00:00:35:22 – 00:00:53:09
Unknown
Welcome back to the space to Be. Well, we are in episode 11, season one. And we are talking about, the principles of wellness design. And we’re going to continue that subject here into this episode.

00:00:53:09 – 00:01:25:05
Unknown
And we are going to be talking about, sort of, you know, a principle that is something that you need in your home in order to thrive. So if you are, you know, not feeling, very, lively in your home or if you’re even not feeling relaxed. Right, just a little, you know, not too balanced in a little, you know, not feeling so, so great.

00:01:25:11 – 00:01:31:21
Unknown
You just may be missing this principle.

00:01:31:23 – 00:02:04:14
Unknown
Right. So, Valerie, I know this is a big one for us. Again, another non-negotiable. We’re talking about the principles of wellness design. We’ve talked about luxury as a principle and hospitality and equality. We’ve talked about beauty as a principle. But we, this is this is one of those principles that, we we can’t live without. Now, the big and, nature, nature, nature, nature, nature.

00:02:04:14 – 00:02:38:10
Unknown
This is it is a big one. You know, it really brings us back to a place of, you know, a place that we can relate to, a place that we, feel, most connected to is nature. And we’re going to be talking about why this is important for the well-being. I mean, look, you, you guys, you’re everybody’s familiar with the the big, you know, architectural trend that is happening where, you know, with movable walls and bigger windows and taller doors.

00:02:38:12 – 00:03:15:09
Unknown
And there is a reason for that is because we’re all trying to let the, you know, let the outdoors in and, you know, that’s that’s crucial. But we’re going to talk about, you know, sort of the philosophy behind this, why it’s important and how we can incorporate these ideas into our environments. And, Valerie, this is something that we has to be in every one of our environments, that element of nature has to be, I think when you’re trying to achieve true well-being, you have to have nature.

00:03:15:11 – 00:03:44:18
Unknown
That is just it is how we help heal ourselves, how we reset, how we live new, how to grow. And I think we can really look to nature as a teacher for us, if you will. We can take the cues that surround us in nature, and we can apply those to our interiors and the environments that we live and work in every day.

00:03:44:20 – 00:04:12:19
Unknown
And this is when, you know, we’re not just talking about biophilia, where we stick a plant in the room or a moss wall. Those are great. But I think what we’re also talking about is the nature connection, and how we can achieve that in a greater way and tune in to nature. And, I think by doing that, we’re really helping ourselves to have true well-being.

00:04:12:21 – 00:04:45:06
Unknown
Exactly. Nature’s a great teacher. You know, we, we look to nature’s rhythms. For example, the sunrise to the sun set in our schedules and our circadian rhythms, revolve around those, that movement you know, so nature’s always moving and changing, and whether we know it or like it, we’re moving with it. And, and the more we resist that, the more difficult, life is.

00:04:45:11 – 00:05:25:17
Unknown
And in order to have a more rewarding life, a more richer life, life that is, you know, affords you vitality and, you know, accelerating the human spirit. It revolves around nature. And that’s why, you know, we we hear a lot about this circadian rhythms and, that movement. But it goes beyond that. It goes into even the changing of the seasons, which, we’re going to really talk about why that’s important and how we can, even adapt our environments to the seasons.

00:05:49:18 – 00:06:23:15
Unknown
we talked, you know, briefly about, you know, the trend of opening up the the, you know, the, the walls and the, you know, bigger doorways, bigger windows. But not all of us have that, that luxury of being able to, you know, have that movable wall. But it’s not even just about that. And that’s important, I think, where we can bring the outdoors in through, through glass, you know, sort of that that barrier between the outside and the inside is key.

00:06:23:17 – 00:06:50:06
Unknown
But it’s also just even about you know, allowing natural light to flow through the space. You know, we do this a lot, Valerie, when we’re designing a space and we’re we’re looking at it from a two dimensional perspective, and then we move to the three dimensional, perspective, which is where we really refine our spaces. All of a sudden we’ll step back and we’re what is this missing?

