Home Design for Wellbeing
Balance work and a relaxing space (ideally a room, or use furniture to surround the desk, you can also get desk cupboards, such as this one from Neptune, to be able to close a door on work and relax)
Make the most of natural light
Build a window
Use a sun tunnel, that uses a mirror system to direct sunlight into a location of your choice
Optimise your temperature - use smart thermostats, consider air flow and air quality - ensure air items come with the quiet mark award
Reduce chemicals - chemicals in paint are called VOCs, more premium brand use lower VOCs and this is key as they can impact your breathing
Organise! Make sure you listen to Marie Kondo and ensure every item brings you joy and remember an item should be beautiful or functional. Discard any clutter so you can embrace Feng shui to allow positive energy to flow through the house and reduce your own stress levels. A tidy home is a tidy mind. Have clear outs in January and August, whilst you can use beautiful Tupperwares and baskets, a lot of time you can have a similar effect for shallow shelves without using them, just think how would you organise the space as though they were there. When each item has a space, each item has a home, and everyone is happy when they’re home. Of course, make sure you have enough storage too, but without eerie being too much, otherwise you’re more likely to feel the need to fill the space with clutter and items you don’t need
With RIBA identifying 70% of us believing our homes affect our mental health, better designed homes would increase happiness, help us relax and sleep better. Think about how you can make your space work for you, some of this maybe knocking down walls and reimagining the floorpan with new layouts (our home team can help you with this). But you don’t necessarily need to go to such great lengths, a simple furniture reshuffle may do the trick
Be purposeful with your space, think about the flow - how think of your routines, how can you optimise your space so that you have easy access to your journal and pass your workout gear in the morning, to ease the habits you want to make, and create friction with those you don’t want - have the sweet drawer really high that you need to get a stool to use which you’ve paced in the utility room. Remember to review the flow after 6 months and check in is it still working for me. Also open living promotes social interaction and positive family interaction, private spaces support focused work.
Tailor your space to your needs, create moments of joy - you like pilates? Find a pilates corner, you love crafting? Make a craft room, reading? A library. With your decorations, make sure your coffee books are reflectiv of things you love, it doesn’t have to be the same Chanel, Prada and Louis Vuitton books - it could be a turquoise Lonely Planet Travel guide. Leverage nudge architecture - design in cues to encourage healthy behaviour without taking away choice and free will - rooted from environmental psychology.
Use natural and sustainable materials, and healthy materials - such as bamboo flooring instead of wood as it’s natural durable grass free of chemicals. Use quartz as it’s non-porous so easy to wipe the surfaces and minimise bacteria
Bring the inside out - have a kitchen garden, use bi-fold doors
Colour is Key - colour has a huge impact on emotions, light blue has been proven to create the most relaxing space conducive to sleep, interestingly bubble gum pink has an instant calming effect (but people get more aggressive once they’ve been in the room for a while), light grey and greens also create calm. Orange and yellow encourage communication -which may be appropriate for your kitchen or dining room, and red creates a sense of alertness and commands attention
Biophilia - I must admit I hate this one and I wouldn’t put it in however to be unbiased and give you the information you need. Green spaces enhance mental wellbeing, incorporating house plants has the same effect, they boost oxygen levels and take out nasty chemicals. It’s not just about flowers, it’s about using earthy colours, favouring soft curves over harsh lines - and balancing the two. And having a water feature to meditate too. When we went to Marrakech they highlighted how in all the riads they have water features because the noise was proven to be soothing (like ASMR nowadays)
Minimise noise transfer - build high levels of comfort through soundproofing walls and doors - increase the thickness, eve using acoustic performance plasterboard, light levels are correct and not spreading from one room to another. Locate bedrooms and offices away from noisy roads if you live on a busy one - in place putting kitchens, playrooms, utility rooms, replace blinds with curtains
Circadian rhythm - use blackout treatments for windows, the optimum temperature for sleep so use your smart thermostat to control your bedroom temperature, use artificial lighting, biodynamic lighting, to help improve your sense of awareness
Leverage the WELL (2014) standards
It really is about being thoughtful, and intentional and how we can use our space to help us with the 6 pillars of wellbeing
Biid infographic of a healthy home (link)
