Finding Aesthetic Pleasure in Everyday Routines
An appreciation of aesthetics can enrich our everyday routines.
Posted April 28, 2026 | Reviewed by Margaret Foley
Aesthetic experiences can arise from the appreciation of human artifacts, such as artworks (e.g., music, poetry, sculpture, visual arts, nature, and the built environment). In the presence of beautiful things, we feel a broad range of emotions, such as fascination, awe , wonder, and admiration. The quality of life is affected by the quality of the aesthetic experience we gain in our daily life (Cahn, 2020).
Our daily routines (cleaning, living, social interactions, going to work, doing errands, or just sitting quietly) are not normally appreciated because they lack the novelty of the special events. But they are immensely important for our happiness . Through repeated practice, we can cultivate an aesthetic sensibility regarding everyday objects and activities. Artful living means taking a genuine interest in all details of daily life.
Here are various concepts to explore to enrich our aesthetic appreciation of our everyday routines (Saito, 2017).
1. Beauty for beauty’s sake
Aesthetic pleasures are typically pursued and enjoyed for their own sake. The focus is on the pleasure that arises from the act of doing something rather than achieving some ultimate personal goal. The beauty of a tree is independent of the fruits one enjoys. We often go to botanical gardens or to music performances with the expectation of experiencing emotional uplift. One can play music for the sheer love of it, disregarding any external purposes.
2. Appreciation of aesthetic taste
Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. When we have aesthetic disagreements, we have disagreements about aesthetic judgments. For example, I may like Miles Davis, and you may like Britney Spears. Aesthetic taste is rooted in a broader cultural context. Our cultural and personal history, and the time and place in which we live, all inform how we perceive and respond to something. We need to break out of our habitual way of experiencing all-too-familiar objects, environments, and events that prevents us from gaining aesthetic appreciation of them.
3. Beauty in simplicity
There is a beauty in simplicity because people prefer things that are easy to think about. For example, when a complex idea is presented in an accessible way, it creates a particularly strong experience of aesthetic pleasure. Familiar stimuli are processed faster than complex/novel stimuli. For example, the more that listeners hear a piece of music, the more they like it. In general, we tend to prefer stimuli that are neither too easy nor too difficult.
Beauty is generated by a situation. Our ordinary experience is seldom obtained through a single sensory source. For instance, the experience of eating is always contextual. That is, taste is inseparable from smell and texture. The rich aroma of Starbucks coffee would likely clash with the delicate, fresh scent of sushi, resulting in a mismatched sensory experience. Flowers in a room add to its expressiveness when they harmonize with its furniture.
5. The paradox of negative art
Arts are therapeutic because they are cathartic. Art provides a safe space to experience negative emotions. It is safe because we know it is art, not reality. This explains why we enjoy listening to sad music or watching horror movies. Music helps to channel one’s frustration or purge (catharsis) negative emotions like anger and sadness. When we listen to sad music or watch a sad film, we are disconnected from any real threat or danger that the music or movie represents.
6. The importance of beautiful manners
It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. The aesthetic of mannerism shifts attention away from what is said to how it is said. This means paying attention to the tone of voice, facial expressions, and bodily movement, as well as the content. These outward appearances communicate basic moral attitudes: consideration, respect, and tolerance.
7. Beauty in impermanence
Whether we are rich or poor, powerful or powerless, time works democratically on all of us, including our possessions. Nothing lasts forever. In fact, beauty is heightened by the very fact that it cannot last. Cherry blossoms, mist, rain, snow, autumn leaves, and other fleeting materials or phenomena especially signify aging and transience.
8. Aesthetic sensibility
Finally, openness to experience is shown to be the best predictor of appreciating artworks and participation in aesthetic activities. Individuals with this trait tend to be more intellectually curious, which drives a greater taste for aesthetic experiences. For example, studying arts, music, or sciences functions as a means for opening new outlooks and understanding the world in a fresh and different way. One strategy for cultivating aesthetic sensibility is to sharpen one’s awareness of what otherwise escapes our attention due to our habitual experience of our daily routines.
Cahn SM, Ross S, Shapshay S ( eds. ). (2020). Aesthetics: A Comprehensive Anthology , Second Edition. Wiley Blackwell.
Saito, Yuriko. (2017). Aesthetics of the Familiar: Everyday Life and World-Making. NY: Oxford University Press.
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Shahram Heshmat, Ph.D., is an associate professor emeritus of health economics of addiction at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.