More on At-Home Distractions…
Bergefurt and colleagues determined that “Previous research showed that office workers are mainly distracted by noise, influencing their mental health. . . . at home, employees were distracted by noise and when having a...
Uncertainty makes us want to Savour Experiences more…
Gregory and colleagues report that “Savoring—an emotion-regulation strategy that involves deliberately upregulating positive affect—has many benefits, but what enhances savoring in the present moment? Drawing from life-history theory, affective and developmental science, and social-psychological...
Planning Storage into New-Builds
Marco found that “The stuff that inhabitants own is largely overlooked in current debates on housing policy and design. Yet, householders can have their quality of life, well-being, and happiness negatively affected by the...
Get Outdoors after Work!
Klotz and colleagues studied how employees experiencing outdoor nature after spending a day at work indoors affected their lives. The scientists determined that “Our results, based on three studies employing different methodologies (i.e., an...
Does taking photos ruin your memory?
Soares and Storm report that “The photo-taking-impairment effect is observed when photographed information is less likely to be remembered than non-photographed information. Three experiments examined whether this effect persists when multiple photos are taken....
Packaging Colour and Taste!
Wang and Chang report that their “study takes popcorn packaging as an example to explore the impact of packaging colour on consumers’ taste perception and preference evaluation. . . . Four experimental package design...
The Smell of Lockdown…
Allen probed experiences in New Zealand during COVID-19-related lockdowns and found that “changes in suburban smells signal disruption to daily life as a result of the government’s social and economic pandemic-response measures. For instance,...
The Hotter is gets, the Stuffier it feels…
Zhang and colleagues found that “Perceived air quality was reduced significantly as indoor temperature increased. . . . Higher outdoor air supply rate is recommended when indoor temperature rises. . . . The subjective...
Playing to boost Creativity
Mercier and Lubart share that “Games are powerful educational tools, and several early studies have shown the potential of video games and role-playing games to improve creativity. . . . the first study [Marcier...
Why you should Garden!
Research on the benefits of gardening continues to accumulate. Scientists at the University of Colourado Boulder report that “the first-ever, randomized, controlled trial of community gardening found that those who started gardening ate more...
Dressing for Work
Kim, Holtz, and Vogel report that “the results of a 10-day field study of employees from four organizations generally supported our predictions, showing that daily clothing aesthetics and uniqueness had effects on state self-esteem...
Ceilings to Look up to… the Long Read…
It’s easy to take ceilings for granted. Most of the time for the majority of us they’re a non-event, they’re up there blocking our view of the sky, part of a structure that keeps...
Flooring to Ground a Space
When we’re developing a space, we tend to think a little more about what’s under our feet than what’s overhead, but often not much more. The single best surface for any floor is hardwood...
Finishes that Complete Things in just the Right Way
Finishes tend to be an afterthought—we agonize over a colour for a surface, but not over whether that surface should be shiny or matte, for example. This is too bad as surfaces have a...
Managing Acoustics
Sometimes people create a whole space without considering what the ambient soundscape will be. They may consider where to place speakers for the sound system they will install but not what user ears will...
Work in Movement….
People creating a space rarely remember to add elements that will move gently, peacefully. Gentle movement is an important principle of biophilic design, discussed here. The goal is to add some curtains, a wall...
Transition Areas
Way too often we create the focal areas in our homes and imagine, it seems, that people will experience one space or another but not those in between. Zoning is key for the best...
Historical Origins of the De-Cluttered Home
As those of us to whom Santa was generous this holiday season start to think seriously about where they’re going to put our gift haul, de-cluttering is getting a lot of attention, again. In...
Free Zones – in Praise of Basements!
Spaces where we can relax as we explore our own minds and work toward goals that are important to us are vital for our mental health. In “In Praise of Unfinished Basements,” Brady Brickner-Wood...
Barbie’s Dream House
Are you one of the millions of kids who played happily with a Barbie Dream House? If you are, you’ll relish reading Julie Lasky’s “A Six-Decade Tour of Barbie’s Dreamhouses” (2022, The New York...
Shiny or Matte?
Huang, Song, and Yang report that “glossy (vs. matte) finishes increase consumers’ perceived effectiveness of a problem-avoiding product while the reverse is true for a problem-approaching product. . . . we demonstrate that glossy [matte] finishes lead consumers...
Why block UV Radiation?
Leon has determined that “Temperature may be a proxy for UV radiation in the heat-aggression association. . . . Heat is associated with human aggression in field research, assumedly by affecting emotions, but it...
Do you go to Antique shops?
You’ll be interested in Ross, Bolton, and Meloy’s work. They found that “The market for secondhand items – goods previously owned by others- is rapidly growing. Disordered environments, characterized by disorganized or messy product...
Learning in a Space
A UCLA press release shares that “Wearing VR headsets, participants explored one of two environments — a fantasy fairyland or a science fiction landscape — where they could click to learn the Swahili or...
Get Your Kids to Wild Nature
Weiss, Kahn, and Lam found that “Interaction with nature is vital for children’s physical and psychological development. . . . [we] tested our hypothesis that relatively wild areas of this environment would be positively...
Designing for Mental Health – The Long Read
Every day is not a good day, no matter what colour you paint the walls in your office and regardless of the pattern and texture of your entryway rug. The design of the places...
Feeling Better Physically, Via Design – The Long Read
You may be thinking that the only way your design decisions will influence your physical health is if that oh so pretty throw you buy to make your winter sofa cozy or that incredible...
Why and How you need to manage your AirCon!
The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that keep your home from being a scorching desert in the summer and a desolate tundra in the winter can make you a happier, healthier person,...
Circadian Lighting for Mental and Physical Health
Circadian lighting keeps our stress levels in check, improving our physical health, and keeping our brains purring along effectively. It complements the light provided by the sun wherever we are, helping us live our...
Design to encourage Healthy Eating
Neuroscience research makes it clear that: We are more likely to make healthy eating choices when we’re wearing more formal clothes (apparently, we associate wearing formal clothes with being self-controlled and organized and eat...
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