I enter my home and the first thing I do is take off my shoes.
It's not out of habit, though it could be. It's not for cleanliness, though it could be.
It's because I need to feel the ground.
I need my feet to touch the wood. For my body to know where it is. For my nervous system to receive this information: "you are home, you can lower your guard."
For years I thought I was strange, my parents and grandparents always criticized me... "Put on your shoes or you'll catch a cold! What a habit of going barefoot everywhere!" Until I understood that my body needs constant sensory information to regulate itself. And that my home, that space where I spend most of my life, can give me that information... or take it away.
Because spaces are not neutral.
They regulate or deregulate. They embrace or hit. They wound or support.
And most homes are designed without thinking about this.
Without thinking about the body that will inhabit them.
Without thinking about the nervous system that needs to rest inside.
What is your home like?
Does it support you?
Or do you spend all day wanting to get out of it?
SPACE AS A REGULATION SYSTEM
There is one thing that traditional design usually does not consider: the space acts directly on our autonomic nervous system..
Every surface we touch, every color we see, every sound that bounces off the walls, every temperature we feel... all of this is sensory information that our brain constantly processes.
For many neurodivergent individuals, this processing is different. More intense.
More direct.
Less filtered.
What for some is "a bright living room," for others can be a constant assault of light that activates the sympathetic nervous system (which is not sympathetic at all): alertness, tension, hypervigilance.
What for some is "a practical tiled floor," for others can be a cold and unbearable surface that disconnects them from their own body.
It is not an exaggeration.
It is not excessive sensitivity.
It is neurodivergence.
And it is real.
"The built environment is not just a passive container of human life; it is an active agent that influences our physiological and emotional regulation."
— Verònica Martín
COLOR IS NOT DECORATIVE: IT IS NEUROLOGICAL INFORMATION
Let's talk about color.
In traditional design, color is chosen for aesthetics.
For trend.
For "what looks good."
But color is not neutral either.
It is reflected light.
It is wavelength.
It is information that enters directly into the nervous system.
A person hypersensitive may need soft, muted tones that do not overwhelm. Warm grays, beige, pale greens. Colors that do not shout. That do not demand constant attention.
A person hyposensitive may need just the opposite: intense colors, marked contrasts, powerful visual stimuli that help them connect with the space, to feel present.
The problem is not the color itself. The problem is designing without asking: how does this person process visual information?
Because if you design a pristine white bedroom for someone who needs contrast... you are taking away their anchoring.
And if you paint the living room of a hypersensitive person electric blue... you are activating their alert system every time they enter.
"Color is not an aesthetic choice when it directly affects the regulatory capacity of those who inhabit the space."
— Research on sensory perception, Dunn & colleagues.
TEXTURES THAT SUPPORT (OR HURT)
Now touch the walls of your home.
What do you feel?
Are they rough?
Cold?
Smooth to the point of discomfort?
For many neurodivergent individuals, textures are not a decorative detail: they are constant contact with the environment.
We lean against walls. We brush surfaces as we pass. We touch without thinking. And every time we do, our nervous system receives information.
A rough surface can be unbearable for someone hypersensitive to touch. But for someone hyposensitive, the same texture may be necessary: clear, defined tactile information that helps them feel anchored to the space.
The same goes for fabrics: curtains, cushions, blankets.
Are they soft or rough?
Are they natural or synthetic?
Do they weigh or are they light?
There is no correct answer. There is a correct question: What does the body need to touch this?
"The texture of materials in interior design is not aesthetic: it is a sensory interface between the body and the environment."
— Verònica Martín
THE FLOOR BARE FEET
We return to bare feet.
Many neurodivergent individuals need to take off their shoes at home. It is not a quirk. It is proprioceptive regulation: our body needs to feel direct contact with the ground to know where it is in space.
And this is where design matters a lot.
If you are hypersensitive to touch, you may need well-polished, warm wood that does not heat the body. That does not have too pronounced grains. That is consistent, predictable.
If you are hyposensitive, perhaps you just need the opposite: a less polished wood, with notable texture. Or even cold tile, that gives you intense tactile information, helping you connect with the ground.
The problem is not the wood or the tile. The problem is assuming that all bodies need the same.
And designing from that assumption.
"The flooring is not just a functional surface: it is the most constant and prolonged contact between the body and the inhabited space."
— Sensory design in architecture, Malnar & Vodvarka
THE CORNERS THAT HURT
There is one more thing that is almost never mentioned: the corners.
For many people with proprioceptive difficulties (knowing where your body is in space), corners are a constant danger. Bumps, scratches, unexplained bruises.
It’s not clumsiness. It’s a different proprioceptive processing (tell my little toe...).
And design can help: furniture with rounded corners, protectors, layouts that leave more free space, fewer unexpected obstacles.
Because a space designed from the understanding neurodivergent is not only beautiful. It is safe. It is livable. It is supportive.
"Spatial safety is not only structural; it is also sensory and proprioceptive."
— Verònica Martín
DESIGNING FROM LISTENING
This is what is almost never taught in design schools and that, personally, when I teach, I emphasize greatly to my Master's and Postgraduate students: that before choosing anything, you must listen to the person who will inhabit the space.
It’s not enough to ask "What colors do you like?".
It’s worth asking:
- How do you process light?
- Do you need contact with the ground?
- Do wide spaces regulate you or overwhelm you?
- What textures activate you and which ones calm you?
- Can you orient yourself well in space or do you need constant visual references?
Because interior design neurodivergent is not just decoration.
It is designing from a deep understanding of how each body inhabits the world.
And that changes everything.
A few weeks ago, I decided that what I teach in my classes should reach all those professionals and design students who haven’t had it in theirs, and I opened the doors to an online training in interior design specialized for neurodivergent individuals with a holistic perspective, from within, with respect and empathy for our community.
"A well-designed space goes unnoticed. It simply allows you to exist without fighting against it."
— Verònica Martín
To start wrapping up...
Your home can be your refuge. Or it can be a daily battlefield.
The difference is not in the budget. It’s in the understanding.
In understanding that space is not neutral. It regulates or deregulates. It embraces or strikes.
And designing well means designing from the body that will inhabit it.
If you work in design, interior design, or architecture, or simply identify as neurodivergent and are a family member and want to learn how to design spaces that support the nervous system of neurodivergent individuals, I have created a specific three-month training that delves into all of this, alongside various renowned experts in their fields: hypo/hyper sensitivity, materials, colors, layouts, proprioception, sensory regulation, lighting, ND in combination with environmental disability... all from a neuroaffirmative understanding.
Because the world needs spaces that do not cause harm.
If it resonates with you, visit https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/916705/sites/178028164523493143/Nj4Kih
Verònica Martín
Director of ATIPICOS.org and A-Tipic Biointeriors