While summertime brings to mind traveling, alfresco dining, and sunny beach days, it’s also a great time of year to slow down and reevaluate your self-care routine.
If your summer health goals include being more active, eating healthier, getting more rest, or reducing stress, our expert tips on designing your home to support these aspirations will help you thrive. Keep reading for our science-backed wellness advice.
Soul Interiors Design | Photo: Robert Morning Photography
Create a Sleep Sanctuary
Getting enough sleep is one of the most important aspects of establishing a good self-care routine. Sleep is when your body works to support good mental and physical health. Studies show that those who don’t get enough sleep are at a higher risk of developing heart disease and obesity, and are more prone to infections and cognitive issues (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute).
A good night’s sleep is not only imperative for your overall health and happiness, but it’s also the foundation for quality relationships and an optimal life. That’s why investing in a sleep sanctuary has a significant impact on your wellbeing.
When designing your bedroom to be a haven for rest, sleep, and relaxation you’ll want to consider lighting, air quality, comfort, and organization. The goal is to create a space that you enjoy spending time in and is free from distraction to help you achieve restorative sleep.
Improvements we often recommend to clients include:
Human-centric lighting, also known as circadian lighting, to reduce the amount of blue light in your space and create a cozy atmosphere
Black-out drapes to prevent light seepage, absorb sound, and provide thermal comfort
Air purifier to reduce the spread of germs and allergens
Bedside filtered water in a handy beautiful carafe
High-quality natural bedding made from linen, cotton, or hemp
Sufficient closed-door storage to reduce clutter and visual stimuli so your brain can relax
Soul Interiors Design | Photo: Susan Pickering Photography Design Your Kitchen as a Wellness Center
Just as your bedroom is a vital wellness component in your home’s design, your kitchen is just as important, if not more so. We view it as your personal health center since it provides the physical and mental nourishment that is essential to thrive.
You’ll want to design a space that harmoniously blends functionality and aesthetics, while fostering healthy cooking practices. This can be achieved by thoughtfully selecting appliances and plumbing fixtures, carefully planning the layout, and incorporating a design that promotes mindful eating.
Your appliances are the foundation for a kitchen that supports weight management and a healthy lifestyle. You’ll not only want to consider their features and capabilities, but also how they can support your cooking and entertaining style, day-to-day needs, and design preferences.
To support nutritious eating and aging well our appliance recommendations include:
Combination steam oven or convection steam oven—offers all the features of a traditional oven, along with the ability to steam food which helps reduce oil and fat, maintain nutrients, and preserve moisture.
A refrigerator with an enhanced food preservation system—ensures your produce stays fresh longer with its advanced air purification systems and temperature controls.
Under-counter herb grower—a hydroponic herb grower has precise watering and light cycles, as well as humidity and air circulation systems, allowing you to have fresh herbs year-round. Fresh herbs enhance the flavor of your food without added fats and calories.
Instant sparkling water faucet—filtered still, semi-sparkling or fully carbonated water on demand is an effective way to inspire your family to reduce their consumption of sugary or high-calorie drinks, while also reducing single-use plastic bottles.
And be sure to plan your kitchen spatial layout to include a prep zone, ideally with a dedicated sink. Investing time in food prep and planning is key to weight management and avoiding hunger-fueled poor choices of high-fat or surgery foods.
If your kitchen space is limited and a separate prep zone isn’t possible, we suggest installing a workstation sink with an integrated wood cutting board so you have extra prep room without expanding your kitchen.
Your kitchen's ambience is also an important design element as it effects your mindset and feelings. Nobody wants to work or eat everyday in dark or dated environment. Having a cohesive color scheme, fresh flowers, beautiful table linens and flatware, comfortable furnishings and plenty of natural light all help create a space you want to spend time in and gather with loved ones. This connection, laughter, and conversation fosters a healthy lifestyle by supporting your emotional journey.
Support Self-Care Goals With a Home Fitness Area
Now that we’ve covered sleep and diet, the next wellness component you’ll want to consider is fitness and movement.
Regular physical activity not only improves your health and quality of life, but also reduces your risk of chronic illnesses like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression, anxiety, and dementia (CDC). So designing a dedicated fitness area in your home, regardless of whether you have a gym membership, will help reinforce your weekly commitment to exercise and stretching.
If you can’t devote an entire room to exercise, simply carving out space in a multipurpose room like a home office, guest bedroom or garage can be a easy way to encourage movement. When planning the workout area, be sure to consider the following:
The types of workouts you’ll be doing. For example, some activities require more floor space while others are based on stationary equipment. This will affect your layout and how things are organized.
Choose flooring based on what activities will occur in the area. Some options include carpet tiles, hardwood, porcelain tile, or concrete. You’ll also need rubber workout mats underneath heavy equipment or weight racks.
