There's No Place Like a Healthy Home for the Holidays

This year is already coming to a close, so that means the holidays are just around the corner! This year has been a challenging one, so let’s spread some holiday cheer by following some simple, yet meaningful home design ideas to brighten up the holidays.

Reconsidered Rituals

Part of having a healthy, happy home is creating family traditions. An easy practice anyone can start implementing is home decorating for the holidays. No matter what your family celebrates, it is fun getting into the winter spirit! Decorating can be anything from fashioning a homemade wreath for your front door to making your own candles for your menorah. Many of us are celebrating the holiday season differently than we have in the past, creating an opportunity to incorporate new traditions. Exchanging ornaments and a handwritten note is a special way to connect with loved ones you may not be able to see in person this year. This simple act may help you feel closer to family far away!

Reuse, Recycle, Rejoice

Fabricating handmade winter decorations is a great activity for your entire family! A fun and simple idea is to string together your own felt garland. Felt balls can be found in nearly any color imaginable to match your family’s needs. So whether you want red, green, and black for Kwanzaa or blue and white for Hanukkah, the options are endless! Felt garland is not only pretty to look at, but is made from wool, an inherently renewable and recyclable material. We like sourcing wool from small sustainable farms where the sheep are treated like family.

Choosing decorations inspired by things you love all year round will help your decor seem more personal to your family. If you're a bird lover, use this as a starting point when decorating. Look to local artists or online shops who make bespoke decorations that fit the holiday theme of your choice.

If your family celebrates Hanukah, you may want to opt for beeswax candles for your menorah since they don't produce any toxic chemicals or soot. Or if you’d rather use a vegan alternative, there are now organic vegetable wax candles made specifically for menorah’s!

The Serotonin Schedule

Decorating for the holidays early may alleviate stress and anxiety. According to Business Insider, psychologists have found that those who decorate early are much happier because it helps you tap into the holiday excitement before everyone else and leaves you feeling less stressed come Christmas time. Additionally, you can use this time of year as an opportunity to slow down, tend to your home mindfully, and take that time to appreciate and enjoy your home design. Take stock of what you have, and cull any items for donations that no longer serve you. Connecting with and expressing gratitude for your home is a great first step of decorating that may be a grounding and mood-boosting experience.

The Indoor Forest

Biophilic design goes hand in hand with holiday home decor. Biophilia is our innate desire to be close to nature–and biophilic design aims to make healthy and comfortable interiors by meaningfully incorporating natural elements into our home design and work environments. A large component of holiday home decor is foliage. Greenery can be anything from a leafy garland on your mantle to mistletoe in your hallway. This holiday season, try decorating your home in more natural elements such as pinecones, nuts, and branches. If you live near a woody area you can forage for these items yourself, or if that isn’t an option for you, look to your local farmer’s market or nursery for help. Your house will feel like an organic winter wonderland full of crisp natural scents and foliage that's unique to your home.

Your incorporation of nature doesn't have to stop once the holidays are over - you can enjoy the benefits of biophilic home design all year round! Kale Tree Shop, founded by Sarah Barnard Design, is a great resource for nature inspired home goods. Each product takes inspiration from the natural world, ranging from abutilon wallpaper to ginkgo leaf wall sconces to upholstered chairs influenced by the silhouette of a great dane. Biophilic home design elements can bring joy and warmth to your home, no matter the season!

The Holiday Hormone Connection

Decorating for the holidays is not only fun, it can contribute to spikes in your dopamine levels, which is a hormone that boosts feelings of pleasure. One factor that leads to these enjoyable feelings are the bright lights and colors. Chromotherapy increases happiness and boosts your energy levels. Another prominent factor at play are all the cozy scents that come from Christmas trees, eucalyptus and pine scented candles, and homemade treats. So this year you may feel extra gratification when putting out holiday décor knowing that there may be real health benefits!

As you begin to prepare for the holidays, remember the importance of creating traditions with your family. Although the holidays may not be quite the same this year, surrounding yourself with winter décor that you thoughtfully sourced, may bring you some needed joy this season. So remember, think handmade, look to nature, and surround yourself with home design elements that make you happy, and you’ll have a beautiful winter wonderland right at home.

The Sarah Barnard Design family wishes you all the warmth and happiness!

Sarah Barnard is a WELL and LEED accredited designer and creator of environments that support mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. She creates highly personalized, restorative spaces that are deeply connected to art and the preservation of the environment. An advocate for consciousness, inclusivity, and compassion in the creative process, Sarah’s work has been recognized by Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Real Simple, HGTV and many other publications. In 2017 Sarah was recognized as a “Ones to Watch” Scholar by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID).

