Pillow Talk
tHE ART OF NEUROAESTHETIC DESIGN
My tired, traveling husband walks into a room at a Victorian B&B in Schenectady after a long day of meetings. Before him is a queen-sized bed covered with 17 pillows. He is immediately shunned.
“What were they thinking?! What am I supposed to do with all these pillows?!”
And as he not so delicately put it, “it looks like someone threw up all over the bed.”
Now mind you, my husband is a guy and some guys just don’t like lacey, fru-fru decorative pillows on a bed. To him, the abundance of this Victorian lace and bobbles was the equivalent of a jackhammer outside his window at 6am. No serenity. Additional work. Fussy organization. Just plain old too much to deal with when all he needed was a quick way to crawl beneath the covers.
On the other side of this story is the proprietor of this well-appointed Victorian B&B who had obviously gone to great care and expense to coordinate, arrange and fluff all these pretty pillows. The pillows were an intended statement of warmth and hospitality, an expression of luxury. They were definitely not designed to aggravate a guest!
This anecdote highlights a fundamental debate in interior design. Drum roll please…The Battle of the Throw Pillows.
So who’s right? Is there an “acceptable” number of decorative pillows to use on a bed - or on a sofa or chair for that matter? While formulating rules and deciding who’s right will get us nowhere in this debate, looking at this topic through the lens of neuroaesthetic design can shed light on our personality, sensory needs and preferences, and how we perceive the world around us. Let’s dive into the multi-dimensional world of throw pillows and gain insight into your neuroaesthetic needs!
Functional Dimension: Enhancing Comfort
Let’s begin with the functional role of pillows: they provide comfort and support for our body. Personalized fit and comfort are always a goal of neuroaesthetic design. It’s important to recognize that no two human bodies are the same, and pillows offer a diverse range of possibilities to cater to individual comfort needs.
Pillows play the role of mediators of comfort, allowing customization of sofas, chairs, or benches to accommodate the unique bodies that use them. While not every pillow in a room needs to serve this role, having a pillow or two dedicated to enhancing comfort and relaxation is absolutely essential.
Content Dimension: What’s Inside Counts
Diving deeper into the neuroaesthetic dimension of pillows, let’s a look inside. The choice of pillow stuffing is critical as it directly influences the pillow’s feel and performance. What’s it stuffed with? How hard or how soft a pillow does it need to be? Different fillings create varying experiences.
Premium Goose Down and Feather Blend
Different fillings fluff and puff out differently too –yes, I believe those to be the technical terms. A premium pillow is typically stuffed with a blend of goose down and feathers that easily conform to the body. With regular fluffing these inserts bounce back into shape. Increasing the quantity of down and feathers in a pillow results in a denser and firmer feel.
Polyester Fills for Durability
Premium down-like polyester fills will offer a firmer and more consistent shape. They can be a safe haven for those with allergies. When designed for the outdoors, polyester fills can take on the rain and dry out in the sun.
Tactile Dimension: The Sense of Touch
When we dive into the tactile dimension of neuroaesthetic design, we are exploring a profound sensory connection that often goes overlooked. The sense of touch, while frequently overshadowed by sight, plays a pivotal role in our overall perception and comfort within a space.
In the realm of neuroaesthetic design, it is crucial to acknowledge and respect the wide array of individual sensory preferences. What feels delightful and comforting to one person may not hold the same appeal for another. Some may seek the smoothness and coolness of silk, while others find solace in the rugged texture of a natural fabric. The nubby surface of a textured pillow might be an inviting sensory experience, while the softness of a plush pillow could be deeply comforting.
Executive Function Dimension: Finding Your Balance
If you’re wired like my husband, too many pillows seems pointless and create overwhelm. In this case, the key is to have just the right number of pillows –enough to support comfort without creating unnecessary maintenance. Others love the complexity and variety that pillows bring. They delight in a variety of sizes and shapes for interest and balance.
Some people like to change pillows out with the season and love a decorative scheme that gives them permission to do so. Others would go crazy with this task and prefer a consistent, dependable solution for their decor year round.
These examples represent a fraction of possible styles, highlighting the importance of understanding your own preferences and the pillow routine that suits your personality.
Visual Dimension: Elevating Aesthetic Appeal
Although we’ve barely begun to touch on the visual aspects of pillows, the visual dimension is where they truly shine. The right pillows placed in just the right spots add a crucial finishing touch to any space. Achieving the ideal blend of colors, patterns, shapes, and sizes to enhance your decor becomes an intriguing and beautiful puzzle to solve. When visual impact is coupled with neuroaesthetic design principles, pillows become powerful elements of a well-designed space that even the ”pillows haters” come to love.
The neuroaesthetic experience facilitated by pillows isn't merely a matter of style or visual appeal; it's a pivotal component in crafting living spaces that actively contribute to your health and well-being. Neuroaesthetic design is a versatile and adaptable approach that can be seamlessly integrated into any project, whether you're focusing on pillows or other aspects of your living space. It serves as a foundational set of principles that extends well beyond mere aesthetics. These principles hold the power to transform your environment into one that consistently nurtures your overall sense of comfort and satisfaction.
If you're intrigued by the prospect of harnessing these design principles to empower your home and create a space that resonates with your well-being, don't hesitate to take the next step. Reach out to us and schedule you free Discovery Call, where we can dive deeper into your unique design journey.