Healthy Home Design – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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.

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

We have a special guest interview today, from a company I love to recommend, but first I have a quick, fun announcement. If you've tried visiting my Balanced Home Balanced Life website lately, you probably noticed that it's no longer there! I decided to combine my two websites into one, and now everything I do can be found at Balancedarchitecture.com And it's been totally revamped! You'll find all the latest podcasts episodes, resources, the different ways I can help you create your renovation or new build, and just lots of great info about making a healthy and sustainable home. So make sure you check that out!   Ok, now on to my special guest. I recently had the opportunity to interview jay Watts who is VP at AFM Safecoat. you might have heard me mention this company before. They specialize in making healthy paints, stains, coatings, sealants, and pretty much all other liquid coatings you'd use in a building project Jay has been with AFM for 25 years, and through his time there he's be counselling consumers, especially those with chemical sensitivities and allergies, on strategies to building or remodeling safer homes and offices. We dive into all things indoor air quality in this episode. It was a really fun discussion. I hope you enjoy it! www.balancedarchitecture.com/045  

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:

This Easy-To-Use Guide Will Help You:

• Save time and avoid frustration - you can stop the endless internet research for healthy and sustainable materials

• Feel good about the materials you're selecting for your home

• Share your material ideas with your architect and builder so they have a head start on understanding what you want to use in your home

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

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