8 Design Solutions Creating Comfortable Interiors

Written by Paula Pintos
Published on March 17, 2020

Interior design within architecture has become extremely relevant as architects and designers are responsible for creating pleasant spaces for people. Have you ever wondered why there are spaces in which we could stay for hours and others that generate instant rejection? These sensations are achieved through the correct management of various parameters that guarantee comfort in interior spaces.

Comfort in interior design, explained in a simple way, is provided in spaces that produce well-being. This, undoubtedly, can be a somewhat subjective and personal concept for each individual, but there are several parameters and building regulations to follow in design projects.

Moreover, many designers have achieved interior comfort by having a more sensitive approach to the spaces. Rather than focusing only on technical parameters, they take into account emotional and psychological comfort as a starting point for making the technical and concrete project decisions that would allow them to obtain this comfort successfully. Here are some examples of interior spaces in a variety of projects and typologies that were designed considering the psychological and sensitive impressions, explained by their authors.

My House - The Mental Health House / Austin Maynard Architects

“I was living in a dark terrace, and I decided that I didn't just want to get more light. I decided to create the complete antithesis of the original terraces spaces. I aimed to create a dichotomous home. The original terrace remains with all of its problems and charms, yet the new extension is a bright, elaborate greenhouse. The terrace has high ceilings and small windows. The extension has a clear Thermoclick roof. A large glass wall opens the kitchen/dining area out onto the sun-drenched garden. There is a box in the centre of the house that has a bathroom, kitchen and a utility area for Austin Maynard Architects. Above is an open platform, full of plants, that we lounge around on.”

"My-House is an experiment that I live in. It is a home that I dare not impose on my clients. It breaks many important rules, often not in a good way. My-House lets in sunlight where a house should not. Whilst it is a very sustainable home, My-House is not as thermally efficient as the homes I design for others. Issues of privacy and personal comfort are often challenged in My-House. It is for these reasons that my family and I also love it."

Andrum Spa / Johan Sundberg arkitektur

"The building’s design is based on sensory impressions – light, scent and taste, acoustics, and touch. The materials are concrete, natural stone, wood, and glass, preserved in their bare forms to the greatest possible extent. Together, they form an entity that is at once soft-spoken and beautiful."

Nagatacho Apartment / Adam Nathaniel Furman

"The Nagatacho apartment is an experiment in the euphoric connoisseurship of colour, texture, material, and form in the theatre of the quotidian, a space that elevates the client’s daily rituals and communal activities into a space of continuously seductive aesthetic delectation."

Theater House / Bodà Architetti

"The result is a dynamic space, in which different views and perspectives follow each other in a balance of materials and colours that contribute to creating a joyful and stimulating atmosphere halfway between the domestic and the contemplative."

Lost Villa Boutique Hotel / DAS Lab

"...the other facades have limited openings. By doing this, we managed to re-examine the relationship between windows, lights, space, and human, and to further lead to exploring the scenic expression of our consciousness on spaces."

"Light is a key element in the interior. Light is the shadow when all decorations and colors are visually hidden in the heaviness of space, you will only see the light and the shadow changing with time, playing a symphony on the walls and floors and conveying the spirituality of the space, which stimulates strong emotional resonance."

Melt House / SAI Architectural Design Office

“The client was a couple in their 30s and two children and was asked to live in a place where they could feel green."

"A home that feels green is not a home where you can see the green from anywhere, but a home where the residents actively use the external space and grow together with the green. For example, taking a nap under a tree, touching a leaf, planting a new friend tree or flower, spending time directly feeling the wind and smell with the greenery is an urban society. I thought that I could create an original experience and a rich life that I was forgetting.”

Q House / Q concept

“Plants and trees have an indispensable role, as a highlight of Q house, which helps to create relaxing spaces inside a small house. You will always feel the relaxation when in the house because of all the natural energies and ideal temperatures that were created by the combination of available local materials, plants and the use of neutral colors."

Santa Teresa House / Amelia Tavella Architectes

"I wanted beauty to flow, to be an invitation to the horizon, to the imagination. The railings are made of rope, the striped shutters inspired by the shutters and the frame doors let the light circulate while filtering it when it is intense. The different levels, inside the large living room, its fireplace and the upper rooms connected by a wooden staircase, outside the slab path which descends, are all steps to access the beach which is an offering, a trophy, just behind the Sanguinaires road. The smooth white facade never hits the sky, the plants, the flowers remain the guardians of the swimming pool and its terrace. It is the quintessential vacation home, the one that haunts my memory of happy childhood evenings when the night embraces the day and beauty is a celebration."