When you hear the words “healthy home,” you might associate them with sustainability or even the emotional qualities that fill a home to create a welcoming atmosphere. And, while one-third of single-family and multifamily builders surveyed responded that green building makes up over 60% of their overall activity, designing and living in a healthy home can simply mean designing stylish, creative living spaces that factor in the health and wellness of your family as well as the design and construction process. From choosing fabrics and paint to selecting and incorporating design features that contribute to your health, it’s important to cultivate a home that doesn’t emit chemicals, particles or damaging materials to you or the environment.

Building Materials for a Healthy Home

Before designing the interior aspects of your home, it’s important to take into account the building materials used in constructing your living space, if you have the opportunity to do so. As a first line of defense, try signing up for the Healthy Building Network's HomeFree website to access numerous resources on healthy materials from flooring to paint.

Then, when you go to purchase construction materials, ensure that the manufacturer takes part in the Health Product Declaration Collaborative. These products allow you to see exactly what materials and compounds are used in the construction to ensure you’re not introducing harmful chemicals, particles or other dangers into your home or the air that surrounds it.

Design Features That Increase Tranquility

Living in a healthy home not only means taking care of physical health by reducing carbon emissions and the overall impact you have on the environment, it also means including design features that can induce feelings of tranquility and calmness. Feng Shui practices claim that incorporating moving water into any space not only pulls dust and pollution out of the air, but aids in healing.

On top of that, many research studies have found a correlation between health and coastal living, noting that people who live by water experience better mental health. If you can’t live close to the water, then you can bring moving water to you by installing a design feature such as an indoor fountain that can purify and humidify the air as well as aid in a tranquil setting conducive to a healthy home.

A Healthy Home Equals a Healthy Family

Investing in the cultivation of a healthy home not only creates lasting benefits on the health of the environment surrounding your home, but on the people living inside of it. By investing in green building materials, you can cut down on your carbon footprint while ensuring you and your family will breath clean, chemical-free air. Then, you’ll be left with the opportunity to craft a creative, unique living space in which you can introduce calming elements that aid in improved mental health and an overall loving atmosphere.