Does Interior Design Really Impact Residents’ Health? Mary Cook Weighs In

Science confirms what we’ve known for centuries: Beauty has a direct physiological effect on our brains and, implicitly, on our overall well-being. But beauty is just one piece of the puzzle. Acoustics, lighting and ergonomics also contribute to how we feel in a particular interior.

The third installment of our quarterly interview series with Mary Cook, the president & founder of commercial interior design and strategy firm Mary Cook Associates, dives into how numerous aspects of interior design can help residents feel good and enhance their general health.

What does neuroscience tell us about the link between aesthetic experiences and health?

Cook: Science showed us that recognizing that something is beautiful is not just an emotion—it’s a neurological activity. Neuroscientist Semir Zeki utilized neuroimaging technology to discover that an area of the brain called the medial orbital frontal cortex always lights up when beauty is perceived. When something is perceived as more beautiful, the brain activity increases.

The brain releases serotonin and dopamine, two primary hormones, when beauty is perceived. Serotonin influences positive moods and feelings, while dopamine inspires and motivates. When people experience beautiful interiors, these ‘feel-good’ hormones foster elevated moods, a sense of calm and lowered heart rate along with increased productivity and functionality.

Equally important, barriers to someone experiencing beauty cause frustration, distraction, discomfort. For example, when someone cannot hear because of poor acoustics, see because of glare, or sit comfortably because of a poor chair selection, the factors contributing to well-being quickly fade.

The perception of beauty is both biologically and culturally inherited. Biologically, humans have evolved to appreciate the golden ratio—a proportion humans find inherently pleasing—so much that it’s embedded in our DNA. Cultural influences are more subjective and incorporate diverse human characteristics from around the world, traditions and expressions of art, music, architecture and more.

The bottom line is: Our aesthetic experiences affect our brains and, because of that, well-designed environments can enhance our mental and emotional well-being.

Which are some of the interior design strategies that contribute to residents’ well-being?

Cook: Our design approach is built on seven fundamentals that together create unique interiors that help people live, be and do their best. While each fundamental works independently, when combined, they result in distinctive, aesthetic interiors that elevate and inspire.

The first fundamental is Objective—who we are designing for, where and for what purpose. By starting from an understanding of Objective, we can develop design solutions that foster beauty, livability and functionality. We then consider the other six fundamentals to create a one-of-a-kind look, with these considerations working together to promote well-being: function and livability, scale and proportion, light and lighting, color, pattern and texture, as well as significant and relevant ornament.

Having a deep understanding of the target demographic and their psychographics—their values, attitudes, interests, lifestyles and aspirations—allows us as designers to create beautiful, highly functional spaces that foster community and impact well-being. In fact, wellness has become a significant consideration for developers during the design phase of projects given broader awareness and conversation around mental health.

How do scale and proportion influence residents’ experience and health?

Cook: Scale and proportion are the objective or inherited part of beauty. Humans are naturally programed within our ancestorial brain to seek the golden ratio, which was first discovered by ancient Greek mathematicians and scientists, who found that a certain proportion was naturally pleasing to the observer. Named “phi” after the sculptor Phidias, this ratio is found in nature, human anatomy and throughout art and architecture.

When a room’s elements are in perfect harmony—such as the fireplace complementing the ceiling height or the chair being in proportion to the coffee table—you can feel it instantly. You can also tell when it’s off. Incorrect scale and proportion are the root cause of many design problems, but when executed correctly and paired with compelling aesthetics, they can trigger those ‘feel-good’ hormones that enhance well-being.  

What are proxemics and ergonomics, and how can they impact our well-being?

Cook: Proxemics is the study of the nature, degree and effect of the spatial separation individuals naturally maintain. It also encompasses the effects that human density has on behavior, communication and social interaction. We use this knowledge in interior design to create layouts, furniture groupings and spacing to maximize human comfort, privacy and create highly functional spaces.

Our proximity to one another plays a key role in how we are able to enjoy a space and function within it. Although health guidelines advising us to stay six feet apart are thankfully a thing of the past, people’s comfort levels with closeness have shifted postpandemic. That has placed a higher premium on flexible design that can accommodate groups that want to be physically close as well as users who prefer more privacy and separation.