How an expertly designed home can be better than a luxury vacation

Forget about unexpected flight delays, cramped legroom, and coping with jet lag — this summer, consider channeling vacation vibes at home instead. Creative home design can make your bedroom feel like a five-star hotel or transform your backyard into a resort-style retreat; no reservation required.

Sarah Barnard Design, WELL AP + LEED AP, creates restorative, hospitable spaces reminiscent of her clients' favorite destinations. Here we reflect on four of her past travel-inspired projects to show how thoughtful home design can replicate the health benefits of taking a vacation.

Paris: Park View pied-à-terre

Perhaps the best part of staying in a luxury hotel is the luxurious sleep experience. While you might not be able to request turndown service, selecting a plush organic mattress, high-quality linens, hypoallergenic pillows, and sunlight-blocking window treatments can ensure a restful slumber every night of the week.

"An ideal sleeping space is serene, outfitted with natural materials, and maintains a visual connection to the outdoors," explains Sarah. "A completely natural bed can often provide improved air quality and make a marked improvement for chemically sensitive people and/or people who suffer from allergies."

For a Francophile at heart, Sarah designed the bedrooms of a park view pied-à-terre to resemble a boutique hotel in the 16th arrondissement, focusing on high thread-count sheets, soft, romantic lighting, curated artwork, and beautifully-arranged flowers. The antique-inspired furnishings were custom made by local craftspeople using non-toxic, sustainable materials.

Tulum: Serene Scandifornian

Being on vacation often means immersing yourself in nature, which benefits physical health and mental well-being. Establishing a connection to the outdoors, whether it be a verdant view through a kitchen window or an oil painting of a seascape, can boost your mood and brainpower, according to a 2001 study by University of Michigan psychology professor Rachel Kaplan.

Sarah brought Tulum's beachy-bohemian stylings to a Southern California family home by embracing neutral colors and oceanic motifs, including coral-inspired wall sconces and a custom concrete fireplace with wave-like etchings. The floor pillows provide a laid-back feel, while the live-edge coffee table is reminiscent of a piece of driftwood. Collected shells and a photorealist painting by Eric Zener add to the room's organic feel.

Cape Cod: Cape Cod Guest Retreat

If spending more time outdoors is at the top of your staycation to-do list, consider revamping your alfresco living space and summer garden. Tending to plants can cultivate happiness at the same rate as many common forms of exercise, according to a recent study published in the Landscape and Urban Planning academic journal. Plus, you can use the fruits of your labor to whip up a delicious meal or arrange a colorful centerpiece.

"Many clients are beginning to realize that there is a dramatic benefit to home design that nourishes our desire to be close to nature," explains Sarah.

The home designer helped the owner transform an urban backyard into a coastal New England getaway, complete with a guest cottage and private pool. Using the retreat's natural surroundings as a jumping-off point, Sarah incorporated botanical prints, earthy hues, and rich wood furniture.

Outside,  weathered teak loungers covered with hand-printed outdoor textiles provide a comfortable spot to unwind by the pool. The lush gardens and meandering pathways give the backyard a sense of seclusion, making it feel like you're far away from the city's hustle and bustle.

Lake Como: California Mediterranean Estate

Beyond a comfy bed, the cornerstone of a memorable hotel stay is a spa-like bathroom. Practice self-care by investing in wellness features that soothe sore muscles, calm the nervous system and ensure a restful night's sleep. An interior designer can help you create a serene bathroom environment that caters to your specific health needs and makes you feel like you're on a mini-vacation.

For a couple who has spent many summers on Lake Como's shores, Sarah designed a sophisticated ensuite bathroom with a therapeutic soaker tub, steam shower, and heated floor tiles. Marble-framed windows provide proper ventilation and tranquil views of nature, complementing the streamlined vanity concealing a warming drawer for freshly-laundered towels.

The dripping chandeliers are befitting of a luxury villa on the Italian Riviera and provide layered lighting for applying makeup or simply soaking in the tub. "Lighting is a crucial component of good bathroom design and can help improve the human experience," notes Sarah.

While a week-long getaway might provide you with temporary pleasure and relaxation, beautiful and considered home design can make your space feel like a year-round sanctuary. Taking inspiration from your top travel destinations will evoke happy memories and allow you to reap the many health benefits of a vacation without ever leaving home.

Sarah Barnard, WELL AP and LEED AP, designs healthy, happy, personalized spaces that connect deeply to nature and art. Barnard has been featured in publications internationally and was named a "Ones to Watch Scholar" by the American Society of Interior Designers. Empathy and mindfulness are the foundation of her practice creating healing, supportive environments that enhance life.

