Emotional-Response Architecture London | Neuroarchitecture for Wellbeing & Mood

×

Are you looking to enhance the way your home makes you feel each day? On this page, we explore how the emotional impact of design can shape your wellbeing and provide practical ways to weave these principles into your renovation or new-build project.

Our emotional response to architecture is powerful. From the awe inspired by historic and sacred spaces to the sense of comfort created by soft forms and balanced proportions, design has a profound influence on how we feel. As a core pillar of neuroarchitecture, the emotional dimension of design shows how elements such as ceiling height, shape, materiality, and spatial rhythm can directly support positive wellbeing.

Studies show that colour, texture and spatial proportions play a significant role in creating comfort and balance, helping to ease stress and support a more settled emotional state.

Nature also contributes powerfully to how we feel indoors. Whether through house plants, natural materials or generous views of the outdoors, incorporating greenery can bring a sense of calm and connection that immediately lifts the atmosphere of a room.

Hamstead way texture clipped corner

Understanding these emotional cues allows us to shape homes that feel more intuitive and supportive. Neuroarchitecture encourages us to look beyond individual features and consider how a space functions as a whole; how it guides movement, balances sensory input and creates moments of ease.

Simple choices, such as softening transitions between rooms, improving sightlines or introducing gentle contrasts in texture, can help reduce visual clutter and foster a calmer baseline. Often, it’s these subtle adjustments that make a home feel more uplifting and emotionally attuned to daily life.

emotional response clipped corner

What the research reveals

A growing body of research shows clear connections between architectural features and our emotional reactions to space. In one 2020 study, participants viewed 200 images of different interior environments while their brain activity was monitored. The rooms rated as the most beautiful tended to have higher ceilings, softer curves, and generous windows or openings to outdoor views. The researchers found that our visual system naturally responds to qualities such as coherence, fascination and a sense of homeliness.

Another study explored how ceiling height and feelings of enclosure influence our decisions. Higher ceilings were consistently associated with more positive impressions, whilst enclosed spaces tended to trigger more defensive, exit-focused thinking. This was linked to activation in brain regions associated with emotional processing, suggesting we may instinctively react more negatively to tight or constricted rooms.

This pattern extends to the shapes within a space. Research from 2013 found that people judged curvilinear interiors as more beautiful than angular ones. Rounded forms also activated brain areas linked with reward, helping explain why gentle, flowing contours often create a more welcoming emotional experience.

Double height ceilings

Double-height ceilings not only create an abundance of space, but also deliver a design impact that’s hard to ignore. A double-height ceiling helps blur the boundaries between rooms, providing an interconnecting effect.

Whether you have living spaces that extend to upper balconies or rooms characterised by towering height, the incorporation of a double-height ceiling can be a truly awe-inspiring feature for both aesthetic and functional reasons.

Courtyard house clipped corner

Nature Views

An array of studies have demonstrated the positive impact that nature views can have on human wellbeing. Views of trees, plants and green spaces in general have a tangible effect on our emotional state.

As a result, when we are greeted with views of nature upon entering a room, this instantly triggers feelings of being connected to nature – something we are all innately drawn to.

Abbots Gardens nature view clipped corner

Curvilinear design

The importance of soft geometry should never be underestimated within interior design. Plenty of scientific research supports the fact that we display strong preferences for curves over angular or sharp lines.

This showcases the positive impact rounded, curvilinear designs can have within our homes – whether via curved walls or items of furniture.

Curvilinerar clipped

Further reading

To discover more about how we emotionally respond to design, these blogs deliver more insight:

Origami-House-Photography-Matt-Clayton-026-1500x1000

How colour influences our thoughts and feelings

Cromwell Avenue

How light shapes how we feel

grand designs

Ellie Decoration