As we have all been spending so much more time in our homes; here are some ways to improve health, wellness and comfort through home design and style.

Air Quality

There are plenty of ways to set up a house for good air quality, whether it’s designing spaces to create cross breezes or installing air purifiers. Another is adding a living walls, which adds a pleasing natural element while helping to purify the air. For example, horticultural therapy lowers blood pressure and heart rate. Tending to gardens, houseplants and fresh flowers at home can help to promote wellness.

Incorporating plants into home design also establishes a link with nature to create healthy indoor environments. In addition to plants, the use of natural materials can help establish these links. Create the feeling of a favourite outdoor place through artwork, colour and materials in your home. Choose colours that evokes a mood and enhances comfort.

Lighting

Using lighting to promote wellness means incorporating natural light and creating a pleasing ambiance with artificial light. Today’s LED lighting options can change colour in a way that helps change mood. Controllable and adjustable lights can work with our natural circadian rhythms. This results in a more productive day as well as a good night’s sleep. For example, in the evening, amber light can promote calmness. While the natural light pouring in through a skylight or window can help wake a person up in the morning and prepare them to face the day.

Comfort And Movement In Space

This includes creating floor and furniture plans that make it easy to flow through a space. This means removing any obstacles, and leaving enough space between furnishings to pass through.

Comfort also means achieving an uncluttered feeling in a space. This doesn’t have to mean a strict minimalist style, but it does mean curating favorite books, knickknacks, photos and other mementos and maintaining a clean and airy feel by finding proper places for them. Comfort also includes individual pieces of furniture. For example, even if the current work-from-home situation doesn’t last, a proper ergonomic chair is a worthy investment.

Thermal Well-Being

Maintaining a comfortable temperature is another key element of promoting wellness in design. Technology can be a big help with this, whether it involves a smart thermostat or heated floors. Homes with a tight envelope also promote thermal comfort. Windows or doors that aren’t drafty allow for greater control over heating and cooling systems.

Achieve thermal comfort on a smaller scale by placing things like throw blankets and warm slippers where needed.

Auditory Comfort

This refers to finding a quiet refuge at home. While the average house may not have space for a dedicated meditation or quiet room, any place of relaxation will do. It can be as simple as a favorite reading chair in a bedroom.

Music also plays a part. Match your music to the mood you want to evoke. The soothing sound of water splashing in a fountain is another example of acoustical comfort.

Put Work Away

When it’s time for unwinding, put work away. If a desk is in the bedroom, put papers and electronic devices away when the workday is over.

Think About Scents 

Engaging any of the five senses can affect mood. Adding pleasing scents such as fresh eucalyptus or lavender will enhance the way you experience your home.

How Your Home Can Help You Feel Good

* Think about the goal of feeling good as soon as you walk in your home.

* Consider how you want your home to look, feel, smell and sound.

* Remove, fix or put away things that are bothering you, particularly dust-collecting clutter.

* Make small changes to enhance your mood —

                    light a favorite candle;

                    experiment with different furniture arrangements until it feels right;

                    locate your desk under a window with a favorite view;

                    place a speaker where you want to listen to your favorite music;

                    pot a grocery store basil plant and put it in the kitchen;

                    cozy up a place of respite with a throw blanket;

                    change out a lightbulb that’s not warm enough;

                    put your lights on dimmers.