FAQ

Every person has senses that help him or her understand and respond to environmental stimuli. Each sense sends information to the brain to help us understand and perceive the world around us. Any person can struggle and have difficulties with their senses, receiving and responding to information. All our products are designed to cater to a variety of needs — suitable for all.

Sight / Visual
Sight is our visual perception. It is how our brains process, interpret and make sense of what we see. It’s how our eyes are able to focus and detect images.
We sell lots of products that are best suited to activate or calm this particular sense — check them out here.

Sound / Auditory
Sound is the ability to hear. We detect vibrations in the ear and our brains interpret this. It can have an impact on a number of things including interactions, concentration and balance.
We sell lots of products that are best suited to activate or calm this particular sense — check them out here.

Touch / Tactile
Pressure, temperature, light touch, vibration and other sensations are all part of the touch sense and are each attributed to different receptors in the skin.
We sell lots of products that are best suited to activate or calm this particular sense — check them out here.

Smell / Olfactory
Smell is closely linked to parts of the brain that process emotion and memory; odours can also alert people to potential hazards and affect taste. We sell lots of products that are best suited to activate or calm this particular sense — check them out here.

Taste / Gustatory
Food and drink molecules bind with our taste buds, sending signals to the brain which can help us process flavours: salty, bitter, umami, sweet and sour tasting food.
Unfortunately we don’t currently stock any products that appropriately address this sense, but our buying team is actively looking for products to help with the sense of taste.

Balance + Orientation / Vestibular
Located in the inner ear, the vestibular system assists with balance and spatial orientation by letting the body know where and how quickly the head is moving, which can impact motor skills, visual tracking and posture.
The vestibular system can tell your body things like when your head is upright or tilted (even if your eyes are closed). It’s responsible for tasks like balancing on one leg — depending on how we move our head, signals are sent to the brain, which then informs the body’s reaction and allows us to ideally stay upright and balanced. In a school setting, being able to look up and read something on a board and then back down to your work smoothly is also thanks to the vestibular system.
The vestibular sense can be activated through jumping, swinging and spinning (anything that has the head moving), while it can be calmed through slow rocking motions or stillness.
We sell lots of products that are best suited to activate or calm this particular sense — check them out here.

Body Awareness / Proprioception
The body's proprioceptive sense is controlled by receptors (in skin, muscles, and joints) that connect with the brain through the nervous system and ensures that, even without seeing, a person knows their body’s position.
Knowing the position of your body means that automatic adjustments can be made to suit situations; like sitting in a chair or stepping from pavement to grass easily. Being able to close your eyes and touch your nose with your index finger requires the proprioception system. It allows us to manipulate objects using fine motor movements, like writing with a pencil or eating food with cutlery.
The proprioceptive sense is stimulated with every movement — depending on the person, activities like pushing, pulling, squeezing, stretching, climbing or lifting can excite or calm a person.
We sell lots of products that are best suited to activate or calm this particular sense — check them out here.

Internal Senses / Interoception
The interoception system helps a person understand and feel what is happening inside their body, such as hunger or thirst, body temperature, tiredness — each important for self-regulation.
Accurately identifying interoceptive sensations is also associated with skill in emotional processing and decision-making. When the interoceptive signals are properly identified and understood, we can determine our body’s needs and in turn act; for example, if we are thirsty—we get a drink.
Unfortunately we don’t currently stock any products that appropriately address this sense, but our buying team is actively looking for products to help with this sense.

These are descriptors often used to explain different behaviours. They are used in relation to people who seek or avoid sensory stimulation based on what they are comfortable and are able to tolerate. Sensory Seekers are those who have a higher threshold and are able to process more intense stimulation and information. While sensory avoiders, are those who can be overly sensitive to certain stimuli. In specific instances, this can overwhelm them and induce a sensory overload.

We use the term activating as a way to explain a products end goal to stimulate a particular sense. While developing refers to a product designed to help and improve a person’s ability to control their responses while managing external stimuli.

We are a small, Dublin-based team of like-minded individuals who are working towards making sensory mainstream. We recognise how difficult it can be for people who struggle with their senses and are working to provide access to sensory products and rooms at the highest quality, but at a more affordable price.

