Healthy Home Design

Today we’re talking about who to have on your project team as you design and build your new home, renovation or addition.

When you’re ready to build a custom new home or renovate your existing home, you have options on who you want to help you complete the project.  

If you’ve never gone through the renovation or new build process before, you might be feeling a bit clueless on who will be involved.  Do you need an architect, engineers, surveyors?  I’m sure all these questions are swirling around in your head as you begin to plan out the steps to how your house is going to get designed and built.

So let’s break down all the potential professionals that may need to get involved in your project, and when they typically need to get involved.

Helpful Links:

Balanced Architecture (my website)

Designed For Wellness Course Waitlist

What is a Healthy Home Consultant

The living building challenge is a program created by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI).  It is about creating buildings that improve the planet and people by being built.  It's very aspirational and pretty hard to achieve.  That’s why ILFA created a second certification program called the Core Green Building Certification that makes achieving a super healthy and sustainable home within reach.  

I love the concept of building certifications because it provides goals and metrics to keep everyone accountable for creating better buildings.  And I’ve found that the Core Green Building Certification is one of the best programs that encompasses all aspects of health, well-being and planetary health in a realistic, achievable way.  

So if the idea of having goals and metrics to ensure you really are creating a home that supports your health and well-being, along with the planet, then this certification program is a great one to consider.

I’m going to discuss the 10 imperatives that combine to create the Core Green Building Certification requirements, and why I love this certification so much that I  plan to follow this framework when I build my home.

What makes building a house so expensive?  

Rising construction costs have put a lot of projects on hold or have sent the design team back to the drawing board.  

How can you renovate or build a new home in these expensive times without compromising your sustainable and wellness-focused design values?

In this eposide, I talk about the main factors in controlling building costs so that you don't get to the end of your design journey only to find out that you can't afford to build it.

Link to Blog Post that has ALL the links I mention in the eposide!!

Are you ready to start designing your dream home, but have no idea how to get all the thoughts and ideas you have floating in your head down on paper?  

If you’ve been thinking about your house design for a while, and have been saving Pinterest images and making inspiration boards, you have any idea of what you want, but you may be feeling lost on how you turn those ideas into a floor plan.

If so, I’m going to walk you through 5 steps to get all the ideas out of your head and into a floor plan.

It is soooo important to spend a lot of time working on the plans for your home renovation or a new build.  

Even if you plan to hire an architect, I recommend spending time up front on your own working through your ideas and trying out some floor plan layout options.  This will allow you to have more meaningful and detailed conversations with your architect.

What you’ll discover:

• 5 key steps to get your home design right

• The most important thing to figure out for your new home or renovation

• How to create a program of spaces

• What a bubble diagram is and why this needs to be done before creating a floor plan

• The best tools for sketching floor plans

Link to Blog Post that has ALL the links I mention in the eposide!!

In Part 2 of the How to design a durable house episode, we’re covering all things interior.  There are some great ways to make sure the inside of your home is easy to maintain, will keep you safe and healthy, and will last a long time.  We’ll get into materials, ventilation, lighting, and even storage!

What you’ll discover:

• Why ventilation is key for a durable home and what kind you need

• Low-maintenance and durable flooring options

• Ways to make sure your floors and flooring systems last a long time

• How to make your home easy to clean

Creating a durable home is a big part of creating a sustainable and healthy home.  A durable home means that the house will last a long time and be relatively low-maintenance.  This will help save you money in the long run, so it’s well worth it.  It also helps maintain a healthy indoor environment and makes you more comfortable.  

In this episode we’ll break down some of the big picture design strategies that you can incorporate into your renovation or new home design to make it a durable, sustainable, long-lasting, healthy, low-maintenance home.

Looking to create a kitchen that brings the beauty and tranquility of nature into your home?

Tune into this week’s episode all about biophilic kitchen design!

We’ll explore the benefits of incorporating natural elements into your kitchen, and learn how to design a space that's not only functional, but also calming and rejuvenating. This is  an insightful conversation about the intersection of nature and design in the heart of your home.

What you’ll discover:

What biophilic design is and why we need it

How to avoid fleeting trends and design something that you’ll love forever

Wellness kitchens and biophilic design

Simple ways to connect to nature with kitchen design

Links:

View post with images.

