Stillness
Stillness & Aesthetics
Calm Workspace Design
How Tanya Crocker Nagle transforms loss, beauty, and stillness into spaces that breathe.
Step into one of Tanya Crocker Nagle’s spaces and the first thing you notice isn’t a color or a chair or a perfectly styled shelf. It’s the air. It feels slower here, somehow — like the walls are listening, the light knows exactly where to land, and time has softened at the edges. Tanya doesn’t just design rooms; she choreographs stillness. She believes aesthetics and quiet leadership share the same root: the ability to hold space so others can be fully present.
“Intentional design creates an impact that makes you pause. That pause is a portal, it brings you into being completely present in the splendor of the moment. ”
Seeing Spaces for What They Could Be
“I have always instantly seen spaces not as they are but as they could be, ” Tanya says.
“Being able to transform a space, home, room, or entire property that has been overlooked into one that is inherently inspiring and causes those wild moments brings me such joy. Intentional design creates an impact that makes you pose — that pause is a portal which brings you into being completely present in the splendor of the moment. It’s that instant where you can revel in being lost in the magic. “This life journey is about those small moments strung together like pearls. It isn’t about the finish lines. ”
Calm Beyond Color Palettes
Most designers, Tanya notes, would start with color when trying to create calm. “They’d insist that soft greens, muted tones, and blues would help establish calm in your surroundings. They can. But they are not the end game. True calm comes from aligning a space to the person — which means building in references to past memories or future goals in visual form, color, and texture. How Tanya Crocker Nagle transforms loss, beauty, and stillness into spaces that breathe. “On a subconscious level, your mind connects to those good-feeling memories and places in your soul. Our minds are constantly running a script of dialogue to our inner selves. We have the power to harness that message in a way that feeds our mind good thoughts when we incorporate those references into built space.
From Trends to Timeless Frequencies
Over time, Tanya’s work has evolved into something richer, deeper. “Each renovation has taught me about the importance of intention. This is why design needs to be so person specific, because only when we create from the place of an intentional mission and hold ourselves to that bar do we truly design in its essence.
“I have always designed leaning into the magic of the details, but with time has come the awareness that this is indeed the key. Our English language has so many grammar rules, but then it breaks them — it keeps things interesting. To really know a person or truly feel a place, it’s the awareness of those outlier moments that allow you to fully get in and breathe it in.
“I have turned more and more away from trends as I have practiced, focusing instead on distilling what a client desires into the best representation of who they are. It’s become more about quieting the noise of the outside world and designing for a specific frequency for that person. It’s energy in built form — and when it becomes transformational, that’s when your spaces become tools to ground you and amplify your best version of self.
“I have also shifted into an expanded awareness of place in the design of vacation rental legacies for my clients. We incorporate not just who they are but the details and beauty of where we are in the world. This creates connection on a multi-dimensional level as you experience a true sense of place and come to know yourself more deeply in the process. ”
Empathy, Connection, and the Architecture of Presence.
“Empathy is a result of connection. You must also be present to be fully connected, fully in the moment. Good design has an obligation to facilitate that connection on different scales.
“There are nooks with high-backed chairs for one-to-one chats. Large sectionals and open spaces for gathering with the family, where you can see everyone in the room. And there are hideaways for curling up with a book or sipping coffee in peace. Connection must happen on all these levels for empathy and grace to thrive.”
Calm Beyond Color Palettes
Most designers, Tanya notes, would start with color when trying to create calm. “They’d insist that soft greens, muted tones, and blues would help establish calm in your surroundings. They can. But they are not the end game. True calm comes from aligning a space to the person — which means building in references to past memories or future goals in visual form, color, and texture. How Tanya Crocker Nagle transforms loss, beauty, and stillness into spaces that breathe. “On a subconscious level, your mind connects to those good-feeling memories and places in your soul. Our minds are constantly running a script of dialogue to our inner selves. We have the power to harness that message in a way that feeds our mind good thoughts when we incorporate those references into built space.
“Your rooms, homes, vacation places — they can all be yourcheering section and best friend, like a message of positivity running in the background. Spaces full of clutter or tension communicate messages that are unhelpful. Look around: How does your environment make you feel? This isn’t merely tied to color — it’s all the cues in our surroundings that can be linked to good memories and future dreams. Cultivate what works for you. When your spaces are aligned to your innermost self, that’s true calm.”
Loss, Resilience, and the Urgency to Live Now
Her philosophy isn’t just shaped by design; it’s shaped by life.
“In 2003, I pulled into the driveway after along workday and found a strange car waiting. My dad’s wife and her son emerged, sharing the message that my dad had passed in his sleep. wanted the moment to rewind and not happen. My dad followed the
rules — he worked 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, his whole life to someday enjoy the dream of retirement. But then he passed suddenly, without getting that chance.
