Remodel To Improve Wellness At Home
In our last post, we mentioned how to remodel to improve wellness at home as a top trend in 2022. But the subject certainly merits more detail than that. Here are some factors to consider when remodeling your home that can encourage a healthy lifestyle.
Make Your House Safe
At home, accidents can happen. Eliminate trip hazards such as rugs that shift around, cords that extend across traffic paths and badly placed wastepaper baskets. When remodeling, consider solutions such as placing electrical outlets in the floor. Elements like curbless showers, grab bars and wider areas for traffic flow can also make your home more safe. And make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries are working.
Create Spaces Where You Can Enjoy Nature
“Bring the outside in” is kind of a tired cliche on home design shows, but it is true. Fresh air, sunlight and views of natural foliage will lift your spirits. And because we spend so much of our time indoors, it’s important to be able to feel connected to nature. New or larger windows, glass doors, screened-in porches and sunrooms can all help create these connections.
Bring in Plants
Plants will breathe life into your home and also create those connections to nature.
Incorporate Biophilic Design
Biophilic design means bringing natural shapes, textures and colors into your home. Again, this keeps us in touch with our innate tendency to connect with nature.
Encourage Spending Time Outdoors
Of course, while the ideas mentioned above help us feel closer to nature, the best way to feel close to nature is to actually be in it. Think about your the landscape you’d like to spend time in and what you’d like to do — gather with family, take a nap, garden, read books, swim, toast s’mores, play basketball, practice putting — we can help you integrate patios, decks, gardens, pools and other landscape elements that will induce you to spend more time outdoors.
Get Organized
Having a place for everything and keeping everything in its place will prevent frustration and cut down on that stress you feel when you’re trying to get out the door and can’t find a shoe, a backpack, your wallet or your phone. A landing zone near an entrance, a charging drawer for your personal devices, an orderly pantry and organized closets will all ease your life. Consider working with a designer on custom built-ins and inserts that will accommodate all your needs.
Create Serene Space
Serene spaces have the power to calm. Work with a designer to find calming color and texture palettes, to plan layouts that make your rooms feel light and airy and to create an easy flow.
Set Up a Safe and Clean Workout Space
We’ve noticed a definite uptick in home gym requests during the pandemic and they haven’t stopped. Talk to us about all the activities and types of workouts you like to do and we’ll plan the room accordingly. Things to consider include lighting, sound, whether or not you want a TV, space for storing extra towels, a fridge for water, flooring that will be easier on your joints, and perhaps a shower and maybe even a sauna nearby.
Keep Exercise Equipment Easy To Access
You’re much more likely to go hit tennis balls against the garage, hop on your bike or go for a run when it’s easy to grab whatever you need (racquet, helmet. shoes, bike). We can help you come up with plans to store your workout equipment easy to access. One of our favorite features on this project was the bike wall, where the helmets hang right off the bikes. We can also outfit mudrooms and closetsto fit everything from shoes to lacrosse sticks in an attractive and organized way.
Create an At-Home Spa Feeling
Look, installing a hot tub, soaking tub or sauna at home can seem like a luxurious indulgence. Assuage any potential guilt by knowing that these are items that will help your muscles and your mind relax and improve wellness.
Set Up Your Kitchen To Encourage Healthy Eating
Keep healthy snacks in a spot that’s easy to find, make it simple to find everything you’ll need to prep healthy meals. This can include a dedicated smoothie bar area, a trail. mix section in your pantry, a station for prepping veggies that has knives and cutting boards close by and well organized pantries and fridges. Inserts, appliance garages, pantry cabinets, islands and many other things in the kitchen can be outfitted to help you set these things up.
If you’re interested in remodeling your home, please give us a call to schedule a free consultation. Our in-house design team can help you plan to improve wellness at home, and our renovation team will bring those plans to life.