00:06:50:06 – 00:07:18:13
Unknown
And one of the first things we ask ourselves is, can we open up the space, you know, is there an opportunity? And sometimes you don’t see that from the two dimensional perspective. It’s in the three dimensional perspective that we can see. In fact, we just, you know, worked on and the one project where they had this entry door to their spa and we, and, you know, they loved this idea of a frosted glass panel that would allow light to flow through.

00:07:18:13 – 00:07:43:09
Unknown
But there was an opportunity to do a sidelight to the left and the right, and so by expanding that, we’re now allowing, more light to flow through the space. And so I think it’s really just, you know, allowing light to move through this space is, is just as powerful is allowing the, the outside in because light is natural.

00:07:43:10 – 00:08:22:10
Unknown
Yes, absolutely. And I think you there’s ways where even if maybe you can’t have, like you’re saying, a full wall of windows or, or a clear door, you know, you can still do, you know, just decorative panels that have opacity to them to help to divide us these without truly enclosing it, to let that light filter through or even clear story windows where maybe, you know, it’s just not an option, you know, for privacy or security to have lower level, you know, expansive glass.

00:08:22:10 – 00:08:49:14
Unknown
But that clear story, it’s really about what you’re saying, letting the the light filter in and, because, you know, there’s tons of studies out there, right? And I’m sure you’ve seen, where, you know, even if you got 10 to 20 minutes. Of sunlight of nature first thing in the morning, that, that helps to, to keep your circadian rhythm going in the right direction.

00:08:49:14 – 00:09:16:15
Unknown
And there’s just such great health benefits to that. So don’t we want our, in our interior environments to also help us with that. Exactly. We do spend so much time with work, school, work, all these different values where we are inside a lot. So, I think the more that we can marry that instantly, just to the right.

00:09:16:17 – 00:09:48:06
Unknown
Exactly. It’s echoing, you know, the textures from the outside. It’s echoing the patterns from outside. It’s echoing the colors from outside. Do you remember that project that we worked on in San Francisco where, you know, we had designed the shampoo area, and in front of the shampoo area, we had this sort of atrium. It was like a glass enclosure that had trees and, you know, river rock at the bottom.

00:09:48:06 – 00:10:13:18
Unknown
And there was, up lighting inside the, inside the, the atrium. And it really was a divider between the shampoo area and another room. But it was just so magical. And I think that’s just an example of, you know, sort of allowing this natural light to flow through and, and using nature as is a way to do that.

00:10:13:20 – 00:10:38:04
Unknown
But I think we can echo, you know, nature’s textures through wood and stone and, you know, marble, even nature’s colors. You know, these are the things that we really need to be paying attention to. You can do this architecturally. You can do this strategically. You know, we have a lot of, customers who, you know, as accents.

00:10:38:04 – 00:11:05:23
Unknown
They like the, you know, blues and greens. And I isn’t it true that the most, if you polled, a society’s, the favorite color is blue? I mean, there’s such a connection. There’s, without a doubt, the connection to the sky and the sea, you know, is, it’s relevant, and we’re we’re repeating this into our spaces, whether we know it or not.

00:11:05:23 – 00:11:31:14
Unknown
But I think we can even be more strategic now that we understand the true benefits of, the, you know, of, of nature, inside the built environment. You know, we can even do that with, you know, beautiful architectural patterns, and sculptural panels that replicate nature in a really impactful and powerful way. Yeah, I love that.

00:11:31:14 – 00:12:08:22
Unknown
And, that’s actually something I was wanting to talk about today is the idea of, pattern and the natural pattern. And they actually, scientifically have reviewed, you know, nature’s patterns. And, it’s really a study in what they call fractals. Right. And so I think that is like a really big trend actually right now is the study of fractals and the impact of the geometry of nature, how that actually can impact us.

