Sensational Rooms Satisfy the Senses 

      When we think of home design and decor, most people are visually oriented, connecting with the way a room looks.  But the best rooms satisfy all the senses. They go beyond what we see and appeal to our senses of touch, smell, hearing, and, when appropriate, taste.

      For visual appeal we naturally look to the basics of design:  Is the room in balance, well-proportioned, appropriately scaled and interestingly styled?   Does it have an interesting focal point? Are colors and accessories used in a way that creates a cohesive whole while leading the eye to the most interesting features?  Is the room appropriately lit to create the desired mood?  And, most telling, is the room memorable?

      If you can answer yes to all of those questions, you probably have a well-designed room with lots of visual appeal. But, if you want to go from well-designed to sensational, you need to gauge whether your room is succeeding on all sensory levels.  One of the best ways to do this is simply to tour your room with your eyes closed.

      Contrast is an important element in your room - not just when it relates to the values of the colors you've chosen, but also as it pertains to the range of textures in the room. Touch the surfaces in the room.  Do you have a variety of textures that are pleasing to the touch?  Do they invite your hand to linger and enjoy the sensation? Do they help to establish the mood and feeling of the room?  If so, your room has passed the touch test.

       Leave the room and re-enter it with your eyes closed.  What do you hear? Depending on where your room is located in your home, you may suddenly realize that there's a bit more of the outdoors in your room than you had intended to invite in.  Consider adding storm windows or extra layers of sound muffling window treatments to help block out unwanted noise from outside.  Try to isolate the indoor sounds.   If it's footsteps from upstairs or the washer from the utility room next door that's noisily invading your space, look to carpeting and sound dampening materials such as cork and rubber that can be beautifully incorporated into your home.   White noise machines are another means of handling unwanted sounds in bedrooms and other quiet spaces.    Once you've gotten the unwanted sounds out, consider introducing some sounds of your own.  There's hardly a room that wouldn't benefit from some soft background music.

      And then there's the way the room smells. It's the first thing you'll notice in a room if the odor is unpleasant, and not likely to be consciously noted at all if there is no discernible smell.  Don't try and mask a bad odor with an air freshener product.  If it works at all, it will only be temporary.  Get rid of the bad odor by thoroughly cleaning the offending source and consider adding an air filtration and purifying system to the room.   If you'd like to add a fragrance to your clean air, keep it light. A bouquet of fresh flowers will enhance any room, but if you find that too high maintenance, try adding some realistic silk flowers and misting them lightly once a week with a very light floral perfume.

      Although a small dish of candy or a bowl of fruit is a lovely way to say "welcome" in any room, literally appealing to the sense of taste may not be appropriate in every room.   If your room is visually appealing, and has satisfied the other senses, you can bet that your guests will find it "tasteful,"   virtually appealing to the last of the five senses and no doubt a sensational room.

`

a new publication based on
Peggy's popular
"Rental Redesign" column!

Bringing you original articles
every month
by some of today's
top interior redecorators.