The Ambience of Spaces

Interior Design is not just about what a space looks like, it is about how it feels. Truly great interiors evoke feelings. The architects and artists who designed and built medieval cathedrals understood the transformative power of their work on worshippers. Entering a cathedral is an immersive sensory experience: vibrant, stained-glass windows, high vaulted Gothic arches, awe-inspiring altarpieces in sumptuous pigments of gold and lapis lazuli, and the heady fragrance of incense wafting through the air. For the common people of that age, these provided a stark contrast to the earthy and mundane spaces of their everyday lives. They were both inspiring and intimidating.

We no longer live in a world, where a stained-glass window can inspire awe. It is the ambience of a place which gives distinction to the most luxurious hotels and resorts in the world: the Hotel Plaza Athene in Paris, Point Yamu in Phuket, Perivolas in Santorini, the Ace Hotel in New York, or the Amanyangyun in Shanghai—all of these create a fully immersive, otherworldly experience for the visitor.

Just as every person we meet has a certain energy to which we respond, so does every space we enter. Interiors can make us feel peaceful or inspired, focused or energised and, at times, even be life-changing or transformational. For a residence to be truly exceptional it should contain a variety of atmospheres: expansive, extroverted areas, and quieter, cosier, contemplative rooms: spaces which inspire, or in which you deeply relax and rest.

When I think about my life, it is the feeling that I recall as much as the detail of an event. The feeling of wonder of my bedroom as a toddler, with its floral wallpaper that shimmered in the morning sunlight. The sense of adventure at my grandparents’ Victorian house in Sydney, the sounds of their fountain trickling, the birds singing in the morning sunlight, and their home filled with art, hand-made furniture, books, and the aromas of garlic. The excitement I felt as a six-year old in the 1970s in our neighbours’ living room with its carpet- lined bar, from which ‘cocktails’ would be mixed for us ‘ladies’ while Boney M blared loudly.

Conversely, we have all experienced interior spaces that are energy-sucking, bleak or depressing. The ghastly blue floral wallpaper I had in my tiny room as a teenager, which I covered with posters of Duran Duran. In that same room, the much-hated bars on the windows, installed to protect me from intruders, instead made me feel trapped and desperate to escape, heightening my teenage angst.

The most meaningful memories are rich with sensory triggers. Touch, smell, sound, and taste are what arouse our emotional responses to the world around us. Even if the details are cloudy, our visceral, sensory responses remain vivid.

The best design therefore starts with this end-state or the desired emotion in mind. We ask our clients, ‘How do you want to feel in a space?’ Once this question is answered, it is time to orchestrate the layout: colour, texture, materials, furniture, furnishings, and lighting that create those feelings. This is the difference between mere decorating and true design.

Kate Challis