Birding for Well-being: How Connecting with Nature Can Improve Mental Health

Western Tanager

There are many proven health benefits to being in nature daily. For example, walking in the woods, also known as the Japanese custom "forest bathing," or "shinrin-yoku," lowers stress levels and boosts overall well-being.

Scaly Breasted Munia

Researchers from the University of Exeter recently found that bird watching can have a positive effect on mental health. They discovered that people who are able to watch birds from their homes have a lower risk of depression, stress, and anxiety compared to people who live in less nature dense areas with fewer birds…

Biophilia, the hypothesis that humans innately seek a connection with nature, drives biophilic design. This central home design principle aims to create healthy and comfortable spaces through the incorporation of natural elements. As a WELL and LEED accredited interior designer, I use biophilic design to create happy and healthy spaces for my clients. Biophilic home design ranges from adding indoor plants to ensuring proper air circulation throughout the home, to one of my frequent design priorities, arranging spaces to showcase natural views. I invite you to consider amplifying the soothing properties of your view by creating a safe-haven for birds in your yard.

Goldfinch

Birding as a hobby currently ranks second to gardening as America's favorite pastime, with an estimated 43% of all U.S. households, or about 65 million people, participating each year. Watching birds and their behavior may contribute to feelings of relaxation, which in turn leads to reduced stress and improved mental health. As a bird enthusiast, I would agree that watching birds in my garden helps me expand my perspective, gain focus and ultimately feel more at ease.

Bewick’s Wren

Based on my experience, I've put together a list of helpful tips for beginning bird watchers.

To first attract birds to your garden, observe the birds that currently frequent your neighborhood. Investigate their eating preferences and offer their favorite foods in your garden. In Los Angeles county, sprinkling mixed seeds about in the garden will likely attract mourning doves, white-crowned sparrows, and other ground feeders. Towhees love a protein-rich diet, and will eagerly indulge in dried mealworm. Orioles have a sweet tooth and fancy grape jelly and fresh oranges. Goldfinches love thistle seed, and house finches, while willing to eat most seeds, seem most excited for shelled sunflower seeds.

Goldfinch

I began with a tube feeder that only accommodates tiny birds. For the first few months, I solely had house finches visit. The mourning doves came soon after eating the seeds on the ground that the finches dropped. I soon realized that I would need more diverse feeding stations to attract larger birds.

Black-headed Grosbeak + Mourning Dove

If you are hoping to have a greater variety of bird species come to your garden, try adding a platform tray feeder. Last year, I hung a platform tray feeder from a tall post and was delighted when the first scrub-jay arrived. Since then, I've had an ever-expanding variety of visitors that include black-headed grosbeaks, scaly breasted munia, juncos, European starlings and the occasional red-tailed hawk. I've found that somehow birds bring more birds. Once word gets out in the neighborhood that free food is served, they find their way.

Rufous Hummingbird

If you're still not having much luck attracting birds to your garden, this could be because some species, like Beswick’s wrens, are shy and seldom visit feeders located out in the open. I've outfitted the perimeter of a covered outdoor area in leafy shade plants like an assortment of ferns, Ficus triangularis, and abutilon. Nearby I've nestled a suet feeder among the ferns and hanging baskets of plants. I found that placing the suet feeder amongst the plants provides wrens the security of leafy cover while offering the opportunity to watch the birds feed just feet away. Hummingbirds will also visit to drink from the abutilon blossoms, sometimes only inches away from where I'm sitting. It's magical.

Foxglove

If you're interested in having hummingbirds come to your garden, many plant species attract them. Although they do like hummingbird feeders, they seem even more interested in drinking nectar from flowering plants. Interestingly, bugs comprise a third of a hummingbird's diet; they don't just live on nectar. By planting nectar-abundant plants, you'll also attract more bugs for them to eat. Brightly colored, tubular flowers hold the most nectar and are, therefore, particularly attractive to hummingbirds. Examples of these types of flowers include salvia, foxglove, and fuchsia.

European Starling

Try adding a water feature to your yard. Birds love moving water, and it has been such a delight watching them bathe in a simple multi-tiered fountain. A bird-friendly fountain does not need to be anything elaborate that requires special plumbing; it can be as simple as buying a solar-powered water feature at your local nursery or online retailer. A solar-powered water feature is a cost-effective and energy-friendly option, and its cordless design allows for mobility.

