Sustainable Design
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, and the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objectives of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimize waste, and create healthy, productive environments.
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, and the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objectives of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimize waste, and create healthy, productive environments.
What is Sustainable Interior Design
Sustainable interior design “seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, and the health and comfort of people, thereby improving building performance. The basic objectives of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimize waste, and create healthy, productive environments.” – GSA
Long story short, sustainable interior design is consciously creating a home that’s focused on:
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Resource Conservation + Protection
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Waste Reduction
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Environmental + Human Health
Why Sustainable Interior Design Matters
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average American spends 93% of their life indoors where the concentration of pollutants is often 5 times higher than outdoors.
In other words, we’re spending less than a half-day per week outside which means that the role interior design plays in our homes is incredibly significant, for a couple of reasons, actually.
Realizing that we eat, sleep + breath + that the interactions we’re having are mostly confined to an environment that’s been created for us — shouldn’t that environment work to not only improve our wellbeing but also address the impacts + concerns outside our home too?!
You see, the positive impact our natural environment has on our wellbeing has been scientifically proven to reduce:
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blood pressure
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heart rate
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muscle tension
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and even the production of stress hormones
…which only highlights why we design (both the interior + exterior of) our homes from a place of intentionality + the importance of making decisions with care. Having an awareness of the fact that each decision we make leaves an imprint on Mother Nature.
It’s also why, at Elegant Simplicity, all of our design projects are rooted in the principles of biophilic design. Because effective biophilic design in our homes creates environments that emulate the restorative benefits nature offers us.
“Study Nature, love Nature, stay close to Nature. It will never fail you.”
By carefully curating + weaving into our designs, natural elements that are often seen, touched + experienced outdoors into the places we live, it bridges the gap + allows our home to become more than a dropzone. It transforms our most intimate spaces into a conduit that reconnects us with all of the positive impacts of nature. 
But let’s be clear, biophilic design isn’t simply an innovative tool that provides us with a way to be more efficient, productive, or creative.
It’s a level of consciousness that gets wrapped up + incorporated into every decision that’s made. It’s something you willingly lean into as you build, design, furnish + style your entire home because it matters. And because when it’s done the right way, it has profound, significant, and truly transformative effects on our health + well-being.
Contact us to let us know what you think. For more on Biophilic Interior Design + our connection to the natural environment, here’s our two cents + what we have to say about Incorporating Biophilic Design In Your Home.
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