Why Design a Sacred Space?
In this world of infinite social media feeds, to-do lists, bills, and adult responsibilities, we all need a space where the only thing that demands our attention is our intention. However, in the delicate balancing act of work, family, and mental health, the lines can blur, and our personal spaces can begin to feel as cluttered as our minds.
In the chaos of modern life, sacred spaces grant permission to disconnect from external pressures and reconnect with your inner landscape. These spaces become sanctuaries of stillness, designed to let you step away from productivity and into presence. They nurture the soul, restore clarity, and cultivate well-being.
Entering this space signals a shift – away from doing and toward being. Whether it’s for a morning meditation, a moment of quiet reflection with a cup of tea, or five minutes of intentional breathing, designing a place for these rituals elevates them, making peace and renewal not just possible, but an accessible part of your daily life.
Define What “Sacred” Means to You
“The first step in designing a sacred space is to define what ‘sacred’ feels like in your own life,” explains luxury interior designer Anita Lang. Bear in mind, sacred doesn’t have to mean religious or spiritual – it can be deeply personal, rooted in whatever feeds your soul, restores balance, and gives your days a sense of fullness, contentment, and gratitude.
For some, sacred might entail silence and solitude. For others, it may involve ritual, beauty, and creativity. Of course, this can simply be a space where you can take a breather from the daily grind and reconnect with what matters most. To help guide this journey of self-discovery, take a quiet moment to reflect on the following:
- What activities or states of being make you feel most alive and connected to yourself?
- What core values or beliefs give your life a sense of meaning and purpose?
- When you feel overwhelmed, what sensory experiences bring you back to a state of calm (e.g., the scent of rain, the warmth of the sun, the texture of smooth stone)?
- What simple pleasures or memories fill you with a deep sense of gratitude?
- What feeling do you most want to cultivate in this space: Peace, creativity, inspiration, or security?
Your answers to these questions are the foundation of your design. They become your personal blueprint, guiding decisions from the color palette to the choice of materials and objects. If connection is your core value, perhaps the space is anchored on a pair of sculptural lounge chairs. If creativity is what makes you feel alive, you may need a beautiful, warm walnut desk and a view that inspires. If calm is your goal, the design might focus on minimalist forms and textures, such as smooth river stone or brushed oak.
When you begin with clarity about what sacredness means to you, you can design a space that resonates not only with your style but also with your soul.
Choose Your Location Wisely
“The next step is to survey the landscape of your home, walking through it with fresh eyes and observing each potential area for what it could become,” says Anita . Consider the inherent qualities of the space: How does natural light fall in the morning versus the afternoon? Is the ambient sound one of gentle quiet or the hum of household activity? The ideal location is one that already resonates with the purpose you wish to cultivate – whether that’s serenity, introspection, or inspiration.
A corner dedicated to quiet meditation will thrive in a low-traffic area, while a nook for creative journaling might be best served by an inspiring view and bright, energizing light. Remember, a sacred space doesn’t require a lot of it. Instead, it must be aligned with the sacredness you are pursuing. As bestselling author and podcast host Jen Hatmaker, whose work explores the intersection of authenticity, spiritual reflection, and everyday renewal, so eloquently puts it: “Creating a sacred space in your home isn’t about square footage—it’s about soul footage.1”
Clear Clutter and Set Intention
“Our homes and personal spaces are often direct reflections of our internal state. A stack of unopened mail on the counter, a tangle of charging cords snaking across the floor, or a chair piled with clothes can create a subtle but persistent hum of visual static, mirroring the clutter in our minds and spirits,” explains Anita. Before a space can nurture clarity, it must embody it. By removing everything that does not serve the space’s higher purpose, you are creating the conditions where stillness, presence, and renewal can take root.
Beyond material clutter, you may also want to clear the energetic residues that linger in a space – stressful conversations, rushed mornings, or the heaviness of long days. Whether it’s smudging with sage, ringing a bell to reset the energy, or opening a window to invite fresh air and light, these small acts signal a shift. They mark the space as sacred – not just in form, but in feeling.
Curate Objects That Reflect Your Soul
After decluttering and cleansing what doesn’t serve, the focus shifts to what you allow to remain or choose to invite in. In a sacred space, each object, surface, and detail should earn its place by reflecting your intention for the space. A hand-poured candle can signal stillness; a beloved photograph can honor gratitude; a small cantilevered table by the window can hold the light of morning ritual. It doesn’t matter if your sacred space is an entire room or the corner of a sunlit garden – what matters is that it’s curated with intention.
In this way, your environment becomes a visual mantra, reminding you of the inner state you seek to cultivate. Ultimately, curating items that reflect your soul goes beyond mere decoration. It symbolizes devotion – to the life you’re creating, the rituals you’re honoring, and the soul you’re intentionally choosing to nourish.
Integrate Tranquil Design & Spiritual Architecture
Think of your home not just as a collection of rooms, but as a canvas of possibilities. A hallway alcove, a stair landing, the quiet corner of a spare bedroom, or even a sunlit spot near the kitchen window – each holds the potential to become a sacred space when viewed through the right design lens. Start with areas that are often overlooked and ask: How might light, proportion, and texture turn this into a space of stillness, reflection, and renewal?