Female Black-headed Grosbeak + Male House Finch

Whenever possible, orient furniture to face views of the outdoors and place bird feeders in locations visible from the indoors, without spooking the birds. It is delightful to watch the early risers, pecking around the garden for insects before sunrise, drinking my morning tea.

Mourning Dove

As more of us are working from remotely now, nature and home design are imperative to promote calmness, serenity, and healthy living. I hope this time at home can provide new opportunities to appreciate our surroundings, and the beauty and pleasure of observing local birds.

White-crowned Sparrow

Sarah Barnard, WELL AP, and LEED AP designs healthy, happy, personalized spaces that connect deeply to nature and art. Empathy and mindfulness are the foundation of her practice creating healing, supportive environments that enhance life.

The Healing Power of Home: Sustaining and Nourishing our Bodies and Minds

Custom kitchen design by Sarah Barnard, Photo by Steven Dewall.

As we collectively navigate this new way of living, I am thinking of you and your family and wishing wellness and security. With so many unknowns, I am grateful for the sureness of a community that uplifts with compassion, resilience, and ingenuity, and offers inspiration to forge forward. 

During a time when our world feels new and uncertain, our studio is drawing on the core foundational beliefs and principles behind our approach to home design. We create spaces that support health, emotional security, and wellness, that is the bedrock of our work. These ideals go beyond our creative process and into our working methods of designing homes. As a studio, we are building upon many of the systems we've previously had in place.

Bespoke American Walnut kitchen cabinets paired with handmade ceramic tiles by California based artisans. Interior design by Sarah Barnard, WELL AP + LEED AP. Photo by Steven Dewall.

Our studio has always aimed to work with local artisans and craftspeople when possible, and value these relationships now more than ever. Many supply chains are experiencing disruptions throughout the home design industry. We are working together with trusted vendors to source materials and find creative solutions during this difficult time. 

In our homes, this time has offered an opportunity to examine our routines, and to look at our needs. Health, functionality, and wellbeing informed our process before the spread of COVID-19, and these factors are more crucial than ever as we continue to build supportive spaces for you and your family through mindful home design. 

Interior design by Sarah Barnard, Photo by Steven Dewall.

Many of us are facing challenges in caring for our loved ones, evolving and uncertain circumstances with work, homeschooling children, and maintaining our physical and emotional wellbeing. In addressing these struggles, we are turning to our homes for solutions, realizing more than ever the need for multi-functional and high performing living spaces. 

Our regular team meetings are an opportunity for the studio to brainstorm and problem solve collectively, and recent conversations frequently turn to personal solutions for managing this time at home. We wish to extend this conversation to our community and clients and offer some of our favorite approaches for adapting our home design to these changing times. 

Colors inspired by nature create the palette for this traditional home. Interior design by Sarah Barnard, photo by Steven Dewall.

HOME HEALING QUICK TIPS

• Structure your spaces for ease of movement, connectivity, and peace of mind. Move your workspace in front of your favorite exterior view. 

• Open your windows and cross-ventilate your home any day weather permits to improve indoor air quality and enjoy the mood-lifting benefits of watching birds and butterflies. 

• Scoot your coffee table to the side for extra room to play and exercise, and set it up with floor pillows for a new homework station for children. 

• Move your favorite painting to the room where you spend the most time, whether it's a home office, kitchen, or nursery, and enjoy the beauty and transcendence of art. 

• Use your occasion dishes more often, and if you're spending more time than you'd like inside the kitchen, bring your cutting board to the back yard. 

• Think about how your home is supporting your physical health and invest in materials that benefit indoor air quality. Be mindful when bringing new items in your home, avoid air fresheners, and fill vases with aromatic mint and rosemary. 

• Make sure your bedroom is supporting your sleep habits by clearing out clutter and adjusting lighting to meet your needs. 

• Carve out time with nature, even if it is tending to a favorite indoor plant or watching hummingbirds in your garden.

Be resourceful, get creative, trust your instincts, and listen to what your mind and body needs, and mold your home to fulfill those needs. And you can always call us if you need some ideas. Our studio and local craftspersons are here to serve. 

While we discover methods to care for ourselves, we have learned the necessity and power of turning to others for support and assistance. We offer our support by helping create functional homes so that your safe place is also your ideal space. 

We hope that this time to reassess, rearrange, and reconnect, can carry us into a healthier and more positive future, supported by homes that sustain and nourish our bodies and minds. 

Sarah Barnard, WELL AP, and LEED AP designs healthy, happy, personalized spaces that connect deeply to nature and art. Empathy and mindfulness are the foundation of her practice creating healing, supportive environments that enhance life.