There is a certain magic to a home that lifts our mood and behaviour; that feels as good as it looks. Rosalind Sack talks to Franky Rousell, Founder of interior design studio Jolie, about the power of multi-sensory design to create homes with true impact
TACTILE LAYERS AND ZONAL WARMTH CONTRAST TO THE INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE OF THE BUILDING IN THIS APARTMENT IN MANCHESTER DESIGNED BY JOLIE. IMAGE: BILLY BOLTON
There are homes that look impeccable in photographs and those that gently and inexplicably mould our mood and behaviour. Homes that impress and homes that soothe. The most harmonious are those that are as good to look at as they are to experience.
The only way to create truly memorable spaces that have profound emotional impact is to consider its effect on each of our senses, believes Franky Rousell, founder of international design practice Jolie. This multi-sensory approach to interior design has been at the heart of her work, across residential, hospitality and commercial interiors, for almost a decade.
Acutely aware of the emotional power of space, Franky is motivated as much by tactility, acoustics, scent, even the perception of taste, as she is by visuals.
“When I started Jolie at 25, I wanted to make more sense of the choices that we make as interior designers and really get under the skin of it. I wanted to empower us by reinforcing that our choices truly have a profound impact,” says Franky.
So she followed her intuition and reached out to a number of neuroscientists in the fields of the senses. These experts regularly update her with their research so that Jolie’s work is underpinned by the latest scientific evidence. They include Professor Francis McGlone – a neuroscientist at Liverpool John Moores University specialising in touch and tactility and the impact of different textiles on your mood and behaviour.
Franky is also in regular contact with an eminent psychoacoustician studying sound, and an olfactory neuroscientist researching how scent influences memory, mood and behaviour. She also works with Professor Charles Spence at Oxford University, who studies the science of how our senses combine to create our perception of food and drink.
“A lot of the research that I am fed is purely scientific. Jolie’s task is to translate that data into material and spatial decisions,” she explains.
(LEFT) SHOWCASING A MULTI-SENSORY APPROACH TO DESIGN AT THE JOLIE STUDIO IN MANCHESTER; (RIGHT) FRANKY ROUSELL, FOUNDER OF JOLIE. IMAGES: BILLY BOLTON
Pivotal experiences
Franky’s finely-tuned sensory awareness is more than purely professional. “Since childhood I have experienced spaces that have had a really positive, profound impact on me. Spaces you can really feel, that almost envelop you as soon as you walk into them. On the contrary, I’ve experienced spaces that feel like there is something amiss.”
Born with a genetic hearing loss, her early experiences were pivotal; undergoing multiple surgeries throughout childhood to restore her hearing. “I have memories of waking up from certain operations feeling like everything was so loud. It was like a window had been opened and I could suddenly hear all the street noise from outside. Then times when the surgeries would reject, my hearing would start to go again and I would feel a sense of panic,” she recalls.
Franky now has full hearing following her last surgery at the age of 18, yet she has had to make adaptations and adjustments throughout her life. “The removal of one of my senses has definitely been a driver for trying to engage people in their senses a lot more.”
Another formative moment came while watching her mother’s long recovery from a devastating stroke. “Watching her emerging back into society and into regular spaces – be it shopping centres or hotel lobbies – and seeing where she was able to relax and where she struggled really got me thinking,” says Franky, who was training as an architect at the time. The experience sharpened her awareness of how profoundly environments can support – or, indeed, hinder – recovery, comfort and confidence.
Starting a project with sensory-zoning
One of Jolie’s core methodologies is what Franky calls “sensory zoning,” where each area of a home is considered not just for function, but – more importantly – for the emotional state it should support.
“I always encourage people at the beginning of a design project to identify the emotions they want to feel in each of their spaces. This allows people to distil precisely what they need for themselves or their family at that particular point in their lives,” says Franky.
“Then you can start making design decisions while staying really disciplined and focused on those emotions and not getting led down the garden path by something that might be trending that week.”
MULTIPLE CONSIDERED MATERIALS AND TEXTURES COMBINE TO CREATE MULTI-SENSORY DEPTH IN THESE LIVING SPACES DESIGNED BY JOLIE. IMAGES: BILLY BOLTON (LEFT) AND JASPER FRY (RIGHT)
The impact of colour and scent in design
From a visual perspective, Franky is especially fascinated by colour psychology and the transformative power of colour on mood and behaviour. “My childhood home in the Cotswolds was quite eclectic with lots of bright colours. Maybe that’s another reason why I’m fascinated by drilling down into the science behind colour and its impact, rather than just throwing things on the walls because that’s what’s cool at the time.”
