Home Design Wish List: 5 tips for a healthy living lifestyle
Your home can help provide you with the healthy living lifestyle that you want -- and sometimes go on vacation to get. You don’t have to do that anymore. New clients often come to me with a wish list of qualities they seek. It turns out that many of them center around healthy living or will result in a healthier lifestyle. Here is the composite. How many of these items are on your Wish List? Here is how I advise clients:
#1 Low maintenance home
Whether to be freed up for more fun activities, to age in place or to keep costs down, this is the number one item that many people want. We can provide a low maintenance home, using durable material that’s easy to clean, products that don’t require special knowledge for upkeep, such as quartz countertops; and in our choice of exterior fibers and siding. One example is Fiber Cement. We use a rain screen system along with the Fiber Cement, with a construction method of directly attaching it to the façade. We leave a pocket of space behind the siding because this will help the siding last longer and the house will be better insulated.
#2 Storage, for less clutter and to be more organized
We always find nooks and crannies or create them in such a way that there is no wasted space in the homes we design. We look at opportunities for storage space, treating the various spaces in the home like a micro apartment unit, where every inch counts, and bring storage solutions. We look at the circulation, the energy path to allow for the least wasted space and even see what could be recaptured with alterations to the design. That hallway could be shorter or space under the stairs better used. We find space where most people would not think of carving out storage.
#3 Views or letting in light
It is scientifically proven that when we have views, especially of certain scenery, open space, and greenery, this allows us to feel better and be more positive. Biophilic design, especially, has this effect: any view of movement, like water or even as simple as trees on a windy day, helps us to feel alive. We strategically provide windows and openings, within the code requirements yet maximizing opportunities and framing the views. When you walk into a room, at a certain angle, the window becomes a picture frame.
#4 Save on heating in the Northeast
Especially in our chilly winter climate, we consider heating at the most basic level: We look into the system -- is it gas or electric? Usually, gas is better in terms of energy consumption, but we also look with the perspective of PassivHaus principles -- well-designed, well-insulated and ... back to this ... low maintenance. The payback time is fast on this. The house feels great, uses very little energy to maintain heat, and so little is lost in PassivHaus. This means attention to solar orientation; which side is facing south, how many windows, how do we cut down on heat loss or gain.
#5 Place the entire family can enjoy and you can entertain other family members
This is an important strategy to bring harmony into the home because the home maps to the relationships among the family members. We want harmony. For this, we rely on Eastern metaphysics. In classical feng shui, where the kitchen and bedroom are located based on the energy direction is very important. There have been cases where a couple buys a property hoping for a happy family and yet, because of the way the layout is, it couldn’t happen to them or people get sick all the time, due to the negative energy. They may still do well financially; it’s just not a happy home. We want to encourage health and happiness in all facets of life.
I recently attended a teaching by a feng shui master,and am a certified feng shui consultant as well. This area is getting increasing attention, with some prospective homeowners saying they wouldn’t sign a contract until feng shui master comes in.
What all of the items on this Wish List have in common is that they facilitate a healthy living lifestyle, integrated into the whole.