Does Clearing Game Cache Delete Saved Designs Design Home

What Is Wellness Architecture and Design?

1. Monitor Air Quality

2. Purify Air

Learn More: The Best Air Purifiers, Tested by HGTV Editors

3. Add Plants

Veronica Schreibeis Smith, CEO and founding principal of Vera Iconica Architecture, another pioneer in the wellness architecture movement, says just adding plants can make a difference in your home's air quality. B iophilic elements — essentially incorporating nature and natural elements into your home — are considered an integral part of wellness design.

Learn More: 20 Best Plants for Cleaning Indoor Air

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4. Install a Good Range Hood

Many older range hoods aren't properly venting cooking fumes, especially from gas stoves, creating a leading cause of home air pollution. This problem can be solved by choosing one that's properly sized for your range and directs fumes outside instead of recirculating the air in your kitchen.

5. Add Sanitizing Lights

Related to air, Veronica says she's noticed more customers wanting sanitizing UV lights in their home. For example, a recent Columbia University study found that far-UVC lights had the ability to kill 99.9% of seasonal coronavirus present in airborne droplets using ultraviolet light. Veronica recommends light company Healthe for its far-UVC light offerings.

6. Support Your Circadian Rythms

Speaking of light, it can be an overlooked part of having a healthy home, yet it plays a large role. "You probably won't find too many people you ask who don't want to sleep deeper or have more energy during the day. And that's exactly what circadian lighting can deliver for you," says Paul from Delos. The company offers this energizing mirror, for example. In the morning it provides a bright white light to help you wake up, and switches to a softer setting come evening to help your body wind down.

Learn More: How I Learned to Sleep Better, Naturally

7. Try Automated Shades

Another way to harness circadian lighting is by using automated shades. "Having circadian rhythm lighting in a home helps the body be in tune with the sun's clock and our own circadian clock, which ties into our body's ability to produce the correct hormonal elements such as melatonin for sleep and the correct color of light to awake, and to be energized when the body needs it most," says Jan Vitrofsky.

Learn More: 14 Designer Tips for a Better Night's Sleep

8. Consider Customized Water Filtration

9. Support the Environment With Counter Composting

Instead of a trash compactor or compost buckets, counters can now include a composter that freezes food waste and minimizes bad odors, all while facilitating food breakdown without taking up extra space.

10. Install Acoustic Panels

When it comes to the comfort part of wellness design, sound is a key component. This is especially true for maintaining a quiet environment, such as in the bedroom. One way to achieve that is by adding acoustic panels wherever your home needs it most — a simple solution that can vastly improve quality of life.

11. Create a Meditation Space

Mental health has become as critical as physical wellbeing in this new trend for wellness architecture. Veronica has noticed clients requesting dedicated meditation and/or yoga spaces in their homes, including new builds. Since she's all about multfunctional spaces, these areas don't need to be a separate room as long as there is an area that can easily transform from a work zone to yoga zone, for example. In order to create your own, Veronica recommends choosing a spot with a view or facing east or north, then removing any clutter. Add a few inspirational items, such as a statue, incense or artwork. Round it out with whatever you'll need for your practice, whether that's a meditation cushion, yoga mat, blocks, blankets, etc.

12. Look for Climate-Controlled Cabinets