Sensory House is Ireland’s newest multi-sensory manufacturer — what sets us apart from other sensory based businesses are our plug and play, Sensory Room Packages. Besides selling sensory products, we offer a Public (for schools and hospitals) or a Private (for corporate spaces, care homes and private dwellings) Sensory Room Packages, that include 70 different items for €6995.

Without tooting our own horn too loudly — we have created and collated a great selection of sensory-based products, testing and trialling everything to make sure the quality is there and the product does, as it should. To top it off, we are as reasonably priced as possible; we do not buy into the rip off culture that runs rampant in the sensory industry.

Each of our products are manufactured using the best materials and to the highest standard. Everything is sourced from the EU and we use combinations of CMHR Polyurethane fire retardant foam, faux leather and breathable cotton fabrics, while all the wood panelling bases are fire retardant MDF. We use premium quality materials to ensure our products are a superior standard.

We love to chat, so please feel free to call us on +353 1 450 8404 or send us an email at hello@sensoryhouse.ie and someone from the team will get back to you ASAP regarding your query.

We have a brand-spanking new showroom set up in our Dublin office with all our different products that you are welcome to look through and try. We do request you organise an appointment though, either by email or phone, so we can ensure someone is available to take you through the space and show you all the different bits we have on offer.

If you can’t make it up to our Dublin office, we have showrooms opening in 2 new locations early 2021 that might suit you better! Call us now for more information.

As a young company, we recognise the importance of being as sustainable as possible — we have looked at every facet of our business model, from sourcing to manufacturing, packaging and delivering, considering our options and selecting the most sustainable wherever possible.

One element of our business that we are extremely proud of is our products' durability. Our materials and designs have ensured the lifecycle of our various pieces is long and won’t need regular replacement, reducing waste an inferior product would accrue because of its shorter shelf life.

Give us a call if you would like to discuss any other environmental and sustainable concerns you may have and we will do our best to alleviate your worries.

Here at Sensory House we don’t run seasonal sales. Occasionally we will have different products discounted, but for the most part we have already made our prices as reasonable as we can.

We are currently offering two packages, the Public and the Private Sensory Room Packages. These have each been designed for anyone who struggles with their senses. Predominantly catering to children, each package can be adapted to suit an adult age demographic and are appropriate for individuals on the spectrum, with ADHD or developmental challenges.

The Public Sensory Room Package has been designed for high footfall, making it ideal for schools and hospitals. Extremely durable and easily maintained with a broad selection of sensory products, the package is suitable for children, 3 and older, with adaptations available if catering to an older group of individuals. The Private Sensory Room Package is a more customisable and bespoke Sensory Room, making it more appropriate for corporate spaces, care homes and private dwellings. This package allows for more decisions to be made to suit a specific individual’s sensory needs or compliment an existing style, while still including a wide variety of tailored sensory products for single or small group usage.

If you are a school, hospital or public institution, we understand you may need copies of our fire safety certificates. Please get in touch and we can supply everything you need. All our products are made from a combination of materials including premium Cotton PVC blends, fire retardant class B MDF and CMHR Polyurethane fire retardant foam — all of which are safe for children and meet compliance regulations of public spaces.

The Irish Department of Education and Skills provide grants for Special Education Furniture and Equipment, which is to the value of €7000 and covering the cost of one of our Sensory Room Packages. To be eligible XXXX To apply for the grant…

Research has shown that sensory rooms can provide a sense of calm and comfort to those who struggle with their senses and processing environmental stimulation. A sensory room can also be a therapeutic and safe space to stimulate the senses in a controlled manner to help people learn to regulate their responses and develop coping skills. They provide an outlet and opportunity to develop and improve upon visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, vestibular and proprioception processing (less known senses, we have a simple explanation in our Terms and Definitions FAQ if you need more information) and by extension, fine and gross motor skills and can improve focus.

There are countless benefits of a sensory room, but we don’t pretend to be the experts, though we have been in touch with some. We encourage people to do their own research into sensory rooms — we recommend you speak with health care professionals or people in education with sensory room experience; or use online resources like As I Am and National Autistic Society, for more information.

All the products in our Sensory Rooms are made from premium materials to ensure our products are to a superior standard. We use combinations of CMHR Polyurethane fire retardant foam, faux leather and breathable cotton fabrics, while all the wood panelling bases are fire retardant MDF. We also use acrylic, plastic and rubber throughout the 70 different items included in the packages.

