Choosing calming colors and comfortable furniture helps, but how do you truly design a space to soothe the soul? From neuroaesthetics and nature to a “blitzing” period, designer Lisa Staprans shares her secrets

It all started with a chair—a carved wooden chair with green floral upholstery perched inside a 13th century French chateau overlooking Lake Annecy and the Alps, to be exact. Over the course of an hours-long meal, a 17-year-old Lisa Staprans sat in that chair, enthralled by the beauty of her surroundings. Decades later, she can still recount the details with precision. “Something as simple as a chair placed in a way that complements the environment—its shape and view of the lake—was magical,” she says. “That was the first moment I realized the profound impact of an object on us, and it stayed within me.”

The California designer’s understanding of how our surroundings can affect us hit closer to home when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2004. The chemotherapy suite where she received treatment was sterile, adding stress to an already taxing experience. She found fresh energy to fight the disease after transferring to a new location—one with natural daylight, water elements, soothing colors and thoughtful design touches. “Beauty, quite literally, did save my life,” she says.