Designing Calm: How to Create a Home That Helps You Unwind

There is a particular kind of quiet that we try to capture in the spaces we design. It is not simply silence, nor is it the absence of colour or clutter. It is the sort of calm that settles slowly – the kind you feel when a room understands you. As interior designers working across Somerset, Bath and Bristol, we often hear the same request in different words: I want a home that helps me breathe.

In an age where new builds are designed with efficiency in mind, and show homes must impress within seconds, the need for thoughtful, calming interiors has never been more relevant. Calm is not an aesthetic. It is an experience – one shaped by proportion, material, flow, light and texture.

Below, we explore how interiors can be designed with calm at their core, whether you're styling a forever home, dressing a show apartment, or building from scratch.

Begin with Flow, Not Furnishings

A calm space often begins with how it moves. Whether you're planning the layout of a new build or rethinking an existing one, flow is foundational.

Ask how each space leads into the next. Are there natural sight lines? Do rooms feel balanced and unforced? Flow isn’t always something people can articulate, but it’s something they notice. A well-zoned layout feels calm and intentional — even if they can’t explain why.

If you’re working with your own home, small adjustments can create similar results. Consider repositioning key pieces to free up visual weight and walkways. A narrow console in a hallway, or a low bench instead of a bulky chair, can make a space feel lighter without reducing function.

Choose Materials That Set the Tone

Certain materials naturally invite stillness. Timber, stone, linen, clay – these are honest finishes that age well and settle into their surroundings. They absorb light rather than bounce it harshly. They carry texture without needing ornament.

A good place to explore simple, natural materials is Bailey's Home in Ross-on-Wye, just north of Somerset. For those based closer to Bath, Oka's Bath showroom offers a broad range of accessories in relaxed, tonal palettes.

In new developments, we often specify finishes that offer this same grounded feel – wood grain cabinetry, soft matte walls, brushed brass or blackened bronze. These small surface details create cohesion and ease, even when the architecture is contemporary.

Use Colour as Atmosphere, Not Decoration

Colour doesn’t have to whisper to feel calm, but it should be purposeful. In a quiet interior, colour supports the mood without distracting from it. We lean towards palettes that feel rooted in nature – sage, plaster pink, stone, sand, chalk, ash. These are tones that don’t tire with time.

Atelier Ellis in Bath is known for its nuanced paint palettes and soft, responsive hues. Their colours are designed to interact gently with light, which makes them well-suited to rooms with changing natural exposure.

For show homes, especially those in the Somerset countryside, we often soften stark developer finishes by introducing these kinds of hues through accessories, artwork, and soft furnishings. Even a change in curtain lining or wall wash can shift the energy of a room from sterile to settled.

Design Lighting with the Evening in Mind

Light is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of calm design. Not in terms of brightness, but in terms of softness. We try to imagine a space not only in the midday sun but at 7.30pm on a Sunday. How does the room behave when the world quietens?

In new builds, downlights can be softened with dimmers, wall sconces or hidden LED strips. In homes of any age, the addition of low, layered lighting – a fabric-shaded lamp, a cluster of candles, a directional spotlight – adds intimacy.

Jim Lawrence in Bath is known for its timeless fittings, many of which offer a warm, classic finish ideal for relaxed residential settings.

Let the Room Breathe

Visual calm often lies in restraint. Not in minimalism, but in avoiding the over-styled. We are not fans of interiors that feel museum-like, but nor should every surface shout for attention.

In our studio, we often advise clients to leave intentional gaps – a section of wall unfilled, a corner without furniture. These spaces allow the eye to rest. In show homes, this technique helps prospective buyers project their own lives into a space. In private homes, it supports a clearer, calmer rhythm.

Storage matters here. The most beautiful design can quickly feel overwhelmed if there’s no place for life to be tucked away. For concealed, built-in joinery, we often collaborate with local trades in North Somerset. Custom storage doesn’t need to dominate – in fact, the most successful examples are barely noticed.

Use Nature as a Guide, Not a Feature

Biophilic design is often misunderstood as simply adding plants. But calm interiors draw on the principles of nature more than its forms. Proportion, rhythm, variation, imperfection – these are natural laws that translate powerfully into interior language.

Rugs, ceramics and glassware from Homefront Interiors in Bath often reflect this aesthetic with tactile, handmade finishes. Items that show the maker’s hand bring softness without fuss.

Create Pockets of Pause

In larger homes, calm can be cultivated through quiet zones – a reading corner, a window seat, a console that invites daily rituals. These are the unscheduled moments in a space. They often end up being the most used.

For new build developers, we often design these as "lifestyle moments" in show homes – a chair with a throw and a book beside it, a bench by the door with walking boots beneath. They ground the home emotionally and give buyers an immediate sense of welcome.

Final Thoughts

Designing for calm is not about stripping away personality. It’s about removing friction. It is the process of editing a space until it feels generous – not in scale, but in spirit.

Across Somerset, Bristol and Bath, we continue to see a rise in clients seeking interiors that support not just their lifestyle, but their wellbeing. The homes that do this well are rarely the ones that try the hardest. They are the ones that understand quiet confidence.

Whether you are planning your next show home, styling your first flat, or refining the family home you've lived in for years, the goal is the same: to create a space that feels better simply by being in it.

That is calm. And it can be designed.