Franky’s heightened sense of smell, which she attributes to her early hearing loss, has also shaped her work. “I’ve always taken comfort in having fragrance around and on me at all times,” she says. “I love to wear scent and I like to bring a different scent home with me from my travels. I have a cupboard at home full of scented things – oil burners, candles, reed diffusers – and I scent each room differently, which helps to create a different narrative in each space.”
Scent plays a silent but potent role in shaping how we experience home and Franky approaches it with the same care as a soundtrack. “I think of scent like a composition of music,” she says. To avoid a clash if scenting different spaces, her advice is to identify the base notes you naturally gravitate towards – “I like quite woody base notes” – and then adjust the top notes depending on the room.
Intensity matters as much as aroma, she warns. “In the bedroom I wouldn’t have anything stronger than a reed diffuser. You don’t want it to be too overwhelming and give you a headache.”
(LEFT) LAYERS OF TEXTILES IN VELVET AND WOOL, CRISP COTTON AND QUILTING CREATE A SENSORY EXPERIENCE IN THIS BEDROOM AT GREENWICH PENINSULA. IMAGE: BILLY BOLTON; (RIGHT) MIXED TEXTURES AND EARTHY COLOURS COMBINE TO CREATE A TRULY MULTI-SENSORY BATHROOM AT THE RESERVE, DESIGNED BY JOLIE. IMAGE: JASPER FRY
The power of sound and tactility in a home
Sound is often treated as background noise, but Franky sees it as integral to a home’s emotional register. Music, in particular, can subtly guide mood and behaviour. “I love music and have a vinyl player right next to my dining table at home. So most mealtimes I will put on a playlist to try and match the mood,” she says.
When working, she gravitates towards instrumental music. “There are a lot of studies that show it’s great for inspiration and it aids concentration.”
The power of touch can also be overlooked in interiors, but Franky believes it is a vital component to consider. “Your hands and your fingertips are purely informational,” she explains. Emotional response comes elsewhere. “Anywhere where you find more hair on your body… is where you start to introduce emotional touch.”
“The face is a uniquely significant area for emotional touch due to its dense concentration of nerve endings,” says Franky. These connect directly to the brain’s emotional core.
This informs everything from furniture selection to flooring. “If you have something wrapping around your shoulders – a blanket or a wing back chair, for example – it’s really important to use a textile that’s going to envelope rather than irritate. That could be a soft leather, or a Boucle, or a warm cotton which can encourage and influence positive feelings.
“Colder, harder textures get people moving through a space quicker, making them appropriate for transitional areas. Warmer materials such as timber, by contrast, are more grounding as they connect us with nature,” she says. The conclusion is simple but profound: “The tactility that’s around you at all times is directly influencing how you feel in a space.”
TEXTURAL MATERIALS, BIOPHILIC ELEMENTS AND SCENT CREATE MEMORABLE SPACES IN THIS OPEN PLAN APARTMENT (LEFT) AND DINING AREA (RIGHT) DESIGNED BY JOLIE. IMAGES: BILLY BOLTON
How taste plays a role in sensory design
When considering taste in sensory-led interior design, it is almost the reverse psychology; “You can amplify flavours and menu choices through the sensory cues that are going on around you,” explains Franky.
It’s also about understanding how to work with the dishes you’re serving if you’re hosting friends. Clearly, you’re not going to repaint the walls to tie in with a particular menu, but you can certainly change up the soundtrack and consider what you’re serving your food on. “There are really interesting studies around how taste can be altered based on the size, colour and shape of your plate and even cutlery; heavier cutlery makes flavours taste richer.”
“Most of what we perceive as flavour comes from smell, which is one of the reasons why you find a lot of open kitchens in restaurants, because they know that being able to smell the food whilst you’re eating it will really add something to the taste perception,” says Franky.
Indeed, there’s a reason why certain scents that create perceptions of taste are considered to be comforting or inviting at home, like the smell of freshly brewed coffee or baking bread.
Designing with intention
In its early years, Jolie was often misunderstood. Sensory-led interior design, Franky found, was frequently misread as something “quite hippie and holistic and a bit wishy washy.” Her response is firm. “Actually, it’s the polar opposite. It’s not just somebody who’s put their finger in the air and come up with a vague idea; it’s science-backed.
“A lot of what we do is based on principals that have existed for hundreds of years,” she says. “We’re just understanding it more, knowing the scientific evidence around it and designing with intention.”
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