Fort Lauderdale designer Lily Riefkohl is on a nationwide mission to create environments that actually support your nervous system.
It Starts With the Space
Have you ever walked into a room and immediately felt unsettled? Perhaps it was the bright white lights overhead. The constant hum of the HVAC. The depressing gray or stark white paint colors covering every wall. You could not explain it, but something about the space made you want to leave.
Now imagine feeling that way in your own home. Your child’s school. Your workplace.
Most of us brush off these reactions. We assume we are tired, stressed, or just having an off day. But here is the truth: our nervous systems are constantly processing our environments. When a space is chaotic, our bodies respond with stress. When a space is calm and intentional, we can actually relax, focus, and be present.
This is not opinion. This is human biology.
Anxiety affects over 40 million adults in the United States. Stress related conditions are at an all time high. We spend more hours than ever indoors, yet most of those spaces were designed without a single thought about how they would make us feel.
For individuals who are neurodivergent, meaning their brains process information differently due to conditions like ADHD, autism, PTSD, or anxiety, these environmental stressors are amplified significantly. A flickering light that mildly annoys one person can completely overwhelm another. A cluttered room that seems “a bit messy” to some can trigger a full stress response in others.
But here is what designer Lily Riefkohl wants everyone to understand: you do not need a diagnosis to benefit from spaces designed to support the nervous system. We all have one. And thoughtful design can help every single person feel calmer, more focused, and more at ease.
The Moment Everything Changed
Riefkohl remembers the exact moment her career took a new direction.
With a Bachelor’s in Environmental Design and dual Master’s degrees in Architecture and Interior Design, she had spent years in high end residential work. Beautiful spaces. Happy clients. But she wanted deeper meaning in her work.
Then she walked into her first ABA therapy clinic.
“I have ADHD,” Riefkohl shares. “The second I stepped into that space, my nervous system reacted immediately. It was dark in some areas, blindingly bright in others. Primary colors screamed from every surface. Clutter filled every corner. I thought, if I feel overwhelmed here as an adult, what are these children experiencing?”
That question changed everything.
The more clinics she visited, the more she saw the same pattern. Walls plastered in red, yellow, and blue. Fluorescent lights overhead. Toys and materials crammed into every available space. Well intentioned? Absolutely. But unknowingly overstimulating the very children these spaces were meant to help.
“Most products marketed for children come in primary colors,” Riefkohl explains. “Therapy clinics purchase those products and suddenly the whole environment resembles a fast food playground. No one asks whether those colors actually support the children using the space.”
Why Primary Colors Are the Problem No One Talks About
Here is a fact that might change how you see every pediatric space: primary colors are stimulating. That is precisely why fast food restaurants use red and yellow. They want you energized, eating quickly, and moving along.
Now imagine surrounding a child with sensory sensitivities in those same colors for hours of therapy.
“We have been told that children love bright colors,” Riefkohl notes. “And certainly, a pop of color here and there is wonderful. But when every wall, toy, chair, and carpet is competing for attention in red, blue, and yellow, we create sensory chaos. The children are not thriving. They are surviving.”
The solution is not complicated. Muted tones. Natural materials. Intentional accents of color instead of visual overload. Spaces that feel like a deep breath instead of a fire alarm.
Simple changes. Profound impact.
Design That Supports the Nervous System
Sensory Interiors, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and serving Nationwide, takes a fundamentally different approach. Riefkohl and her team design spaces that actively support the nervous system through every choice: lighting, color, texture, sound, and layout.
In practice, this means replacing harsh overhead lights with adjustable, warm options. Chaotic color schemes give way to calming, nature inspired palettes. Open spaces that feel overwhelming transform into defined zones where people can regulate their emotions. Acoustic solutions absorb the noise that sends sensitive systems into overload.
“We are not simply decorating, nor designing following trends,” says Riefkohl. “We create environments that help people feel safe, focused, and grounded. The remarkable part is that this benefits everyone, not only those with a diagnosis.”
Consider this: who would not benefit from a home that feels calm instead of chaotic? A workspace that supports focus? A school where children can actually learn because their environment is not constantly competing for their attention?
From Therapy Clinics to Family Homes
To date, Riefkohl has designed over 35 ABA therapy clinics across the United States even when based in Fort Lauderdale. She collaborates closely with clinical directors, Board Certified Behavior Analysts, therapists, and caregivers to create spaces that enhance therapeutic outcomes.
The results have been significant. Clinicians report that children are more focused, more engaged, and experience fewer meltdowns. When the environment supports the nervous system, real progress becomes possible.
But Riefkohl’s vision extends far beyond clinical settings.
“The work I did with autistic individuals is what inspired Sensory Interiors,” she says. “Seeing how thoughtful design could genuinely improve their lives was extraordinary. But over time, I realized these principles could help so many more people. Families managing ADHD. Veterans navigating PTSD. Anyone struggling with anxiety. Even people who have dreamed of their home feeling like an oasis but despite achieving that white, magazine worthy aesthetic, something still felt off. This is not a replacement for treatment. This is not medication. This is something different entirely: designing environments that respect and support human sensory needs.”
Now, Sensory Interiors is expanding to serve families nationwide who want to bring sensory informed design into their own homes. Because feeling at ease should not require leaving your front door.
A Movement Toward Intentional Spaces
The conversation is shifting. More families are asking how their homes can support their children. More businesses are recognizing that employee wellbeing starts with the physical environment. More people are realizing that design is not merely about how things look. It is about how they make us feel.
Riefkohl sees sensory informed design as something that should be standard, not specialized.
“Everyone deserves a space that supports them,” she says. “I know what it feels like to walk into a room and have my whole system go on alert. I also know the relief of being somewhere that just works for my brain. That feeling should be accessible to everyone.”
From Fort Lauderdale to families across the country, Sensory Interiors is demonstrating that thoughtful design can change lives. One room at a time.
Join the Movement for Sensory-Informed Design
To learn more about Sensory Interiors or to explore how you can incorporate sensory-informed design into your own space, visit Sensory Interiors’ website or follow them on social media:
