Healthy Home Design

Starting a renovation or a new home build can be daunting and there are often a lot of questions at the beginning.

Everyone always wants to know how much the project will cost, how long it will take, and if they should phase the construction. So what should you consider when asking these questions, and what information can you provide to your contractor to prepare them as much as possible?

This week's episode walks you through three of the most common questions contractors receive and how the variables of your site, design, or materials might affect the answer.

What you'll discover:

• The three most common construction questions
• How different variables can affect the answer to your questions
• Why a square foot cost analysis might not be helpful in determining the overall cost
• What to provide to a contractor for them to answer your questions

We're spending a lot more time in our homes and as work and family responsibilities merge, we're finding ourselves more distracted and less productive.

With January being the time we set goals and figure out how to make our lives better, I wanted to share some ideas that can make your new home or renovation help you become more productive and healthy.

These 10 design ideas will help you work efficiently, get more done in less time, and reduce stress for a healthy, productive home.

What you'll discover:

• What designs you need to consider for a productive home
• How to increase natural light and decrease noise
• Why colors and the right furniture matter
• How the layout of your home and rooms can increase productivity and wellness

Helpful links:Baux Acoustic Wood Wool PanelsEpisode 34: Biophilic Design and How To Design Nature Into Your Home To Reap Wellness Benefits Episode 16: Choosing Paint Colors For a Calm and Stress-Free Home with Mehnaz Kahn Wellness kitchen:An Architect's Tips For Getting Your Wellness Kitchen Layout Right 8 Tips for a Healthy Kitchen Makeover Episode 9: Healthy and Sustainable Countertops for Your Healthy HomeEpisode 14: 5 Reasons To Create A Kitchen Designed For Wellness Pure Living Space - Promo code BALANCED for 10% off

This might be bad timing, with it being 3 days before Christmas, but I've been meaning to talk about this subject for a while, and finally had the chance.

So here we go...

Who's really affected by all the things we buy (and then throw away) in this country?

Who's primarily dealing with asthma and other serious illnesses because of where they live?

Who takes the brunt of the extreme weather events caused by climate change?

It's generally not the people that are buying all the things, or jet-setting around the world, or building mansions.

It's the country's low income and African American, Latino, and Native American populations.

This is what's known as environmental injustice, aka environmental racism.

This week's Healthy Home Design podcast digs into environmental justice and what we can do when building a new home or renovating to start fixing the environmental health disparity.

What You'll Discover:

• What environmental injustice is
• What you can do in your day-to-day life to help end the consumerism cycle
• How to use less when building a new home
• How to choose healthy materials for your home

Have a safe and happy holiday season, and I'll see you in the New Year!

Take care,

Kate

P.S. It's my New Year's resolution to do better at my own consumerism habits. What's yours?

Helpful Links:

Cancer Alley Louisiana: https://www.propublica.org/article/welcome-to-cancer-alley-where-toxic-air-is-about-to-get-worse

Recycle Building Materials:HFH ReStore: https://www.habitat.org/restores

EPA guide to recycling building materials: https://www.epa.gov/smm/best-practices-reducing-reusing-and-recycling-construction-and-demolition-materials

Notes coming soon...

Choosing a contractor can be a tricky task! Not all contractors are created equal. Some contractors are much more experienced in building durable, energy efficient, healthy homes than others.

The best way to find a contractor that will build your healthy home correctly is to ask lots of questions! It is a good idea to interview up to three contractors before hiring the team that will build your home.

You want to make sure they are going to build a quality healthy home and that they are willing to learn some new tricks along the way. Here are 10 great questions to ask your potential contractors to make sure they are comfortable building your healthy home.

"…the enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it, tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; and thus, through the influence of the mind over the body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration to the whole system"

-American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, 1865

Olmsted describes the benefits of nature perfectly. At once, being in nature relaxes the mind and enlivens it. It's pretty amazing.

I know it's not possible to always be outside surrounded by nature, especially when living in a city.

But the benefits of being in nature are so powerful that the lack of living close to nature cannot be an excuse for avoiding it. Humans need that natural connection. It's how we thrive.

Biophilic design is design that reconnects us with nature. Biologist Edward Wilson popularized the term Biophilia in the 1980s, saying that humans have an innate desire to connect with nature.

Biophilic design is at the core of a wellness house.

Today's podcast episode dives into how to design your home and spaces within your home to bring nature to you and to reap the benefits that nature provides.

What You'll Discover:

• What biophilic design is
• The health and wellness benefits of nature
• Simple ideas to incorporate biophilic design into your home now
• Holistic design strategies to get the most out of biophilic design for your new home / reno project
• Design tips for making your home office a productive, happy and creative space

Helpful Links:

Check out examples of biophilic design here.

Learn more about the psychology of color with expert Mehnaz Khan.

Ventilation is at the top of everyone's minds these days thanks to COVID.

And while a lot of attention is being focused on commercial ventilation systems, there is less talk about home ventilation systems.

We're in our homes more than ever before. And there's more people in the home at one time than ever before since so many of us are working from home and our kids are schooling from home.

There has never been a more important time to understand and incorporate proper ventilation in homes than right now. With proper mechanical ventilation in your home, you're protecting your family now and for all future viruses.

Today's Healthy Home Design Podcast episode is going to cover all the basics on home ventilation systems.

What You'll Discover:

• Why the air in your home is less healthy than the air outside
• Why having an air-tight house is so important for air quality
• What Air Changes per Hour (ACH) actually means
• All the benefits of having fresh, healthy indoor air
• The best type of ventilation system for your home
• The cost of good (and bad) ventilation

We did it!

It's finally done.

Three years later, my husband, Pieter, and I finished our DIY healthy home renovation.

There were good times, bad times, you know we had our share. ..

And I'll be getting into all of it in today's Healthy Home Design Podcast episode.

We had A LOT of lessons learned, so I put together my top 8 most important lessons learned to share with you.

What You'll Discover:

• Why it's so important to take your time buying a fixer-upper
• Financing and budgeting mistakes to avoid
• How to be realistic about time frame
• Why being clear on your goals and intentions will prepare you for challenges
• How to keep yourself sane and healthy when living through a renovation project

Helpful Links:

Before and After photos

Purpose Statement

Who doesn't love a wood floor?!⁠ ⁠ It's comfortable to walk on, it looks beautiful, it can come in so many different styles, and it can last a very long time.⁠ ⁠ But what is the best type of wood floor for a healthy, sustainable, wellness-focused home? What types of finishes are safe? Do you need an underlayment?⁠ ⁠ I'm digging into all things wood flooring in today's Healthy Home Design podcast episode.⁠ ⁠ What You'll Discover:

• The 3 different types of wood flooring⁠
• Pros and Cons of each type of wood floor⁠
• What types of finishes to choose for a healthy wood floor⁠
• What underlayment is, why it's needed, and what the healthy options are⁠
• What you need to know about your subfloor BEFORE choosing and installing new flooring⁠

Questions or comments about the episode?

Email Kate at [email protected]