The idea that a room's design should center around how it feels, before even how it looks, is one that interior designer Shalini Misra had championed a long time before it found its way into popular discourse. Her schemes are ones that feel instantly liveable: like you could flop down on the sofa or take a chair at the breakfast table without feeling as though you're out of place, or have ruined a perfectly styled showroom.
That's partly because Shalini's understanding of wellbeing is central to her practice, and partly because she has an eye for curation — for collecting art and artisan pieces, and displaying them together in ways that speak strongly to her clients' own personalities and interests.
And as you'll read below, she's all about the space in between those pieces — the negative space in interior design — as much as the pieces themselves. I spoke to Shalini about the nature of curation, the importance of direction in interior design, and how to take a soft, sensory approach to a scheme.
A lot of your design work has been focused on making homes that feel like sanctuaries. Has your idea of what makes a room feel safe or restorative shifted in recent years?
I’ve come to realize that space itself is very powerful, and that the act of silence in a decor scheme needs to be very intentional. It means that I’m very focused on the empty spaces between the furniture and accessories, and I start any project thinking about which part of the spatial layouts will remain empty.
What this means is that not everything in your home is jostling for your attention, that there is balance, room for both your favorite pieces and for yourself to breathe. I’m far from a minimalist, but I really believe that it’s the gaps in a scheme that make it feel safe.
This sophisticated home office is at once calming and focus-inducing.
Do you sense a different emotional response if there is intentional air in a room, as opposed to it being filled with things — no matter how wonderful they all are?
If you have empty space you can focus more. Your eyes are directed towards the highly curated pieces you do have, and you can circulate the room more easily. It just feels comfortable when you don’t cram every corner and every shelf with things, and feeling comfortable is very restorative.
How do you choose which pieces make the cut and end up in the final scheme?
You want to create impactful moments. I think it’s really important to have art and plants in every room — they’re moments of beauty which don’t need to be there, but lift the soul just by existing. Then you can highlight them with targeted lighting that ensures your attention is caught by them.
Directing the eyes of the people who experience your spaces seems to be a big theme, and I like how it ensures that the room is absorbing, inviting those in it to properly switch off. How else can you do this?
Always think of your ceiling as a canvas. There is nothing better than lying back on the sofa and simply looking up, daydreaming almost, and having something up there to appreciate as you do. I often put a wallpaper with a cloud motif up there, or a beautiful color. Something that incites a little curiosity.
Don't forget to make a moment of your fifth wall, too.
Your schemes are always very tactile. What materials are you interested in at the moment?
Well, yes, texture creates sensations, and I do believe that harnessing them well can reduce stress. You can see this thanks to those wearable devices like the Oura ring, which measures how you feel — you can watch people become calmer thanks to whatever is in their surroundings. So I like to choose materials that help people to ‘zen out’, warm color tones, wood paneling, plenty of plants, soft bouclé. It’s all very cocooning.
This modern living room has a wonderful mixture of tactile elements that wokr in perfect harmony.
This ties into a lot of conversations I’m having about sensory design at the moment. Do you think about acoustics, too?
Absolutely, acoustics are so important. People like to use a lot of stone at the moment, but if you don’t also include many, many softer layers, you start to get an issue with the sound bouncing harshly off the stone. This can be remedied as simply as choosing a really plush rug, some textured wallpaper, and thick curtains.
What I like about this soft approach to how homes can look after you is how far we’ve come from "wellness design" being just about adding a home gym. Where do you think the conversation is heading next?
It’s all got to be about comfort. A home is a trophy, a place for you to show your personality, sure, but also to relax in. So the more soft textures and the more space you fold into every room, the better you’re going to feel.
For more designer Q&A's, interior designer Laura Stephens answers your questions on home libraries, hallway wallpaper, and pleated lampshades.
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