Healthy Home Design
59 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 months ago - ★★★★★ - 22 ratingsHealthy home design is where your healthy lifestyle and your love for protecting the planet meet. This podcast will help prepare you for your upcoming home renovation / addition or your new home build. It'll help guide you through the process of creating a home that'll enhance the health and happiness of your family, of all people on this earth, and of the earth itself.
Join licensed architect, Kate Hamblet as she dives into healthy home design topics such as sustainable design, reducing household toxins, creating a natural home, how to tackle the home planning process, and designing a functional and comfortable home.
When you live in a home designed for health and wellness, you're living in a home that allows you to easily prioritize self-care, that creates a better sleep environment, that boosts your immune system, that energizes you, that helps create more quality time with your family, that promotes happiness, and that protects the planet and all people on it.
A healthy home nourishes your body, your mind and the earth.
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Episodes
056 // The Home-Building Process: Who To Have On Your Team
August 30, 2023 19:30 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBToday 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 swirlin...
055 // Core Green Building: Why You Should Use A Green Certification Program When Designing Your Home
August 15, 2023 10:11 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBThe 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 metr...
054 // How to stay within budget when building or renovating your sustainable, healthy home
June 21, 2023 14:24 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBWhat makes building a house so expensive? Rising construction costs have put a lot of projects on hold or have sent the design team back to the drawing board. How can you renovate or build a new home in these expensive times without compromising your sustainable and wellness-focused design values? In this eposide, I talk about the main factors in controlling building costs so that you don't get to the end of your design journey only to find out that you can't afford to build it.
053 // Getting your home design ideas out of your head and into a floor plan
May 16, 2023 19:11 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBLink to Blog Post that has ALL the links I mention in the eposide!! Are you ready to start designing your dream home, but have no idea how to get all the thoughts and ideas you have floating in your head down on paper? If you’ve been thinking about your house design for a while, and have been saving Pinterest images and making inspiration boards, you have any idea of what you want, but you may be feeling lost on how you turn those ideas into a floor plan. If so, I’m going to walk you...
052 // Interior Design Options For A Low-Maintenance And Durable House
May 03, 2023 20:44 - 27 minutes - 26.1 MBIn Part 2 of the How to design a durable house episode, we’re covering all things interior. There are some great ways to make sure the inside of your home is easy to maintain, will keep you safe and healthy, and will last a long time. We’ll get into materials, ventilation, lighting, and even storage! What you’ll discover: Why ventilation is key for a durable home and what kind you need Low-maintenance and durable flooring options Ways to make sure your floors and flooring systems last...
051 // Design Strategies for a Durable, Low-Maintenance House
April 18, 2023 19:48 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBCreating a durable home is a big part of creating a sustainable and healthy home. A durable home means that the house will last a long time and be relatively low-maintenance. This will help save you money in the long run, so it’s well worth it. It also helps maintain a healthy indoor environment and makes you more comfortable. In this episode we’ll break down some of the big picture design strategies that you can incorporate into your renovation or new home design to make it a durable...
050 // Biophilic Kitchen Design: Bringing Nature Into Your Home
April 11, 2023 12:30 - 29 minutes - 27.6 MBLooking to create a kitchen that brings the beauty and tranquility of nature into your home? Tune into this week’s episode all about biophilic kitchen design! We’ll explore the benefits of incorporating natural elements into your kitchen, and learn how to design a space that's not only functional, but also calming and rejuvenating. This is an insightful conversation about the intersection of nature and design in the heart of your home. What you’ll discover: What biophilic design...
049 // Hempcrete and Hempwool Building Solutions with Hempitecture
March 28, 2023 17:07 - 56 minutes - 50.4 MBHempcrete is an amazing alternative building technique that fits into the category of natural building methods. In this episode, I interview Mattie Mead, the founder and CEO of Hempitecture, a public benefit corporation that supplies hempcrete building materials and makes hempwool insulation. “Hempitecture was founded with the idea that healthy, sustainable materials can help build a better world. These materials can help build a better world by contributing to our health, saving energ...
048 // 10 Sustainable Design Strategies for your home reno project or new build
March 20, 2023 13:47 - 24 minutes - 23.2 MBAnd we're back! This week we're exploring 10 sustainable design strategies that you can incorporate into your home renovation / addition or new build project.
