In Neuroaesthetics Part I and Part 2, I described my own personal discovery of neuroaesthetics and the science behind intentional designs that not only evoke a positive emotional response, but also a chemical one that calms, heals, and restores. In this conclusion of the series, I explore how we, at Urbanology, use these learnings to inform our clients’ experiences.

While style may be personal and trends may ebb and flow, there are commonalities and constants that we all respond and connect to: nature, elements of our history, and objects that carry personal meaning.

Biophilia

We gravitate toward elements that evoke a communion with nature: sunlight, fractals (patterns in nature, such as wood grain), textures, sounds, smells. Incorporating these elements elicits a biological response of restoration.

History

Connection to our past grounds and informs our own lives. Incorporating artifacts, books, vintage or antique objects, or nods to historic detailing or architecture inspires us to carry forward wisdom in analyzing, innovating, and solving the challenges of our complex lives.

Sentiment

Treasures that tell our story and to which we have deep-rooted attachment bring a sense of reflection and meaning.

But creating an intensely meaningful personal experience is more than choosing and arranging the right objects. It’s getting to the heart of the client’s story. So rather than explain how we at Urbanology go about this, I asked a client to describe the process and results in her own words.

Getting Started

Before meeting Ginger and the team at Urbanology, I was struggling. I had seen plenty of pleasant and lovely design portfolios, but nothing that spoke to me on a visceral level. I was seeing trends or experimentation instead of voice or complexity. I wasn’t seeing myself in any of them. I saw a collection of things instead of a collection of stories.

The initial meeting was immediately different. Instead of asking about my style preference and favorite color palettes, Ginger asked how I would describe myself and my family. She asked why we chose the house we had recently bought and moved into. She asked me about my favorite part of each room and asked about my travel treasures scattered throughout. Instead of asking what I wanted my rooms to say, she asked me how I wanted my rooms to make me feel. She asked what I found meaning in. Art. Books. Travel. Moments. Stories.

The Process

The team had asked me to put together a board of images, objects, designs that spoke to me. When it came time to discuss with the team, I had a collection of oddities with no clear theme or reason–a chair shape I liked, an example of a lamp that I bought in Italy (that had to be rewired to function), a china pattern, long discontinued, I’d painstakingly collected. I believed I had failed the assignment. But the team focused less on the table I’d identified and more on the reason behind my choosing it. I was thrilled when I saw the care and detail in all of the designs they presented. I saw my own words and thoughts reflected back to me in physical form. My dining room draws its themes from that china pattern, my family room is oriented around beloved art and books, the piano room is an homage to a 1920s Paris salon—a detail gleaned from my love of American expat authors of the Lost Generation.

The Result

A year or so later, I go out of my way to walk through the dining room and into the kitchen. Reading a book on my living room sofa under the beautiful wool blanket I picked up in Iceland, I discover a facet of an art piece that I hadn’t reflected on before. I sit at the piano bench just enjoying the warm sun streaming through the windows. Those are my favorite spaces. I feel recharged when I’m in them. I feel seen, heard, and connected. Ginger and the team asked about my favorite writer knowing I was an English teacher, lover of books, and writer. Emily Dickinson once wrote, “I dwell in Possibility...To gather Paradise –” My home is woven together–a place of possibility, a place of comfort, a place of solace, and a place of joy. A paradise.

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Dwell in Possibility: Neuroaesthetics in Practice