According to Anita, there are a few ways tranquil design and spiritual architecture can transform spaces within your home:
- A reading nook can become a decompression alcove with soft textiles, layered lighting, and grounding natural materials like brushed oak or handwoven wool
- A spare room can double as a yoga or journaling studio when pared back to essentials, with intentional echoes of calm in muted tones and balanced proportions.
- A transitional hallway can evolve into a passage of pause, with ambient lighting, curated objects, and architectural rhythm that invites reflection.
- A stair landing can transform into a moment of stillness, with a low bench, a textured wall finish, and a niche for a meaningful artifact or piece of art.
Even the smallest gesture, such as a sculptural chair beneath a window or a recessed shelf holding a single candle, can shift a mundane corner into an architectural pause for the soul. With the thoughtful combination of lighting, colors, textures, and composition, you can re-imagine spaces to invite reflection, presence, and a deeper way of inhabiting the home.
Ritualize Your Space
Perhaps the most overlooked principle of spiritual architecture is that the space is rarely completed when the last piece of furniture is placed. As designers, we can craft the ideal vessel – a beautiful, tranquil, and thoughtfully composed environment. But the true alchemy that transforms a room into a sacred space lies not in its composition, but in its continued use. The sanctity of these environments isn’t built; it’s earned through your presence and your practice.
This is where ritual becomes the final, most essential design element. The repeated act of returning to your sanctuary – to light a candle, to practice your craft, to sip your afternoon tea in silence – is what truly consecrates it. With each visit, you infuse the environment with your intention 2. The chair begins to hold the memory of your quiet moments; the light from the window becomes a familiar signal to pause.
Over time, your sacred spaces will evolve with you, becoming less of a “designed” room and more of a cherished companion on your journey of personal growth and continually defining and rediscovering what you hold sacred and dear.
Unique IMI Perspective: Architecture as Sanctuary
While a sacred space can be intentionally carved from any corner of a home, a truly profound sense of sanctuary is achieved when its principles are woven into the very architecture of the building.
“This is the heart of our philosophy. We believe interior design is not merely the backdrop for living, but the primary language through which a home supports, nurtures, and elevates the human spirit. We attune to the structure itself and its relationship with its natural environment,” says Anita.
This approach involves considering the path of natural light throughout the day, designing windows and clerestories as tools that cast sunlight and shadows on the walls. It translates into shaping space with volume and scale, creating cozy nooks with lower ceilings that feel like a protective embrace, and expansive rooms with soaring lines that evoke awe and inspiration.
Intentional thresholds are important – a subtle change in flooring material from cool stone to warm wood, or a compressed entryway opening into a light-filled space – to create a noticeable, energetic transition from the outside world to your inner sanctuary.
When architecture itself embodies a sanctuary, tranquility is no longer confined to a single room; it becomes the ambient state of your entire home.
Gallery of IMI Sacred Spaces
Below are two projects we designed with the intention of becoming a true sanctuary for its inhabitants, each with its own definition of what a sacred space is for them.
An Architectural Partner in Well-being
For a client navigating the challenges of declining health, we were tasked with creating a home that was not just a shelter, but an active partner in her well-being. Inspired by the serene resilience of the Sonoran Desert, the biophilic design wraps the inhabitant in a palette of sunbaked earth, warm woods, and soft sand, fostering a deep sense of peace.
But the true sanctuary here is where soulful aesthetics meet graceful function. Architectural elements like layered lighting for the aging eye, zero-threshold showers, and wide, open pathways are seamlessly integrated. These design expressions of care help ensure each interaction with the home is one of dignity, comfort, and ease – a space where she can thrive.
The Nurturing Home: A Foundation for Connection
The challenge for this Hollywood family was to create a home that was both a nurturing sanctuary for raising children and a sophisticated reflection of their multicultural aesthetics. The design solution we came up with was thoughtfully blending shared and personal spaces. To facilitate this, we used a warm background of paldao wood and woven textures to create a cohesive flow, while architecturally strong elements, like the dramatic laser-cut metal staircase, set a tone of functional artistry.
We designed communal spaces for connection, reimagining the formal living room as a library and game room for forging bonds. Personal sanctuaries, like the serene master retreat and a third-story writer’s den, provide necessary spaces for quiet contemplation. The result is a dynamic home that proves a family sanctuary can be deeply comforting, engaging, and artistically expressive.
FAQs
- How much space is needed to create a sacred space in my home?
A sacred space is defined by intention, not by square footage. It could be a single comfortable chair in a quiet corner, a small section of a bookshelf dedicated to meaningful objects, a window seat that catches the morning sun, or even a simple cushion on the floor. The key is to designate a specific spot, no matter how small, that is solely dedicated to your moments of peace, reflection, or renewal, and to treat it with reverence.
- What kind of materials and lighting support a tranquil, spiritual atmosphere?
We like to focus on natural materials and soft, layered lighting. Materials like wood, stone, linen, wool, and clay have an organic, grounding quality that connects us to the earth and feels authentic to the touch. For lighting, we lean towards maximizing natural daylight to connect the space to the rhythms of nature.
If this isn’t feasible, opt for warm, dimmable sources such as a floor lamp with a fabric shade, a small table lamp that casts a gentle glow, or even candlelight.