Designing Awe into Everyday Life: How to Evoke Wonder in Your Home
Awe is often thought of as rare—as something reserved for mountaintops, starry skies, or ancient temples.
But what if we could design awe into our daily lives?
What if our homes, shops, studios, or waiting rooms could invite us into stillness, wonder, and reverence?
According to psychologist Dr. Dacher Keltner, awe "stretches your sense of time, enhances your creativity, and promotes connection with others." It downregulates the brain’s default mode network—making you feel smaller, yes, but also more at peace.
In other words: awe isn’t just poetic. It’s neurological.
Here’s how to design for it.
1. Vaulted Ceilings and Vertical Elevation
Across cultures, sacred spaces have used vertical height to inspire awe.
Whether it’s the soaring spires of Gothic cathedrals or the canopy-like arches of Shinto shrines, height makes us feel open, grounded, and part of something larger.
Design techniques:
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Use sloped or high ceilings where possible
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Add uplighting, tall bookshelves, or statement indoor trees
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Create vertical rhythm with panelling or tall mirrors
→ Related: The Psychology of Home: Why Your Space Affects Your Mood
2. Stillness and Minimalism
Stillness invites presence. It helps the mind slow down and the nervous system regulate.
Minimalist spaces with negative space mirror this, offering visual and emotional rest.
Design techniques:
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Choose fewer, larger décor pieces
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Use negative space intentionally
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Opt for muted tones and gentle textures
→ Related: Designing a Spa-Like Bathroom Through Neuroaesthetics
3. Dramatic Contrast
Light against shadow. Texture against smoothness. Contrast captivates.
It engages the emotional centres of the brain and draws us into a kind of visual reverence—something Peter Zumthor explores beautifully in his architecture.
Design techniques:
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Use lanterns, spot lighting, and shadow play
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Filter light with sheer curtains or foliage
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Mix materials like linen, marble, brass, and stone
→ Related: Light as a Language: How Natural Light Shapes Mood and Rhythm
4. Scale and Proportion
Awe is often felt in the presence of the vast. Even in a small home, you can play with scale to inspire it.
Design techniques:
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Use oversized light fixtures or large-format art
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Introduce tall vertical elements like potted trees or sculptural mirrors
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Anchor with a large central object and support with smaller-scale layers
→ Related: A Room-by-Room Guide to Quiet, Grounded Luxury
5. Pattern and Repetition
Fractals, tiles, mandalas—repetition draws the eye inward and outward, often at once.
These motifs mirror the natural rhythms of life and hint at the infinite.
Design techniques:
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Use repeating shapes in rugs, wallpaper, or ceramics
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Integrate natural patterns like ferns, shells, or coral
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Create rhythm through furniture spacing and layered shapes
→ Related: Beauty as a Biological Need: Why Visual Harmony Heals
6. Nature as a Sacred Element
Nature is one of the most reliable sources of awe. It speaks in a quiet, ancient language. Even the smallest detail—a bloom, a shell, a stone—can invite us back to ourselves.
Design techniques:
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Frame views of nature through windows
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Style with raw, living materials like timber, stone, or linen
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Introduce sculptural plants like monstera, strelitzia, or olive trees
→ Related: 20 Psychology-Backed Ideas for a Feel-Good Home
Conclusion: Awe as a Design Principle
To design for awe is to design for something deeper than aesthetics or efficiency.
It’s to ask:
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Can this space move me?
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Can it remind me I’m part of something larger?
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Can it make me pause, breathe, and soften?
You don’t need a cathedral.
You need intention.
You need beauty that whispers:
You are small—and you belong.