Include enough storage for your portable exercise equipment. To keep things organized consider shelving systems, large baskets, or colorful bins. Don’t forget decorative wall hooks for things like bands and towels.
Incorporate plenty of lighting both natural and ambient. Not only does this help your energy level during workouts but it’ll allow you to see your form and read monitors better.
Don’t forget adequate ventilation to prevent the room from getting too hot and stuffy.
By focusing on creating a beautiful environment you enjoy and want to spend time in, rather than working out in a cramped, dated or dark space, you’ll set yourself up for success and a lifetime of optimal health.
Soul Interiors Design | Photo: Lauren Taylor Photography
Make Your Bathroom a Wellness Recovery Zone
Whether you’ve just completed an intense workout or had a stressful week, you need a place in your home where you can recharge and recuperate.
We like to think of your bathroom as a “recovery zone,” a place where you can de-stress and rejuvenate. There are many ways you can incorporate spa-like amenities that will help calm your central nervous system, improve health and aid in a better night's sleep. Some examples include:
Deep soaking or whirlpool tub
Massage showerhead
Steam shower
Sauna
Heated towel bars
Heated flooring
Refrigerated vanity drawers
If you’re not investing in a full renovation, even smaller room updates like a soothing color palette, a bathtub caddy for aromatherapy, lights on a dimmer, scented soap and heated lotion dispensers, beautiful flowers or plants, and reducing visual clutter all contribute to a creating a serene atmosphere for self-care.
Reach Your Self-Care Goals by Getting Organized
Along with ensuring that the rooms in your home are optimized to support, not sabotage, your self-care goals, nothing undermines your efforts more than disorganization and clutter. Studies show that clutter can have a negative impact on your well-being and has been linked to increased procrastination and higher stress levels (New York Times).
Reducing clutter around your home will not only lower stress and anxiety, but will also save you time, energy and frustration when trying to find things.
From shelving units and furniture with built-in storage, to baskets and drawer organizers, there are numerous attractive storage solutions on the market to keep you organized. And if tackling home organization on your own seems daunting, some of our clients find it useful to have a monthly appointment with a professional organizer to stay on track and not let clutter build up. Having a neutral third-party help purge excess belongings and implement an efficient storage and home organization system is an investment in yourself that will pay huge dividends for you and your family.
Eliminate Trigging Environmental Cues That Sabotage Self-Care
As we touched on before you not only want to think about your home’s functionality, but also consider the emotional effects your interiors have on your mindset, mood, and energy. Studies show that interior design has a notable effect on your mental well-being which can influence other aspects of your life (ArchDaily).
That’s why it’s important to eliminate environmental cues that trigger negative emotions, stress or unwanted behavior.
For example, photos of former partners, objects or furniture that are tied to a painful memory, or clothes that you no longer fit into can all evoke negative feelings which can propel you into unhealthy behaviors. That is why we recommend not hanging on to anything that doesn’t bring you joy. Just donate it and move on, allowing space for a clean slate and new positive memories.
Increase Personal Connection and Community
As we navigate a post-pandemic world, the lingering effects of COVID are still all around us. Economic challenges, supply chain shortages, remote work schedules and reduced in-person learning all have people feeling stressed and isolated, increasing depression and anxiety (APA) among adults and particularly teens.
One way to combat this is by designing interior environments that foster and promote human connection, as well as allow for multi-generational living. Think fluid and open-concept spaces and muti-functional rooms so family members can spend more quality time together.
For example, an open kitchen, living and dining area where families can cook, play games, and do homework all in the same vicinity, or a living space designed to seamlessly flow to an outdoor entertaining area are both spatial layouts conducive to more connection.
If you don’t have an open-concept floor plan, increased connection can still be achieved with thoughtful space planning and investing in multifunctional furnishings that allow you to accommodate the needs of different household members and guests. Examples include:
Small furnishings that can be moved easily when needed
Nesting side tables
Expandable dining tables
Indoor and outdoor seating/lounge areas
When hosting friends and family consider having things on hand that will help them feel comfortable and engaged, like games or activities planned, extra blankets for outdoor gatherings, and plenty of food and drink.
We believe your home is your partner in your wellness journey and by taking small actionable steps each month you will be on your way to creating an environment that sets your family up for a life filled with good health, beauty, joy and success.
Feeling inspired to refresh your home to support your summer self-care goals, but need professional help? At Soul Interiors Design, a 21-year Pasadena-based interior design firm, we specialize in creating environments that help you thrive. Through a careful process of understanding your needs and goals, we’ll collaborate to design a beautiful space that enhances your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Get in touch with us today to talk about your project.
Gail E. Jamentz, Principal of Soul Interiors Design, proudly serves the communities of Pasadena, San Marino, La Cañada Flintridge, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Altadena, Glendale, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Palm Desert, and Palm Springs.