line between a room feeling full, comfortable and cozy, and feeling smothering. To a certain extent, it depends on the type of room and its intended purpose. Large overstuffed couches and heavy furniture might be fine in a den, but in a living room that's used for entertaining and interaction, the same furniture could feel claustrophobic.
    A fireplace in any room adds an element of comfort and relaxation. Sitting in front of a fire is relaxing because of the constant, irregular movement. While we'd normally think of a real fire being relaxing, I found it interesting, and amusing, that a few years ago, a fireplace video sold very well.
    Fish tanks are ideal for setting a soothing, calming scene. Not only do fish tanks have fascinating and slightly mesmerizing irregular motions, they also usually have pretty, serene colors.
    The view from the inside of the house to the outside can be as relaxing as the interior. All homes don't overlook a rolling, picturesque vista that would seem an excellent prescription for relaxation. But you'd be surprised how a beautiful lawn and garden can contribute to our emotional well-being. It provides aesthetic value and, although we may not be aware of it, gives a feeling of accomplishment that we were able to add to the beauty and make things grow.



Renotta Henson,
owner/builder of Victory Home Builders

Most people want a hideaway from the rest of the house, the kids and the chaos of daily living. They think and envision what they want but may have missed the mark when they built or designed a previous house. They often bring me a photograph of furniture, a piece of carpet, a paint or faux finish sample, even a pillow, to use as a jumping off point. We begin working the room around those things.
    Relaxation is such a subjective thing. For some people it means being able to live outside much of the year. They're not content with a table, four chairs and a grill, and are willing to spend a lot of money to be able to relax in outdoor luxury.
    A reading room in a loft area was one client's idea for a relaxing space. She had bought a large curved chaise which was so distinctive that we built the room around it. It became her private area where she could escape.
    My spa room, where I can set up a massage table, is a great space to relax. It's cushy and comfortable and is connected to a bathroom that is as large as the master bath. The bathroom has an open shower in which some of the shower heads come out of the 9' ceiling. It reminds me of an upscale gym. Exotic Asian wood vanities with granite tops are suspended off the floor. Instead of vanity lights over the sink, we installed pendant lights that hang over a Kohler demi vessel, in addition to under cabinet lighting.
    Lime green, purple and black might be a little intense but they're the colors in what I consider the most relaxing room in my house. It has a baby grand piano and big, overdone draperies with poufs and puddles. I love it because it's a room all for me. Even the cat can't go in there