Imagine walking through your lush, landscaped garden or relaxing on a chaise in your newly designed outdoor lounge. Is your jaw clenched? Is your posture tight? Or is your body loose and your breath deep, not shallow? 

This is neuroaesthetics: the scientific study of how beautiful environments activate areas of your brain related to emotion and reward — and the foundation upon which DK Design, a full-service residential and commercial design and build firm for fine gardens and outdoor living spaces, has built its business.

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“Beauty and design affects our body physiologically,” says founder and principal Daniel Keeley, who uses the principles of neuroaesthetics to create spaces that enhance well-being and trigger emotions like awe and wonder. “We encourage clients to make their outdoor spaces unique and extraordinary.”

Long before he learned about the approach, Keeley, the son of an interior designer, inherently understood the connection between beauty and the brain. When he was in middle school, students in his class were given one sapling on Arbor Day. Keeley wanted more. 

“I took home a handful, planted them in my yard, and something about watching them grow inspired me to do it again and again,” he says. 

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Over the past two decades, Keeley and the team at DK Design have nimbly adapted to every project, including alfresco dining rooms, poolside pavilions, outdoor lounge areas and rooftop terraces. The firm’s work has been featured in Southern Living, Better Homes & Gardens and Southern Home, and on HGTV’s Fixer to Fabulous. 

The DK Design mark is the difference between a well-manicured yard and a destination — between a grouping of outdoor furniture and a favorite location for family dinners. 

“Beyond perfection, it’s personal,” Keeley says. “Our spaces shouldn’t just look good — they should create positive feelings.” 

DK Design’s track record of growing gorgeous spaces has garnered repeat clients and word-of-mouth referrals from all three outposts in Little Rock and Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Nashville. 

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“Trust is one of our core values,” Keeley says. “We soak up what the client has to say. I try to say as little as possible in those first meetings so we can get to the heart of what the client wants without steering them. Then, we take that information and bring it to life through design and nature’s parameters.”

Beyond porches, patios and calming water features, one of the most important and overlooked aspects of DK Design’s services is fine lighting. Most people spend 90% of their lives indoors and under artificial lighting, which can affect how you think, sleep and function. 

“Having the right outdoor lighting is like getting two projects for the price of one, because you can enjoy your space in the day and at night,” he says, noting that his firm favors the low-voltage LED accent lighting and moonlighting systems. 

“In terms of neuroaesthetics, the right lighting is critical,” Keeley explains. Not only can it change the way your space looks and feels, but it can potentially trigger physiological changes, like lowering your blood pressure and heart rate, he says. (And several studies back up his claim.) “It’s truly the intersection of beauty, biology and ecology,” he adds.

For more information visit DK Designs.