00:12:09:00 – 00:12:37:14
Unknown
And they’re creating more and more materials out there every day that have that apply these fractals so that but it’s done in a way where it’s not like we’re just implementing, you know, you know, a tree in the in the corner of the room. It’s done in a way that, you know, it’s could be, a pattern in the carpet, a pattern for covering or a panels like you just were mentioning.

00:12:37:16 – 00:13:12:05
Unknown
And I think through all of these different, materials that we surround ourselves with, you know, that they’ve actually scientifically proven that that still has a similar type effect because what it does is actually seeing nature. Exactly. You know, the other trend that we’ve been seeing, too, that we’ve been, doing now for a couple of years, is the, the wall covering, you know, the beautiful floral wall coverings or the, you know, leaf patterns, you know, wall coverings have made such, a big comeback over the years.

00:13:12:05 – 00:13:39:01
Unknown
I think, in part is this idea of nature. So, you know, we’re seeing textured walls and wall coverings in, in our spaces that, you know, 15 years ago, you know, nobody was doing wall coverings. And, but now we’re seeing, you know, beautiful floral wall coverings as an accent. And it’s just so breathtaking. And it, it’s it’s very transformational.

00:13:39:03 – 00:14:13:22
Unknown
And, and even, you know, the, the, the stone walls, we’re seeing a lot more textures or this idea of limestone or lime wash walls to create that texture. I mean, we’re just we are just like, innately, we’re craving it. We’re innately like, bringing this into the environment, the softer shapes. Right? The more of the organic shapes. I mean, that’s another, you know, big trend that we’re seeing are the organic shapes, even if it’s the softness of the furniture.

00:14:14:00 – 00:14:36:18
Unknown
You know, not necessarily overly curved walls. Of course, we’re seeing that too, but at least we’re balancing, you know, space. Maybe that is very squared off, rectangular with soft shapes on the inside. And we’re just, you know, we’re drawn to this. We’re drawn to nature. And I think this is going to continue to be a trend.

00:14:36:20 – 00:15:05:05
Unknown
But I also think there is this balance of sort of, you know, you know, balancing this idea of nature in the interior environment and also balancing it with this idea of safety, which is more of a modern architecture. You know, glass, in other words, you know, glass is just, a way to, you know, create some boundaries in this space.

00:15:05:07 – 00:15:40:18
Unknown
You know, because I think when it comes to nature, we need boundaries. You know, there’s this, you know, you had mentioned, you know, we have to sort of tame, you know, our exposure to nature, you know, with a storm or, you know, a snow storm. So we I think we’re creating boundaries, you know, through the built environment, which allows us to, you know, sort of create this idea of safety, the, from the power of nature that we actually have no control over, which I think is very interesting.

00:15:40:18 – 00:16:10:00
Unknown
I love the idea of boundaries myself. I think, Valerie, you potentially might push the boundary or push the boundaries. I think you would too. I go safe, you go, I go safe you go. This, I think one thing we sort of, maybe slightly, don’t see eye to eye. You’ll live in a tree house. Is that the.

00:16:10:02 – 00:16:42:04
Unknown
Absolutely. I think there’s just, You know, it’s something that’s so calming to me and and in such a profound way that, like, if I had the opportunity, I would just be in nature, like, all the time. I think in the Midwest, we we get so, stuck in our, you know, inside because of winter and cold and, in, in, in the spring, you know, like, we have such a shortened amount of time to be outside.

00:16:42:04 – 00:17:08:00
Unknown
So, definitely guilty, that I would, I would, I would do a tree house, but it would have to have some safety shelter, like, totally like. And it would have to be temporary. It would be like a tree house vacation or something. You know, putting a little bit of luxury plopped in there. You, you know how we roll, but, you know, I love that.

