Supporting Health and Wellness with Healthy Home Trends (Part 3)
In this final segment about designing your home for health and wellness, we look at trends in color, interior décor, biophilia, health and wellness in kitchens and baths, as well as smart home technology.
Health and Wellness Trends
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Ever had a yearning for a specific countertop or a chair? Or on the flip side, a visceral reaction to a certain color or light fixture? If so, you are not alone. Colors, textures and design elements can evoke strong feelings of desire or displeasure.
These reactions can be explained, in part, by neuroaesthetics, a new field of experimental science that combines neuroscience, psychology and aesthetics to understand how humans derive intense pleasure or displeasure from aesthetic experiences such as art and beauty. Neuroaesthetics contends that visual aesthetics, namely the capacity of assigning different degrees of beauty to certain forms, colors or movement, is a specifically human trait not possessed by other members of the animal kingdom.
Designers and architects are consciously incorporating aspects of neuroaesthetic principles in their work, such as biophilia — the art and science of using objects of nature to render a sense of calm and relaxation. These design elements can increase the level of serotonin in your brain and effectively enhance your level of health, wellness and healing within the built environment.
Color Trends
Color can have a significant impact on setting the “tone” of a space. Consider what emotions you experience when you look at a bold color like red. What does the color represent to you? For many, it’s a color of passion, romance, fire or anger. Red can create an environment that promotes a sense of creativity or one that puts you on edge.
Color trends today are reflecting consumers’ desire for colors found in nature. Earth tones such as soft greens (e.g., Benjamin Moore’s color of the year, October Mist 1495, a shaded sage-green color), yellows and browns can promote a sense of serenity, calm and relaxation (like nature). Trends aside, when selecting colors, ask yourself what a color represents to you and how it can enhance your sense of wellbeing. Everyone is different, so be sure to use this as an opportunity to look inward to what colors elicit joy and wellbeing.