In conversation with The Space Doctors
Dr. Augustin and Dr. Champion had a range of experiences before they joined forces as The Space Doctors—they weren’t born yesterday even if their faces do have a certain youthful glow in every photograph...
Yes! The Places You Should Work!
On Wednesday 13th October 2021, The Space Doctors, who provide Neuroscience based prescriptions for the design of your office and home performed their poem, “Yes! The Places You Should Work!” at Workplace Trends conference at the...
Let there be Light
As we move toward the solstice and beyond, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you’ll have fewer hours of day light every day and that means less natural light in your home. This...
Fall and Food
One of the first questions that generally gets asked about design and eating is if colours on walls, plates, etc., can influence how much we eat. The answer: surface colours do indeed influence our...
Temperature Wars
This is the time of year when there are often quite lively, shall we say, debates over where to set the thermostat in your home or office. Please consider this article a public service,...
Future Space
Loads of people are proclaiming that future mingling will be much less prevalent than in the past. There’s even discussion of whether we’ll need offices in the future, for example here: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210721-whats-the-purpose-of-the-office-and-do-we-still-need-it There are...
Be Careful with the De-Cluttering!
At this point, many of us have been locked in our homes for so long that we’ve had a chance to clutter and are now thinking that the best option for our weekend amusement...
Space-By-Time
We’ve all had the experience of being in a café in the morning and being able to plough right through a backlog of work and returning at night to the same spot and having...
How to Make that Temporary Desk your Own!
Co-working? If you find yourself in a temporary desk at a co-working site you can take steps to personalize your space. You can wear a trace of scent to create a subtle olfactory bubble...
Add Vertical Nature
You may have seen Vertical Gardens, beautiful, stunning nature landscapes of greenery, plants, flowers, mini trees and more. There is increasing evidence that these have many positive effects on us, not just reducing VOCs....
Play music when doing something simple!
Have you ever wondered how music affects what you’re doing? Kiss and Linnell shared some research on two sets of people who either sat in silence or listened to some music while they are...
Depression and Vision
So when they speak about seeing the world through Rose-coloured glasses, it seems the opposite is true if you’re feeling blue. Researchers have verified that being depressed influences how people see the world, literally;...
Managing Circadian Rhythms
More research on how lighting affects us. Also read on to learn how we are lighting our homes and spaces now we have access to electric light in a way that is counter-intuitive to...
Sight-Sound Links
Did you know that our environment affects how we read and process information. This is a handy bit of information for advertisers, designers, or anyone trying to enhance their messaging to their readers. So,...
Stressed? Walk on a Carpet…
Who would have thought that a little walk on a carpet can help reduce your stress level. Hoki, Sato, and Kasai’s research “focused on the effects of indoor flooring in the residential environment on stress,...
Getting out in Nature helps Boost Brain Power – It’s Official!
If you want to improve your little grey cells and also make yourself happy, get yourself out into nature. Write yourself a “green prescription” and take a walk outside, in a park, forest or...
Lighting for Sleep
Figueiro and colleagues set out to learn how light experienced during the day influences sleep. Via an online survey they evaluated how “potential changes in daytime light exposures resulting from teleworking or self-isolating at...
The Best Lighting Tip You’ll Read all Month!
Do you want to sleep better? Adjusting your lighting during the day is a key feature in helping you have a better night’s rest. Switching up the lighting, also helps you concentrate during the...
Designing for Creativity
Recently published research confirms links between thinking creatively and being in less energizing spaces. Needle and Mallia report that “Open-office plans have become the dominant mode for creative workplaces, designed to encourage collaboration. . ....
Workplace Views
We all know what we see affects our mindset, but which views are best and why? Elzeyadi’s research focused on preferred workplace views but his findings can be applied in other contexts. He reports...
Making BIG Spaces
If you want people to feel welcome and comfortable, especially in commercial environments, you would do well to pick up tips from Noble and Devlin’s recent study. The bigger the better it seems, makes...
Enjoying Mingling
Article after article is trumpeting how much people are enjoying interacting with others again or how much they long to do so (see this one, for example: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/17/insider/working-empty-newsroom.html ) Of course we’re glad to...
Living alone together
Recently, there’s been more attention to people, generally those getting a little long in the tooth, who are choosing to have relationships with others but not marry or move in together (see this article,...
Summer / Winter / Seasonal Stressors!
At this time of year you’re likely to be experiencing particular environmental stressors. Humans are most comfortable, our moods are good, and our brains work most effectively, when temperatures are around 70 to 72...
What’s up and What’s down
We think a lot about the vertical surfaces (walls) in the spaces where we find ourselves, but not so much about the horizontal ones, the ceilings and floors. Science is clear about how they...
Probably worth it!
In the fourth of our articles this month looking at the different design options you can try to improve your home at different price points, we suggest some tips and furnishings which cost a...
More elbow grease than cash required!
Most of us need to paint from time to time and depending on the colours on your walls now, you might decide that repainting sooner is a better idea that waiting. Have a look...
Really Low Cost
In the second article on designing the space to live the life you planned, we look at how you can change your home or office which will cost very little. Your house or office...
Design changes that are FREE!
Some changes you can make to your home or office can have a powerful effect on your wellbeing but are essentially free. Here is a useful list for you The single most important...
The Design Plan
Deciding on what to design first when you’re conscious of the size of your purse. Even the most organized of us, the ones living lives ordered beyond even the imaginations of mere mortals, only have...
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