00:17:08:00 – 00:17:55:10
Unknown
But I think that is something, you know, and, you know, let’s explore this idea of the seasonal decor. You know, we I think naturally we talked about the movement of nature, and it’s promptings, you know, nature prompts us to do things. I do think that it definitely cuz I think, nature is a way of teaching us and and and helping us to learn to grow and change and adapt because nature is continually moving and we always, in order to be, whole and, you know, to be, you know, well grounded, we have to adjust and adapt to this idea of, of change, you know, because whether we like it or not, life

00:17:55:10 – 00:18:21:06
Unknown
changes, life moves on. And, nature is that force of change. And so I think it’s gently ushering us into change, especially if you live in an environment where we have the Four Seasons. I know, you know, we do this for self-care, right? We have, I tend to take a tub, you know, a warm bath during the cold winter months, very rarely.

00:18:21:08 – 00:18:44:07
Unknown
You know, more of a cold shower and, on a hot day. So we’re following nature’s promptings in terms of self-care, right? Maybe eating more, you know, fruits and vegetables, you know, are more, you know, more citrus fruits in the summer or even the plantings, you know, are teaching us how to, you know, live in harmony with nature.

00:18:44:09 – 00:19:17:13
Unknown
But, but I think we can even explore this idea of changing our environment with the seasons. You know, we’ve got fall coming up here. You know, I think fall is this idea of sort of, you know, not renewal, but more of a sort of bunkering down. It’s sort of, you know, settling down sort of reflecting a little bit, even a little bit of, you know, coming back to, abundance a little bit more.

00:19:17:13 – 00:20:03:18
Unknown
And I think that we can design or spaces around that, don’t you think? Yeah, I, I definitely think so. I think seasonally we do have that urge to like, change something. And I think that stems from, from the heart nature’s cues. And so I think if we actually build our environments to support that seasonal change, that we can witness it and feel it and move with it, you know, that’s, that’s really doing our bodies just, well, you know.

00:20:03:20 – 00:20:32:09
Unknown
Exactly. You know, think about, you know, in the winter months, you know, we pile on, you know, the pillows and, you know, beautiful throws and, you know, maybe even a more of a textural rug. You know, we have the the fireplaces is lit in those months. Make you know, more candles or even in the, in the fall, you know, we have the gourds and the pumpkins and, you know, we’re decorating with more splendor, right?

00:20:32:10 – 00:21:02:18
Unknown
You know, more of the leaves and the crisp this fall that, that fall brings in it puts us in a state of mind that is, helps us to align our in balance our our bodies and so, you guys, you know, the takeaway here is to be thinking about you’re not really just adapting to the seasons to stay with the trend or because everybody else is putting moms on their front porch.

00:21:02:23 – 00:21:45:16
Unknown
I mean, it’s our way of connecting with nature, and it’s bringing us back to this deeper meaning of, you know, of belonging to nature. I mean, you know, biophilia really is a, it’s it’s a real thing. We absolutely connect with nature, and it really anchors and grounds us. And so the more we can, you know, adjust our homes and our environments to fit the seasons from season to season, the bigger the benefit you’re going to get, you know, to really renew the, the human spirit and, and even a physically and emotionally and spiritually.

00:22:05:13 – 00:22:32:08
Unknown
So, listeners, another way to be thinking about bringing nature in your home is to be thinking about the elements of nature. And those elements are fire, water, air and earth. And so I know in my home I have them all accounted for. And, and it’s not necessarily what you think, you know, to have the, the water element in your house.

00:22:32:10 – 00:22:55:23
Unknown
You don’t necessarily need to have a water feature. You can have the, the element of water through even colors, you know, on one of my walls, I have a very deep, deep, you know, gray tone, with a mix of sea green and blues, you know, on, on one wall and, and it’s balance. And you have to have all four to have that balance.

00:22:55:23 – 00:23:14:14
Unknown
Right. On my on my, floor, I have a concrete porcelain floor that really is very, reminiscent of Earth, you know? Yeah, it’s it has a cement look which has, you know, a mix of limestone and clay and

00:23:16:12 – 00:23:28:09
Unknown
Minerals that really bring that all together, and, of course, fire. You know, most of us have a fireplace in the home, but we can replicate fire with incandescent lighting.