047 // How can the lighting in your house affect your sleep AND your health? Interview with Greg Yeutter, founder of Restful.
October 25, 2021 18:02 - 34 minutes - 29 MBAnd we're back! Today's podcast episode is an interview I had with Greg Yeutter from Restful, the company that created the Bedtime Bulb. We're diving into all things sleep, lighting, and circadian rhythms. What you'll discover: Why is sleep so important, and how can your living space influence your sleep? What are circadian rhythms? What is blue light? Do blue light blocking glasses really work? What kind of light do we need for better sleep and how do we get it? ...
046 // The Best Insulation For Your Home with Andrew Legge of Havelock Wool
June 29, 2021 16:42 - 52 minutes - 35.8 MBAndrew 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 fo...
045 // All About Indoor Air Quality with Jay Watts from AFM Safecoat
June 04, 2021 19:54 - 1 hour - 60 MBWe 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 renova...
044 // How To Make The Ultimate Sustainable Wellness Home
May 04, 2021 18:14 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MBThere 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 p...
043 // How to Find Healthy and Sustainable Materials When You're Renovating Or Building A New Home
April 08, 2021 10:00 - 41 minutes - 39.1 MBHave 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 ...
042 // What You Need To Know About Kitchen Ventilation
February 02, 2021 11:00 - 30 minutes - 28.6 MBWe 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...
041 // How to Design a Small House Without Sacrificing Comfort or Flexibility
January 19, 2021 11:00 - 30 minutes - 28.5 MBCan 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. ...
040 // How much will your project cost? How long will it take? Should you phase the construction?
January 12, 2021 11:00 - 32 minutes - 30.1 MBStarting 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 h...
039 // How can the design of your home make you more productive?
January 05, 2021 11:00 - 27 minutes - 25.9 MBWe’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...
038 // How to Help Everyone Live In A Healthy Home
December 22, 2020 11:00 - 33 minutes - 27.5 MBThis might be bad timing, with it being 3 days before Christmas, but I've been meaning to talk about this subject for a while, and finally had the chance. So here we go... Who's really affected by all the things we buy (and then throw away) in this country? Who's primarily dealing with asthma and other serious illnesses because of where they live? Who takes the brunt of the extreme weather events caused by climate change? It's generally not the people that are buying all the things...
037 // What is a site analysis and why do you need one before designing your renovation / new build?
December 15, 2020 11:00 - 38 minutes - 28.7 MBHow well do you know your site? If you're planning a renovation or building a new home, you need to know it REALLY well. You need to spend time on your property conducting a site analysis. A site analysis is probably one of my favorite things to do. I realize I say this for a lot of things when it comes to design, but this one I love because I get to be outside and just look around. Imagine if your home was filled with beautiful, warm sunlight all day long. Imagine if it fe...
036 // My top 8 healthy and sustainable products from my renovation adventures
December 01, 2020 05:38 - 27 minutes - 22.4 MBNotes coming soon...
035 // 10 Questions to ask a potential contractor when building / renovating your sustainable wellness home
November 10, 2020 15:03 - 30 minutes - 29.7 MBChoosing a contractor can be a tricky task! Not all contractors are created equal. Some contractors are much more experienced in building durable, energy efficient, healthy homes than others. The best way to find a contractor that will build your healthy home correctly is to ask lots of questions! It is a good idea to interview up to three contractors before hiring the team that will build your home. You want to make sure they are going to build a quality healthy home and that they a...
034 // Biophilic Design and How To Design Nature Into Your Home To Reap Wellness Benefits
November 03, 2020 13:36 - 32 minutes - 74.5 MB“…the enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it, tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; and thus, through the influence of the mind over the body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration to the whole system” -American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, 1865 Olmsted describes the benefits of nature perfectly. At once, being in nature relaxes the mind and enlivens it. It's pretty amazing. I know it's not possible to always be outsi...
033 // Ventilation Systems to Keep Your Home Healthy and Safe
October 27, 2020 10:00 - 43 minutes - 100 MBVentilation is at the top of everyone's minds these days thanks to COVID. And while a lot of attention is being focused on commercial ventilation systems, there is less talk about home ventilation systems. We're in our homes more than ever before. And there's more people in the home at one time than ever before since so many of us are working from home and our kids are schooling from home. There has never been a more important time to understand and incorporate proper ventilation in h...
