Health and wellbeing are important now more than ever, as we all navigate through the Covid 19 pandemic. In this episode of the Your Forever Home podcast, Frances outlines different ways that we can incorporate wellness into our homes – through connection to the outdoors, bringing the outside in, use of colour and materials on our homes, and more permanently – designing for wellbeing.   Sit back, relax, and delve into all the options to make you feel better in your home.    SHOWNOTES In light of lockdowns that have occurred numerous times to many of us, Frances decided it was time to talk about creating wellness for ourselves, and for the people around us, by creating home havens, where we feel nurtured and cocooned, ultimately creating a positive impact on our mental health.  How can we create wellness in our home?  Private Retreat  Create a space that you and other family members can retreat to. A space where someone can relax, recharge and reconnect with themselves. Ideally, this space has doors to maintain privacy and mitigate noise.   This room could be:  Second living   Sunroom  Conservatory  Retreat or multi-purpose room  Connect to the outdoors  From sitting in a garden, walking along the beach, to surrounding ourselves with plants and trees, connection to outdoors has a positive impact on our mental health and wellness.   Have a vista to a garden or balcony where you have greenery with plants or flowers. Physical connection to balcony, garden or courtyard  A view to the sky, the ocean, a garden or tree canopies.    Surround yourself with the things you love  You need to surround yourself with items that resonate you. Items that you feel connected to so you're surrounded by things that you have meaning and therefore create a sense of being cocooned.  It also creates a more relaxed environment to be in, and also aids in feeling a sense of connection and meaning in your life. Having items in your home that mean something to you - it's what makes a "home" a home.  Create a curated selection of items that mean something to  you, for instance;  Items that you’ve collected on your travels  Items  that you’ve made yourself  Something that someone made for you  - a family member, a friend or your children  Heirloom pieces that tell a story and have meaning  Houseplants   Frances' number one way to create wellness and relaxation in a home is to bring plants into the home. Plants are a good option to change the way a space looks and FEELS. Plus, plants release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.  Some ideas on how to use house plants; Plants in large pots positioned on the floor  Plants are perfect for empty corners and nooks  Placed on  shelves and bookcases – especially trailing plants  Plants in hanging pots from beams or ceilings  Plants in pots placed on bench tops, tables, dining tables, consoles or buffets.  Consider plants being placed at  different heights   Things to consider to design for wellness when renovating or creating a new home   Materials Being Used  Toxic and chemicals   Make sure that you are not using materials that may affect your physical health. If you want to create wellness. minimise the toxicity and chemicals that are being emitted in your home.   Avoid toxic chemicals such as VOCs, those in plastics,  polyurethane and formaldehyde.   Be mindful of hybrid and vinyl floors as they are full of toxic chemicals that slowly emit into the home over time.  Use of Organic and Natural Materials   Choosing natural materials means a reduction of toxic chemical compounds being brought into your home. Plus, bringing natural materials is always a great sustainable choice!  Anything made of timber – sustainably sourced.  Natural Stones  Recycled materials  Organic textures and petrified timbers.  Use of Doors  Doors allow you to create privacy, and mitigate unwanted noise in your home – perfect when you need some time and space for relaxation.  Design around the landscape   Sliding doors or bi-fold doors to create a connection to your garden and the outdoors.  Highlight windows or porthole windows enabling you to get a view of the sky.   Strategic placement of a window that allows you to see your garden.    Colours and Wellness  How do you choose colours that allow you to  feel relaxed, connected, and recharged?  The Colours of Nature  Most commonly, most people love;  Different shades of Blue   Different shades of Green  The Colours that You Love  Choose colours that you love and have always gravitated to   Colours that make you feel relaxed, energized and/or happy  Kids  Allow your kids to have a bit of creative input in their own space, which will make them happy and more connected.   Paint their room colour of their choice (you can provide parameters for this)    Add their favourite colour with the use of scatter cushions, artwork, a rug or throw  Make a  reading nook in a corner of their room to encourage downtime and recharge time.    Free resources around the topic:  Injecting New Life into your Home  Ready to renovate or build but not sure where to start?  Get the help of a property expert and save yourself from making costly mistakes with a free Forever Home chat.