00:23:28:13 – 00:23:56:19
Unknown
That’s that lighting that has, 2700 Kelvin temperature light, which is the only light I allow in my house. But it has a red undertone to it that a lot of LED lights just don’t have. And that red undertone has that element of fire, and that brings that element of warmth that, even if you don’t have a fireplace, that incandescent bulb will do that.

00:23:56:21 – 00:24:30:13
Unknown
And even through air, you know, just having an open space, more of an open plan gives that element of air, and so, you know, Valerie, how do you bring in the elements into your home? Yeah, I, I think, you know, right along that same context, you know, I was thinking even just, quickly go back to your idea of fire, you know, that’s something that definitely, I added to my house, and, I haven’t ever regretted that decision.

00:24:30:15 – 00:25:00:18
Unknown
Because fire is one of those things where innately, as humans, we are just drawn to fire. And so if you’re lighting in your house, it’s something where it’s just like, it’s so, cold feeling and just not appealing and, and all of that, it really can dissuade you from, like, wanting to, to gather in closer, to relax, to really set the mood and in the right way.

00:25:00:18 – 00:25:31:11
Unknown
So I think, just like you were saying, with the fire that’s so important. And then I think to, you know, to having I have a lot of wood in my house, floors. I have our wood. So that feels very grounding. And, I think even the, the colors that I have chosen as well, that really have resonated with me for many years, it’s kind of the, green tones as well as, you know, some beautiful neutrals too.

00:25:31:11 – 00:26:04:07
Unknown
But yeah, I think, I think it’s also even really interesting to have a little bit of metal as well. You know, in the mixed into those elements. Exactly. Yes. And that I think would be a good challenge, listeners, is to think about those elements and how they’re represented in your home and the balance of them, because, you know, you you want to have that nice balance of the elements, and that creates harmony in the spaces that we live in.

00:27:09:11 – 00:27:33:05
Unknown
Yeah. So, Valerie, you had touched a little bit on, you know, some of the technology, the science that’s going on behind, new product developments that are happening in the market and in terms of the future of design and nature, I think we’re going to continue to see this as, something that’s going to grow.

00:27:33:07 – 00:28:09:09
Unknown
I think we’re going to see more of the idea of new product development, new development in terms of materials and finishes and architectural panels. I mean, even today we’re seeing this trend of, you know, technologies to bring in stone into the interior environment that wraps around a curved wall and is so realistic. And I think that some of the, you know, the bigger things that we’re seeing is these, you know, very realistic faux plants, you know, silk plants that are very artful in their, their own right.

00:28:09:09 – 00:28:57:13
Unknown
And I think that, that sort of that artfulness of nature is something that is going to continue to trend and really be a big trend as we move forward. What are you seeing? Well, I really like where you’re going with that. And I, I completely agree. I think, you know, my hope is that people really are able to connect with nature in this way and start really planting with with nature instead of having it just be, that surface level thing so that, you know, our homes and our interiors really have this focus around, around and with nature, through these different architectural elements.

00:28:57:13 – 00:29:29:06
Unknown
So it doesn’t seem like an afterthought. Exactly. You know, that it’s inherent in the types of buildings that we’re building and, and that that becomes a mainstream sort of exactly. Even down to the smart systems that are being designed to help with sound and and natural light in the home. And, you know, those systems adjusting as the the day progresses and keeps that balance and harmony happening into this space.

00:29:29:06 – 00:29:57:19
Unknown
So, you know, listeners, I hope you enjoyed, learning about this, this really important principle that we incorporate in all our environments. If you have any, comments or questions, please, drop us a line and, and let us know, what you’re thinking and what you’re doing in terms of the, the principle of nature and how that’s changed your world.