Hi, friend — welcome back to the edit.

When we think about interior design, most of us picture what we see: color palettes, textures, furniture layouts. But lately, I’ve been paying more attention to everything you don’t see — and realizing how much it matters.

There’s a quiet layer to every room that has nothing to do with how it looks. The air smells a certain way. Footsteps make a certain sound. Some spaces feel calm, and you’re not even sure why. That’s where the non-visual side of design comes in.

Scent

You don’t need fancy diffusers (although I love a good one): even a dried herb bundle, a bar of soap in a drawer, or clean laundry left to air-dry can change how a room feels. Scent brings memory into a space sometimes before you even notice it.

It can energize, calm, or comfort you.

In my home, I tend to go for light, natural notes — a little lavender, bergamot, or vetiver. It’s subtle, but when it’s missing, I notice.

Sound and Silence

This one surprised me the most. Sound used to be just background noise — until I realized how loud some rooms felt. Not just acoustically, but mentally.

Now I think about how sound travels in a space. Do bare floors echo too much? Do I want soft music in the background while I clean or cook? Is there a place where I can hear nothing but the birds outside?

Silence is tricky, because we’re not used to it. We fill silence with podcasts, playlists, scrolling TikTok. But sometimes, the best part of a room is what it doesn’t demand from you.

When a room feels like a pause. Just stillness.

Resumé

Interior design isn’t just about what you see. It’s about how you feel — and so much of that lives in scent, sound, and silence.

It’s the mood when you walk through the door. The moment when a space says: you’re home now — and everything softens.

Until next time —

Stay intentional, stay inspired.

— The Edit

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Featured image source: Kave Home