More on Wellness Kitchens

Intro to Biophilic Design

Hempcrete is an amazing alternative building technique that fits into the category of natural building methods.  

In this episode, I interview Mattie Mead, the founder and CEO of Hempitecture, a public benefit corporation that supplies hempcrete building materials and makes hempwool insulation.

“Hempitecture was founded with the idea that healthy, sustainable materials can help build a better world. These materials can help build a better world by contributing to our health, saving energy, and storing carbon dioxide.

They’re achieving their mission by focusing on biobased, natural building materials that are designed to replace conventional, toxic materials.”

I am super intrigued by hempcrete construction, and I’d love to build out of hempcrete someday. I have a feeling by the end of this episode, you’ll love the material too!

Mattie provides an in-depth understanding of what hempcrete is, how it works, and why it’s so good for you and the planet!

Here’s what we cover:

• How hempcrete is made
• What the sustainability and health benefits are of hempcrete
• What the difference is between cast-in-place hempcrete and hempcrete blocks
• How the cost of hempcrete construction compares to a more standard high-performance wall assembly
• The benefits of hempwool insulation and where to install it

Links:

Hempitecture.com

buy.hempitecture.com

And we're back!

This week we're exploring 10 sustainable design strategies that you can incorporate into your home renovation / addition or new build project.

• Why is sleep so important, and how can your living space influence your sleep?
• What are circadian rhythms?
• What is blue light?
• Do blue light blocking glasses really work?
• What kind of light do we need for better sleep and how do we get it?

Andrew is founder and managing partner of Havelock Wool. He has a passion for all things New Zealand, where the company procures its wool, that is mirrored by a desire to affect positive change in the built environment. He has lived and traveled around the world and seeks to leverage those experiences in bringing a biophilic, best practice to an industry known to contribute excessive waste to our world.

What You'll Discover:

• How does sheep wool insulation work?
• Is it a healthy choice for your home?
• Is it good for the environment?
• How much does it cost?
• Is it easy to install?
• Plus a lot more!

Helpful Links:

Episode Link

Havelock Wool

There is a lot to discover about the Living Building Challenge and how you can create a Living House.  This month's podcast episode is bringing you an overview of the concepts and how you can bring the ideas into your own home design.

You'll Discover:

• What the Living Building Challenge is and who it's for
• The 7 'Petals' that make up the core concepts of the LBC
• How to use the LBC framework without having to go all in on certification
  
• How to apply the LBC strategies to your upcoming project whether it's a renovation or a new build

Helpful Links:

The Living Building Challenge

International Living Future Institute

Loom House Project Spotlight

Have you ever started searching for a healthy product and then found yourself three hours later even more confused than when you started?

I have been there.  Searching for healthy and earth-friendly building materials for your home renovation or new home build is hard!  It's exhausting and confusing.

This episode is meant to help you narrow down your choices and guide you to the best websites to find the information you're looking for.

You'll Discover:

• What product certifications are
• Which certifications you should look out for
• The best websites to search for healthy materials
  
• My process for researching healthy and earth-friendly materials

Healthy Materials Guide:

Learn more about the Healthy Materials Guide Here.

Helpful Links:

Declare: https://declare.living-future.org/

Healthy Materials Lab: https://healthymaterialslab.org/material-collections/

Mindful Materials: http://www.mindfulmaterials.com/

We spend a lot of time in our kitchens, but do you know what’s in the air when you operate your stove or cook food?

It sounds a bit silly, but cooking can actually be dangerous! 

Cooking puts a lot of toxins into your air, so whenever you're cooking, those toxins are releasing into your air and you're breathing them in. 

With proper ventilation, you're curbing a lot of those toxins from getting into your air, which is why a ventilation system is so important for a healthy home!

Today's podcast episode dives into the kinds of toxins found in your kitchen air and the best ventilation options to help minimize and remove them.

What You’ll Discover:

• How a mechanical engineer can help keep the air in your home healthy
• Why it’s important to ventilate your kitchen
• What you can do to mitigate the dangers and toxins in your kitchen air
• What particulate matter (PM) is and how it’s released into the air through cooking
• Why an induction stove is healthier than a gas stove
• The best practices for using range hoods
• What makeup air is and why it’s needed with a range hood
  
  

Links:
Rocky Mountain Institute's study on gas stoves

Can you live in a small house?

