A home is a place to live, work, and relax. It’s your sanctuary, your respite from the daily grind. But what if your home isn’t designed to support your wellness? What if it doesn’t make you feel calm or energized? If you’re struggling with mental health issues or have physical needs that aren’t being met by your current living situation, it’s time to think about designing a new space that will be better suited for health and happiness.
The connection between a healthy home environment and well-being is undeniable. A space that supports mental health and wellness can be anything from a cosy bedroom to an entire house, but it’s important to know what factors should be considered when designing spaces for mental health.
This guide will help you create a healthy home environment by offering strategies for creating spaces that promote balance between mind and body.
Designing for Mental and Physical Health
To create a home that supports mental health, it’s important to consider how the space can support your needs. There are many different types of spaces and activities that can help calm the mind, including dedicated meditation or yoga rooms, quiet reading nooks, and private offices. By creating these dedicated spaces for relaxation and mindfulness you’re making sure that you have somewhere to go when you need some time alone or want to focus on something other than work.
Ways to Design Your House For Wellness
1. Natural light and its impact on mood
A home that provides a sense of warmth and cosiness is not only a more pleasant place to be, but it also has the potential to lower your stress levels. When you’re feeling stressed out, it can be hard to focus on anything else. Natural sunlight can help you feel better by boosting your mood and improving sleep quality.
Houses for sale in Inner West Sydney are known for maximizing natural light in homes as it is one way to create an environment that promotes wellness. Maximize windows by choosing window treatments that allow as much light into the room as possible while still maintaining privacy (for example, by using sheer curtains). If you have large windows with lots of natural light coming through them already and want additional privacy at night or when guests visit, consider blackout curtains instead!
2. Indoor air quality
Improving the indoor air quality in your home can offer easier breathing, improved sleep, and reduced risk of airborne diseases and allergies. Empirical evidence furnished by many health studies has shown that bringing more fresh air into a building and filtering it more effectively delivers better health outcomes.
Incorporating a high-quality Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation (MVHR) system in your home design should be considered essential. HRV or ERV systems remove stale, humid air, replacing it with fresh, filtered air. These ingenious mechanical devices can separate the different “types” of air in your home, and during the winter months, they will capture the warm air from the exiting stream, transferring it back into the fresh air stream, thereby recovering the warm air that would have otherwise been lost.
Using low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) or VOC-free materials during construction and in the interior furnishings will minimize the release of harmful chemicals into your indoor air. Investing in indoor plants can also contribute to cleaner air by naturally filtering out pollutants.
Regularly maintaining and cleaning your HVAC systems, air filters, and ductwork is also important to prevent the accumulation of dust, allergens, and other contaminants.
2. Noise reduction
The same sealed building envelope, superior insulation, and high-efficiency windows that deliver unsurpassed comfort and energy efficiency also contribute to minimizing external noise infiltration, creating a quiet, peaceful indoor atmosphere.
By creating a serene and noise-free interior, your high-performance home will give you an opportunity to relax, focus, and rejuvenate, supporting your mental well-being, productivity, and overall quality of life.
3. Colour psychology and its effects on emotions
Colour psychology is a branch of the study of human emotions, in which the use of colours is thought to influence our moods and feelings. If you want to create a space where people feel calm and relaxed, you should avoid using bright colours like red or yellow.
Instead, select colours that are more earthy in tone–browns and greens are good examples of these colours. Similarly, if your goal is for guests in your home to feel energized when they enter certain rooms (such as an office), then choose energizing colours such as blue or purple for those areas only.
4. Designing a home gym or exercise space
When it comes to designing a home gym or exercise space, it’s important not only that you choose the right equipment but also that you create an inspiring atmosphere in which you will want to work out. If possible, purchase some soft lighting and soothing music beforehand so that when it comes to working out later on in life, those things are already there for you!
5. Designing a sleep-friendly bedroom
When it comes to sleeping well, it’s important to find a mattress that suits your body type. You may want to take some time trying out different beds in stores or online before making a purchase. If you have back problems or other physical ailments, look for mattresses that offer support and comfort without causing pain in sensitive areas.
If you’re considering Feng Shui advices, read here.
If you have children who share a room with their parents, consider investing in twin XL beds instead of two twins–they’ll allow everyone more room without taking up much more space than regular twins do.
For added comfort when sleeping next to someone else (whether human or animal), opt for pillows made from natural materials like wool instead of synthetic ones like polyester because they breathe better than manmade fibres do during hot weather months when air conditioning isn’t available yet.
6. Encouraging social interaction and connection
The first step to encouraging social interaction is creating a home that’s comfortable for all. This can be achieved by designing spaces that are inviting and accessible for everyone, including those with physical disabilities or limited mobility. It’s also important to enhance and consider how your design will work with the flow of traffic throughout the house so that guests don’t feel like they’re being herded around like cattle when visiting your home.
Technology has become an integral part of our daily lives, whether we’re using smartphones while walking down the street or watching YouTube videos while sitting on our couches at home. If you want your clients’ homes to support their mental health by encouraging them to interact with others face-to-face more often than not, then incorporating some type of communication device into their interior designs might be just what they need.
7. Biophilia: Connecting With Nature
Biophilia is a term coined by German social psychologist Erich Fromm in 1964. In the 1980s E.O. Wilson conducted more research on Fromm’s concepts, and the biophilia hypothesis took shape, stressing the innate need for human connection with nature.
Around the same time, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries coined the term Shinrin-yoku. Their studies showed that forest environments promoted lower concentrations of cortisol, pulse rate and blood pressure, increased parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity when compared with the participants’ results in city environments. The Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi is another adopted biophilic design principle in which the acceptance of the imperfect is embraced, both in ourselves and in the objects that surround us.
Research suggests that exposure to nature can improve our focus, attention span, and creativity, so including natural elements in our built environment can stimulate our brains. Flooding our spaces with natural light, while including organic patterns and textures, and nature-inspired artwork can create a conducive environment for work, study, relaxation or creative pursuits.
Installing large windows or skylights that provide views of outdoor green spaces, while integrating indoor plants, and using natural colour palettes and materials like wood and stone can create a calming environment that supports stress reduction and relaxation. Exposure to natural light is also essential for regulating our bodies’ circadian rhythm, which influences sleep patterns, hormone production, and overall well-being. By optimizing daylighting strategies in your home design, you can enhance your sleep quality, energy levels, and overall health.