To keep the price so low, we manufacture and sell directly to you, the end consumer, with a simple plug and play installation process. We are effectively cutting out the middleman to ensure we are offering the best value sensory room, while maintaining the highest quality products.

We have also designed each aspect of the sensory rooms so they can be covered by grants offered by the Irish Government, so you can afford what we are selling.

Each of the packages come with a total of 70 products, this includes safety padding panels, a bubble tube with plinth and fibre optics, a ball pit, activity wall panel, a number of soft products and different fidget items — to view the full list of items, visit the Public Package Page and Private Package Page.

No, we don’t install the rooms ourselves. Both the packages have been designed with a simple plug and play installation process, meaning anyone with the tools and basic knowledge combined with our detailed instructions manual, should be able to install the rooms themselves.

We can put you in touch with someone familiar with our products and who is capable of installing them, but this would need to be organised by you and at added cost. We currently have a fitting partner in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Mainland Great Britain. 

We have tried to make Installation instructions that are easy to read and understand. Like Ikea, we have simplified and provided a step-by-step guide, unlike Ikea, you will need a few tools and we recommend some muscle, as many of our pieces are heavy duty and just plain old heavy. With each purchase, we send out the instructions.

The most difficult part of our installation process is affixing safety padding panels to walls, so you will need someone handy with a drill!

Please give us a call or send us an email if you require more details before choosing to buy your Sensory Package and we will do our best to answer your query.

If you have any issues understanding any of our instructions, please contact us! No question is too small, we are here to help and know it can be difficult to put something together for the first time.

Once we receive your online order, a friendly person from the Sensory House team will call to confirm all your order details and answer any further questions you may have as well as discuss with you expected dispatch dates and details. This can sometimes take up to 2 business days to happen (just in case you were worried you hadn’t heard from us) as we need to add your order to the production schedule.

From receiving your deposit, the Sensory House Team will begin pulling together and manufacturing your Sensory Room. As all our rooms are made to order, this requires a bit of time and we need a minimum of three weeks to dispatch, to ensure the highest quality product makes it to you!

If you need your Sensory Room faster, contact us and we will do whatever we can to accommodate your request if at all possible.

We guarantee our Sensory Rooms for 12 months, but if you encounter any issues after that point, please contact us and we will endeavour to help resolve it if we can.

As each of the Sensory Room Packages requires customisation, you unfortunately cannot return it as it is a bespoke item and catered to you specifically. If you have any issues with any of the included products, please contact our team — we are here to help and will do our best to ensure you are happy with your purchase.

Unfortunately as we will be sending your room on a pallet, you cannot track the individual order on it’s journey, but don’t worry, we will inform you by email or phone the specified delivery date. If it does not arrive on the designated and expected date —please contact us. We will call the couriers on your behalf and hassle them until we find out where your room is and what’s going on.

We work really hard to make sure you get everything you ordered and our products are to the highest standard — we are really sorry if we do make a mistake or there is an issue. Please contact us via phone or email outlining the problem and we will try to remedy it ASAP.

It would help speed up the process if you have the following information included or readily available:
- Your Name
- Order Number
- Highlight the issue (faulty or incorrect item received)
- Product Name and Code of the faulty/incorrect item received
(you should be able to find the code on the product itself, or if it’s faulty, the order confirmation note)
- Picture and description of the fault (if applicable)
- Product Name and Code of the item you ordered, but did not receive (if applicable)

We will endeavour to keep you in the loop throughout this process, but if you have any issues, get in touch — call us on +353 1 450 8404 or send us an email at hello@sensoryhouse.ie

Here at Sensory House we have no minimum order spend, it’s just good to be mindful of delivery costs as some of our products can work out to be cheaper than the postage. We do offer free delivery to anyone spending over €75 and shipping within the Republic of Ireland.

Each of our products are manufactured using the best materials and to the highest standard. Everything is sourced from the EU and we use combinations of CMHR Polyurethane fire retardant foam, faux leather and breathable cotton fabrics, while all the wood panelling bases are fire retardant MDF. We use premium quality materials to ensure our products are a superior standard.