Now, we’re not talking about tiny houses, which are wonderful for the planet, but a small house relative to the number of people and how those people live their lives.

Being comfortable in a small house, or any house, is all about the design. You can walk into a 3,000 square foot house and it can actually feel smaller than a 1,800 square foot house. Creating a spacious feeling in a small house is about the layout, design elements, and organization options.

This week’s Healthy Home Design podcast episode digs into ways to design a small house without sacrificing your comfort or flexibility.

What You’ll Discover:

• The benefits of living in a small house
• What to consider when designing your small house
• Tips and design ideas for making your house flexible, multi-use, and organized
• How to make your house feel comfortable and spacious
• Why a smaller home doesn’t necessarily affect the resale value
  
  

Links:

Episode 37 // What is a site analysis and why do you need one before designing your renovation / new home build?

Starting a renovation or a new home build can be daunting and there are often a lot of questions at the beginning. 

Everyone always wants to know how much the project will cost, how long it will take, and if they should phase the construction. So what should you consider when asking these questions, and what information can you provide to your contractor to prepare them as much as possible?

This week’s episode walks you through three of the most common questions contractors receive and how the variables of your site, design, or materials might affect the answer.

What you’ll discover:

• The three most common construction questions
• How different variables can affect the answer to your questions
• Why a square foot cost analysis might not be helpful in determining the overall cost
• What to provide to a contractor for them to answer your questions

We’re spending a lot more time in our homes and as work and family responsibilities merge, we’re finding ourselves more distracted and less productive.

With January being the time we set goals and figure out how to make our lives better, I wanted to share some ideas that can make your new home or renovation help you become more productive and healthy. 

These 10 design ideas will help you work efficiently, get more done in less time, and reduce stress for a healthy, productive home.

What you’ll discover:

• What designs you need to consider for a productive home
• How to increase natural light and decrease noise
• Why colors and the right furniture matter
• How the layout of your home and rooms can increase productivity and wellness

Helpful links:
Baux Acoustic Wood Wool Panels
Episode 34: Biophilic Design and How To Design Nature Into Your Home To Reap Wellness Benefits
Episode 16: Choosing Paint Colors For a Calm and Stress-Free Home with Mehnaz Kahn

Wellness kitchen:
An Architect’s Tips For Getting Your Wellness Kitchen Layout Right 
8 Tips for a Healthy Kitchen Makeover
Episode 9: Healthy and Sustainable Countertops for Your Healthy Home
Episode 14: 5 Reasons To Create A Kitchen Designed For Wellness

Pure Living Space - Promo code BALANCED  for 10% off    

This might be bad timing, with it being 3 days before Christmas, but I've been meaning to talk about this subject for a while, and finally had the chance.

So here we go...

Who's really affected by all the things we buy (and then throw away) in this country?

Who's primarily dealing with asthma and other serious illnesses because of where they live?

Who takes the brunt of the extreme weather events caused by climate change?

It's generally not the people that are buying all the things, or jet-setting around the world, or building mansions.

It's the country's low income and African American, Latino, and Native American populations.

This is what's known as environmental injustice, aka environmental racism.

This week's Healthy Home Design podcast digs into environmental justice and what we can do when building a new home or renovating to start fixing the environmental health disparity.

What You'll Discover:

• What environmental injustice is
• What you can do in your day-to-day life to help end the consumerism cycle
• How to use less when building a new home
• How to choose healthy materials for your home

Have a safe and happy holiday season, and I'll see you in the New Year!

Take care,

Kate

P.S. It's my New Year's resolution to do better at my own consumerism habits. What's yours?

Helpful Links:

Cancer Alley Louisiana:  https://www.propublica.org/article/welcome-to-cancer-alley-where-toxic-air-is-about-to-get-worse

Recycle Building Materials:
HFH ReStore: https://www.habitat.org/restores

EPA guide to recycling building materials: https://www.epa.gov/smm/best-practices-reducing-reusing-and-recycling-construction-and-demolition-materials