Healthy Homes to Revitalize Your Mind

Do you wish it was easier to take better care of yourself and your family? 
 
Achieve the wellness you've been looking for by implementing the techniques offered by our fourth value enhancer: Health & Vitality!  
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​Over the next three blogs, I focus on health for your Mind, Body, and Soul and how that translates into a You-Inspired Home.

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In this blog, I lay some framework for defining health.  I call attention to the fact that humans are multifaceted biological forms influenced by their surroundings.  Next, I introduce Biophilic Design as a way to bring more of the healing natural elements into your home.  Finally, I focus on designing specifically to support a peaceful mind.

Health is Not Simply the Absence of Illness  

True health is the manifestation of an optimized life.  Mind, body, and soul cohesively integrate to support physical wellness, authentic self-expression, inspiration, and joyful living.  

The home is at the center of your health and vitality!

How Home Supports Mind, Body & Soul 

FACT: You are impacted by your environment, even if you are not consciously aware of it. 
 
Your home can be designed to help you make healthier choices, gain greater access to the health benefits of nature, and include spaces that facilitate happiness, creativity, relaxation, and a sense of fulfillment. 

Changing yourself begins with changing your home!
 
Because your home is where you spend the majority of your time, it holds the power to significantly enhance the optimization of your life.

The average American spends 93% of their life indoors!

​According to the EPA, the average American spends 93% of their life indoors!  87% of the time in enclosed buildings and 6% in enclosed vehicles which means, on average, only 7% of our life is spent outdoors.  
 
As of 2020 52.6% of people worldwide live in urban areas.  By 2050 this number will jump to 68%, as predicted by the United Nations.
 
Mphethi Morojele points out that our habitat is no longer a natural environment, it is a built environment.  He emphasizes the importance of “bringing elements of nature via biophilic design and an understanding of the origin of human beings as biological forms, to the artificial environment we’re increasingly being forced to live in.” 

Considering we spend over 90% of our lives indoors; 
shouldn’t we have a better understanding of the way 
our home affects our health and makes us FEEL?  

What is Biophilic Design?

Biophilia means “love of nature” and refers to human’s innate attraction to nature and other forms of life. 
 
Biophilic design focuses on this love of nature and the biological effects nature has on humans.  This foundational understanding of how humans interact with the environment around them allows us the opportunity to create spaces that greatly enhance health and vitality.
 
The measurable positive impacts of biophilic design show a reduction in stress levels, improved cognitive function and creativity, enhanced inspiration and restoration, improved well-being, and expedited healing. 

Spaces with a good view and visual connection to nature help to reduce sadness, anger, and aggression by lowering blood pressure and heart rate.

Incorporating vegetated spaces in and around the home can improve an individual’s self-esteem and mood, while the presence of water can have a relaxing effect.

The Mind

Your state of mind is directly linked to your degree of health.  A healthy mind FEELS happy, calm, peaceful and thinks from the foundations of love, creativity, abundance, and authenticity.  Your mind also has a tremendous effect on your endocrine system, regulating hormones that affect every molecule of your being.  Without a peaceful mind, you cannot protect the health of your body.
 
Your emotional state is directly linked to what you think and how you feel.  The good news is that you have control over these aspects of the mind.  You’re able to shift your mindset via conscious intentions, decisions, responses to stress, and choices about caring for yourself and your home.  Taking care of your home is just as beneficial as taking care of your body. 

Designing for the Mind

Careful planning for the exterior and interior of the home, with spaces designed for creative endeavors and relaxation, supports a healthy mind and enhances feelings of happiness.

Home Sweet Home
Creating a welcoming exterior of your home makes you feel happy, excited, and proud to return to it each day.  This is the first impression you and your guests receive as you arrive.  The front door should be inviting and crossing the threshold should make you feel good to be home.  This initial sensation of being welcomed further enhances the wellbeing you feel when inside your home.  The exterior of the home is equally as important as the interior.

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Happiness and Creativity
Research published on Healthline.com explains how happiness has a direct impact on our health; positively influencing everything from the immune system and stress levels to blood pressure and life expectancy.  According to Forbes, happiness is more easily achieved when you tap into your creative energy.  
 
I encourage my clients to get in touch with their creative side, however that shows up for them. 

Creativity ≠ Art!

Often times the word creativity is confused as art.  Not everybody is an artist, yet EVERYBODY is capable of creativity in some form or another.  Anything that inspires you and makes you FEEL authentically expressed is considered creative.
 
I’ve designed spaces for clients who have passions (or merely just an interest) in yoga, meditation, gardening, dancing, astronomy, cooking, horses, reading, travel, sewing, and numerous different kinds of collections.

Sewing Room

Observatory

Asian Pipe Collection

Library

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Biophilic Design for Enhanced Creativity
Biophilic design significantly contributes to feelings of inspiration and creativity.  Nature itself is literally a creative process.  Strategically planned outdoor living spaces and abundant windows with views allow you to witness the miracle of nature, such that your home exists in harmony with the planet to support your creative endeavors. 

The indoor to outdoor connectivity is vitally 
​important to sustaining health and creativity.

Just by simply having a space to let creativity flow greatly reduces your chances for dementia, improves mental health, boosts the immune system and even makes you smarter! 

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The Biology of Relaxation
A relaxed and secure mind regulates the “stress hormone” cortisol.  Cortisol plays a role in numerous functions including blood sugar regulation, inflammation reduction, metabolism regulation, and memory formulation.   
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A home that makes you feel safe and brings you a sense of peace and comfort with spaces designed for rest and relaxation helps you balance healthy levels of cortisol and experience better harmony within yourself.  
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Work activities should take place away from relaxing spaces.  The two energies of work and relaxation do not mix well.  If you can see your workspace from where you are attempting to relax, it creates a tension that can make you feel like you should be working instead of relaxing.  For this reason, a home office should be placed far away from bedrooms and lounging areas.  At the very least, a workspace should never be placed within your sleeping space!

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A Cluttered Home Creates a Cluttered Mind.   

You know that icky feeling you get when your house is a mess.  It can consume you completely, preventing you from being able to relax or focus on anything else.  It can even seep into your psyche, with negative self-talk that convinces you you’re a slob.  There is a way to combat this with creative home design!

Working pantries and sculleries increase counter space and reduce visible mess in the main kitchen.

Ample spaces for storage reduce visual clutter which will assist in creating a clean and beautiful living space.

Shoes, jackets, purses, keys, and mail are easily stored in a drop zone entryway.

Outdoor storage areas extend the lifetime of items that spend lots of time in the elements, keeping them accessible when needed and safely stored when not.

Read more about combatting clutter in my blog post discussing feng shui.

YOU-Inspired living is living to your highest potential!

Your home, and therefore your life, CAN be designed to achieve maximum health and vitality.  You don’t have to suffer or put up with a life that is unfulfilling.  We at Pippin Home Designs are here to support you in living a long, happy, and healthy life!  If you have any questions about how our designs can help, please connect with us and ask.

I intend you find wellness and sustained peace of mind.
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Inspired by YOU,

Jenny Pippin, CPBD, FAIBD, CGP
Pippin Home Designs