032 // 8 Things I Learned During My Healthy Home Renovation
October 20, 2020 10:00 - 32 minutes - 73.4 MBWe did it! It's finally done. Three years later, my husband, Pieter, and I finished our DIY healthy home renovation. There were good times, bad times, you know we had our share. .. And I'll be getting into all of it in today's Healthy Home Design Podcast episode. We had A LOT of lessons learned, so I put together my top 8 most important lessons learned to share with you. What You'll Discover: Why it's so important to take your time buying a fixer-upper Financing and budgeting...
031 // Everything You Need To Know About Healthy Wood Flooring
October 13, 2020 10:00 - 38 minutes - 87.9 MBWho doesn't love a wood floor?! It's comfortable to walk on, it looks beautiful, it can come in so many different styles, and it can last a very long time. But what is the best type of wood floor for a healthy, sustainable, wellness-focused home? What types of finishes are safe? Do you need an underlayment? I'm digging into all things wood flooring in today's Healthy Home Design podcast episode. What You'll Discover: The 3 different types of wood flooring Pros and Con...
030 // Part 4: Creating a Sustainable, Healthy Outdoor Environment at a Home Designed For Wellness
September 23, 2020 12:56 - 25 minutes - 58.3 MBThis week wraps up the Components of a Wellness House series, and we're going outdoors. A wellness house merges the indoor and outdoor environments, so it's important to consider all the outdoor spaces early in the design process. What You'll Discover: Best materials for your driveway, walkways and patios Important things to know about choosing concrete How to keep critters out of your house naturally What xeriscaping is and why it's important Ideas for outdoor play area surface...
029 // Part 3: What are the mechanical, lighting and water systems of a Wellness House?
September 16, 2020 01:07 - 21 minutes - 48.9 MBIn part 3 of the Components of a Wellness House series, we're digging into systems: mechanical, lighting and water. In this episode you'll discover: Most efficient heating and cooling systems Water heating systems Mechanical ventilation strategies Net zero design Lighting for circadian rhythms Water efficiency techniques
028 // Part 2: What Does It Feel Like To Live In A Wellness House?
September 08, 2020 10:30 - 25 minutes - 58 MBIn Part 2 of the Components of a Wellness House series, we're digging into what it feels like to live in a wellness home. We'll explore daylighting, ventilation, and how the essential spaces of a home designed for sustainability, health and well-being should feel and function. We'll look into wellness kitchen design, entryways, spa like bathrooms, fitness spaces and more.
028 // What Does It Feel Like To Live In A Wellness House?
September 08, 2020 10:30 - 25 minutes - 58 MBIn Part 2 of the Components of a Wellness House series, we're digging into what it feels like to live in a wellness home. We'll explore daylighting, ventilation, and how the essential spaces of a home designed for sustainability, health and well-being should feel and function. We'll look into wellness kitchen design, entryways, spa like bathrooms, fitness spaces and more.
027 // Components of a Wellness House Part 1: Site, Orientation, Construction Type
September 01, 2020 10:00 - 30 minutes - 20.9 MBWhat goes into make a home that's healthy for you and healthy for the planet? Find out the components of a wellness house in this 4 part podcast series. This week, we're starting at the beginning, and talking about site selection, building orientation, construction types, and healthy and sustainable material choices. Image of North and South facing bedrooms
026 // Let's Make A Better Podcast
August 18, 2020 13:57 - 1 minute - 1.38 MBSurvey Link I began this podcast to help families create healthier environments for their families, for others, and for the planet. And I want to make sure I'm delivering on that. As a health-conscious environmentalist myself that has experienced the power of a healthy home, the hope for future episodes is to have more balance between healthy home design and sustainable home design education. Another hope for future episodes is to have the education be geared more towards...
025 // What's holding you back from creating a healthy home?
August 11, 2020 10:00Do you have hesitations about building or renovating a health and wellness focused home? If so, you're not alone! The most common hesitations I hear involve affordability, stress and overwhelm, and feeling a bit hopeless about the endeavor. In this episode, we'll tackle each of these hesitations and show you how you can create a home that supports you family's health and well-being without breaking the bank or sending your stress levels soaring. Helpful Links: The Healthy Home Plannin...