Ergonomics encompasses more than just posture and movement, it is the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment. There are three types of ergonomics: physical, cognitive and organizational. Each of these differently affects how people interact with their environment, contributing to how effective they are in their work.

The goal is to eliminate discomfort and the risk of injury due to work. For example, desk chairs can be designed with adjustable height, lumbar support and arm rests to support proper posture and reduce back pain and strain after a long stretch of sitting at a desk. Anyone who has spent any time working from an impromptu home office not designed for the task, such as a kitchen counter or dining table, quickly realized how important good ergonomics is to not only productivity, but to wellness.

It’s vital for multifamily designers and operators to consider ergonomics to ensure the furniture, fixtures and equipment they select for a community are not only attractive, but ergonomically suitable for how residents will use the space.

What role do color and lighting play in this particular context?

Cook: Color and lighting, and the way they work together, are an integral part of any interior design. Color can influence mood, heighten productivity, calm the senses, inspire or excite. The emotions of color range from optimism and warmth with golds and yellows, friendly and confident with oranges, bold and exciting with reds, creative and imaginative with purple, trust and strength in blues, peaceful and healthy with greens, calm and balanced with grey.

Adding a tint (white) or tone (black) to any color could elicit a different response. When used with other design fundamentals, color can make a space feel larger or smaller and more intimate. It can inspire certain types of activities, add sophistication, energize a gathering area and create memory. Color is a powerful tool and can pack a big punch. It also is our biggest cost to impact ratio, so as designers we love it!

Meanwhile, proper lighting design can enhance mood, reduce stress and foster productivity. Light plays a vital role in our biological rhythms, including the circadian rhythm, which regulates sleep and affects overall health. Designs that maximize natural light can reduce stress and anxiety. Insufficient lighting can create unnecessary strain on the eyes, while too much artificial light, especially blue light, can cause sleep disturbances.

Emerging lighting technologies, such as ‘human-centric’ LEDs, offer dynamic illumination that mimics natural patterns to align with circadian rhythms, improving sleep and mood. Adaptable lighting also plays a key role in promoting multifunctionality by accommodating various activities at different times of the day or year.

Acoustic comfort is also one of the aspects that can define our experience within a space. Tell us more about this dimension in multifamily settings.

Cook: Acoustic and sound trespassing can be one of the most disturbing things to a well-designed space. Interior design can play an instrumental role in minimizing acoustic problems if planned for early in a project. Common areas, amenities, fitness rooms, remote work and meeting spaces and, of course, the individual units all require specialized knowledge and work to perform at their best. Sound transmission between floors can be planned for early in construction stages.

Fitness rooms with state-of-the-art equipment also need special attention. Hard surface flooring can increase noise if acoustic underlayment isn’t used. Furniture groupings in gathering areas can be positioned to contain voices while surfaces can also be selected or treated to enhance the acoustic experience.

There are also operational considerations regarding sound trespass in multifamily applications. Maintenance activities such as in-unit repairs and landscape work, which would typically happen during the day when residents were away at their jobs, now overlap with work-from-home schedules, so it’s vital for communities to come up with strategies to minimize disruptions for remote workers.

What has COVID-19 taught us in terms of interior design influencing our health?

Cook: During the pandemic, our homes became our sanctuary as well as our office, gym and social hub. The situation highlighted how much of an impact our surroundings have on our physical and psychological well-being and caused us to reevaluate how those spaces were performing—and in some cases, reprioritize what we want and need in them.

The lasting impact of the pandemic on multifamily interior design is a greater emphasis on more space, healthy building materials, clean fresh air, water filtration, natural light, easy access to outside and nature, privacy, flexibility and adaptability.

Another popular trend that stems from residents’ need to live in healthier environments is biophilic design. Do plants and natural materials really have an impact our well-being?

Cook: Biophilic principles do affect our well-being. When integrated into interiors of offices, schools and residences it can reduce stress, enhance creativity and clarity of thought. Research has shown how incorporating these principles can improve our well-being and expedite healing.

To fully harness benefits of biophilic design—like reducing stress, boosting concentration, and improving well-being—designers must adopt a holistic approach. This includes incorporating natural and nature-inspired materials, patterns, natural light and access to nature throughout a project.