Re-nesting – The Long Read
Even if as you read this it isn’t officially autumn yet, you know that summer is past and we are beginning to settle into another winter slog toward Spring and a return to indoor-outdoor...
Biophilic Design in Workplaces
All those plants you see around your workplace are not there by chance. Research consistently shows that being able to see a couple of plants (not more) as you work boost your cognitive performance,...
Odd Spaces can make Great Spaces!
If when you read “odd places” in the title of this article and thought, “at last, what I should do with that weird space under the stairs OR that 2 foot by 3 foot...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
Moon Effects – “Science News”
So it seems that science is proving that we are affected by the moon’s cycle! Casiraghi and colleagues used “wrist actimetry to show a clear synchronization of nocturnal sleep timing with the lunar cycle...
Colours Seen and Temperatures Perceived – “Science News”
The warmer the colour of the light around you, the warmer you feel. This might seem obvious, but studies continue to prove this the case, with significant results. So if it’s cold outside, maybe...
Scents Meet Virtual Reality for Wellbeing – “Science News”
Virtual Reality has taken a turn for the better by incorporating smell! There is a new report which uses views and smells to augment the virtual reality to create calm spaces in nature for...
Home Office, Home Design Challenge
Creating a home office where people work to their full potential, and have a reasonable level of wellbeing while doing so, is a lot more challenging than heading off to IKEA and bringing home...
Varying Lighting Levels
Vary your daylight – we’ve found more proof! You’ve heard of circadian rhythms and you are probably also aware how replicating it inside your home and office is a good idea. We write about...
Choosing a NEW HOME… the Long Read
If you’ve considered the stay-move list noted earlier and you’re going to find a new home, only relocate to a space that makes you feel good. Don’t choose to move into a space unless...
Bathroom Renovation
Bathrooms can be tricky places to renovate because often people can’t decide what they are actually meant to be. Are they Zen zones where users will bliss out or activation zones where people shed...
Happy Memories
Don’t ignore your own positive prior garden or yard experiences. If your childhood garden featured brightly coloured furniture you loved, use the same style again in your current garden if you can, regardless of...
Art and Light
Art and other decorative elements can be great additions to gardens, particularly ones that have an organic curvy form, since they’re relaxing to look at, but what’s designed to be seen but missed visually...
Making Space for Meditating
Meditation is, for many, a spiritual activity, and for all a relaxing, calming one—but no matter why people have decided to meditate, studies indicate that it has positive repercussions for their minds and bodies....
Design for Exercise – how to make the most out of your exercise
‘Tis the time for exercise. Nothing inspires a person to spring into action, body management-wise, faster than the prospect of leaving the house in a summer ensemble that’s snugger, in a debilitating sort of...
Scent your space for Mingling
Your home and office will smell like something as you mingle and you might as well use this smell for the good! It is important to get rid of any bad smells, the odor...
Temperature Matters!
When it’s cold we need more social warmth. Fay and Maner found that “Laboratory studies have linked variability in temperature to the psychology of social affiliation. In colder ambient environments, for example, people report...
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