“This taught me more than anything that I needed to question the middle-class mentality of having to choose between working hard and enjoying life. Being faced with mortality in such a jarring way made me ask new questions: How can we achieve both enjoyment and financial safety for the future?
“We aren’t promised tomorrow. If we ask better questions — ones that help us shape a new way of living — we will find a way to both be smart for the future and live the most amazing moments today. This is what prompted me, in 2013, to transfer my skills into creating amazing destination homes for U.S. clients,
families, and guests. It’s now the passion of my business — to create environments that become the stage for moments of connection. “Then in 2017, my mom was diagnosed with cancer and I became a caregiver for seven years. There was no path, no map, no flashlight for how to navigate that rough time. I saw how it was possible to be alive and yet not fully live. This loss intensified my desire to not just enjoy life now, but to amplify every moment and make it as magical as it can be.
“Amazingly, it really only takes a slight shift in awareness to revolutionize the outcome of your experience. Intention and aligned details are fun to hunt for, and they transform the end result. It’s not 1 + 1 equals 2 — it’s a logarithmic shift. Once you see it, you can’t go back. Every moment has the potential to be a 10 instead of a 1 with the slightest bit of effort — but you must choose it.
“Finally, I was blessed in late December of 2024 to survive a cerebral stroke. For me, it was like winning the lottery — most wouldn’t understand that perspective, but I’m here. I survived. It affected my balance, but I had no cognitive effects, and six months later I’m able to bound upstairs two at a time. The journey back to balancing my body gave me a gift: awareness of the profound power of slowing down.
“We live in a time of a pandemic of attention control — every ad, every video clip is trying to steal your time. When you slow down, you remember to focus on breathing. You see the abundance in the world — sunrises, blades of grass, buds on plants — that you’re given every day. You go deeper into your being.
And in that quiet, you can listen, connect with yourself. Authenticity comes from that place, and alignment
reigns supreme.”
The Grounding Power of Texture and Light
“Grounding comes from the messages space sends to our subconscious. For me, this is completely tied to texture and layering — the feel of a grain of wheat in a field, the puff of clouds in the sky, the texture on the back of a shell washed up on shore. We connect with these on a different level, and that connection recalls us to the earth. “Light also plays a major part in this grounding effect. We are constantly bathed in varying levels of light — ambient sunlight, shadows, the glow of a firefly. Layering light in design — general, task, and ambient decorative — is what makes it magical. You can light a poor space well and elevate it, or light an amazing structure poorly and diminish it. ”
Quiet Design in a Loud World
“No one actually comes to me looking for quiet design. They come looking to level up and feel better about their environment. The quietness is a natural byproduct of designing to align with them. “I reflect back to my clients via reconfiguration of spaces, flow through rooms, and finish selections — tile,
wood tones, flooring, colors, fixtures. I refine these clues down into a single message that aligns with who they are. The lesson for how to embrace quiet design is revealed when the space is complete and they walk in feeling totally at home — like they’ve just put on their favorite pair of blue jeans. “Quiet is about alignment. It embodies perfect harmony with your surroundings — like a drop of blue paint in a puddle of blue paint. Misalignment is the drop of yellow in a sea of red. You can feel either the exhale or the tension. Quiet is the relief from that tension.”
Her Daily Practice for Staying Centered
“Walking daily in nature is my personal ritual. I do so with the intent to allow in the natural abundance I see all around me — whether that’s a mound of daisies erupting, a field teeming with clover, seashells gathered on the beach, or thousands of leaves bursting forth on a tree in spring. It’s there — you just have to be open to it and be looking for it. “I bring my phone to capture pictures — that moment of stopping to snap a shot pulls me into being fully present. I’m focusing on nothing else but the majesty of free abundance. Sunrise walks are my favorite when I can make that happen because you never know what kind of show the sky will put on for you that day. That intention of focus tunes out the rest of the world, and your existence is all about the present moment. That’s where our power resides — in the now.”
A Philosophy in One Sentence
“Set your intentions, embrace the details that speak to you, and let the magic in! “The world will offer you options — off-the-shelf choices of this or that. Look past the labels others have assigned. Remind yourself: this is your kit of parts to combine in new ways that work for you. If something doesn’t already exist, create it. Forget the trends — the only real currency is the space aligned to you. “Your space is your quiet mirror — it’s reflecting back to you what you really feel you are worth, even if the words you consciously say to yourself are different. Your environment is the ultimate example of what you are willing to accept in your life. In order to claim what’s yours, start within and let it radiate out so it can uplift you every day.”