025 // What's holding you back from creating a healthy home?
August 11, 2020 10:00Do you have hesitations about building or renovating a health and wellness focused home? If so, you're not alone! The most common hesitations I hear involve affordability, stress and overwhelm, and feeling a bit hopeless about the endeavor. In this episode, we'll tackle each of these hesitations and show you how you can create a home that supports you family's health and well-being without breaking the bank or sending your stress levels soaring. Helpful Links: The Healthy Home Plannin...
024 // Sustainable Design vs Wellness Design - Is There A Difference?
August 04, 2020 10:00 - 21 minutes - 17 MBOn this week's Healthy Home Design podcast episode, I'm diving into what makes a sustainable home and how it relates to a home designed for health and wellness. Are sustainable homes the same thing as wellness homes? The answer is: Not necessarily. Listen to the episode to learn: What it means to design and build a sustainable home What the differences are between a wellness home and a sustainable home What you can do to make sure your home is healthy for you and the planet L...
023 // What Are The Steps to Designing and Building / Renovating a Healthy Home?
July 28, 2020 19:33 - 23 minutes - 17.2 MBWhat you'll learn: What are the major milestones of the design process of a healthy home What should happen when Who needs to be involved in the design process What costs are involved in the process Healthy Home Planning Workshop: https://www.balancedhomebalancedlife.com/workshop/
022 // How To Create Your Bedroom Sanctuary
July 21, 2020 10:00 - 29 minutes - 23 MBEveryone needs a little escape sometimes, especially these days! No place in your house to call your own? Learn how to transform your bedroom into a healthy retreat, a place you'll be able to escape to and focus on self-care. You will learn: Why a healthy bedroom is so important How to create a calm bedroom How to improve bedroom air quality How to improve bedroom light quality Ways to protect against EMFs Pure Living Space Discount Link (This is an affiliate link): https://pur...
021 // Feng Shui Essentials for a Healthier and Happier Home
March 31, 2020 10:00 - 35 minutes - 48.9 MBDesigning homes for health and well-being may seem like a new design trend, but creating healthy homes is a concept that's been around for thousands of years thanks to the practice of feng shui. After learning more about feng shui I was amazed at the correlation between the healthy home design principles I follow and the principles of feng shui. That's why I was so excited to talk with feng shui expert Peg Donahue on this week's Healthy Home Design podcast episode. Peg gives us the f...
020 // Safe and Natural Alternatives to Household Paint
March 17, 2020 10:00 - 19 minutes - 26.5 MBThis week's episode is a helpful guide to choosing healthy paint for your home interior painting projects. What you'll discover: Why it's so important to focus on healthy interior paint What you want to avoid when buying paint What to look for in a paint The best non-toxic and natural interior paints Tips for being safe while painting
019 // What's The First Thing You Should Do When Planning A Renovation Or New Build?
March 03, 2020 11:00 - 22 minutes - 30.7 MBStarting a big project like renovating or building a new home can feel very scary. Of course it's exciting, or should be exciting! But for many people, it's daunting. Where do you even begin? How do you turn all the ideas floating around in your head into something cohesive that you can pass along to your builder or architect? This could be especially true if you have an idea in mind, such as green and healthy living, but you don’t know how to articulate it. Feeling lik...
018 // What Should You Focus On First When Creating A Healthy Home?
February 18, 2020 11:00 - 33 minutes - 45.7 MBAre you feeling a bit overwhelmed by the idea of creating a home that will enhance your family's health and well-being? If so, I can definitely relate. When I started transforming my house into a healthy home back in 2015, I was completely overwhelmed from all the research I did online. I was full of information, misinformation, and conflicting information. And I had no idea where to start. Finally, I just dove in, and through extensive research and lots of trial...
017 // Insulation 101 - What Insulation to Choose For Your Healthy Home and Why
February 04, 2020 11:00 - 36 minutes - 50.7 MBIt's the season of heating, which means you might be feeling the lack of insulation in your house, both because you're cold and because you're energy bill has gone way up. Insulation is one of the main factors affecting your comfort in your home. If you're planning to build a new home or renovate your existing home, it will pay to get the insulation right. In today's Healthy Home Design Podcast episode, we're diving into all things insulation. This episode is packed wi...
016 // Understanding Color Traits to Find the Best Colors for Your Wellness Home
January 21, 2020 11:00 - 40 minutes - 56.2 MBHave you ever picked a paint color for a room and then realized you didn't enjoy being in that room anymore? I have (more than once)! When I was in college (early 2000's, yikes!) it was trendy to paint a single wall of a room red. Although, to be honest, I can't remember if it was actually a trend, or if I saw it in a Sex and The City episode and mistakenly thought it was a good idea. Either way, the color didn't work for my bedroom, and I never enjoyed being in the room. Th...
015 // What is a Healthy Home Consultant?
January 07, 2020 11:00 - 30 minutes - 41.6 MBIs this your year for creating a home that will allow your family to thrive? Find out how teaming with a healthy home consultant for your renovation or new home build will elevate the success of your project and have you living in a home that keeps you healthy, makes you happy and encourages living your best life. In this week's episode, I'm switching things up a bit, and providing information on what a Healthy Home Consultant is and how working with one on your renovation or new build w...
014 // 5 Reasons To Design Your Kitchen For Wellness
December 10, 2019 16:59 - 21 minutes - 29 MBDid you know that you can design a kitchen that will help you eat healthier? This may sound too good to be true, but it's not! The way a kitchen is designed plays a huge role in how we eat. We know that eating organic fresh fruits and veggies is best for our bodies. We are paying more attention to the fact that we shouldn't be eating processed and packaged foods. And we might even try to prep our meals or at least our veggies ahead of time to make our weeknights easier. But unf...
013 // 10 in 20: 10 Steps To An Energy Efficient, Comfortable Healthy Home
December 03, 2019 11:00 - 26 minutes - 36.8 MBWe are talking about something a little bit different from my usual topics on the Healthy Home Design podcast this week, but it's something that is equally important. This week's topic is about creating an energy efficient home that in turn produces a comfortable, healthy home for you and your family. Since it's the first of the month, this is another 10 in 20 episode. I run through tens steps for creating an energy efficient, comfortable healthy home in 20 minutes. I only ...
012 // Using Color To Fight Off The Winter Blues
November 26, 2019 11:30 - 19 minutes - 26.9 MBBack with us today is Mehnaz Khan. Mehnaz is a fine artist and color consultant. She was on the show last week giving us an introduction on how color can affect your happiness and well-being. If you haven't listened to that episode yet, please do! You will learn a lot about the basics of color psychology and why it is so important to understand how color affects your mood before you do any upgrades to your home! This week Mehnaz is diving into the topic of seasonal affective disord...
011 // How You Can Use Color in Your Home to Improve Happiness and Well-being
November 19, 2019 11:30 - 30 minutes - 41.4 MBDid you know that the color you choose throughout your home plays a big role in your happiness and well-being? Color has the power to affect your emotions, so the colors you choose for your home really matter! I learned so much from this week's guest, Mehnaz Khan. Mehnaz Khan is a fine artist and color consultant who helps overwhelmed mothers turn their home into a sanctuary through art and colors. She uses the power of color to positively impact their feelings, emotions and be...
010 // Looking ahead at Residential Wellness Design Trends of 2020 with Rochelle Maize
November 12, 2019 11:00 - 25 minutes - 35 MBToday we are going to live in luxury because I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Rochelle Maize, Beverly Hills leading luxury realtor that specializes in wellness real estate. Rochelle is the executive director of the luxury estate division of Nourmand and Associates and she recently sold the Wellness House in Beverly Hills. Rochelle has been a pioneer in the luxury real estate sector turning average homes into smart technology and wellness residences. From infrared saunas...
009 // 10 in 20: Healthy Kitchen Countertops
November 05, 2019 11:00 - 26 minutes - 36.9 MBAre you sick of Googling the best healthy and sustainable countertop options for your kitchen renovation? I have you covered. On today's Healthy Home Design podcast, I am sharing my ten favorite countertops for a health and wellness focused home. You will also learn what countertops I recommend avoiding in a healthy home. This is another 10 in 20 episode, so I share ten countertops and talk about the pros and cons of each countertop for 2 minutes each. Here is the ...