Homeowners want their homes to reflect their healthy lifestyles, and designers are taking note.

1. 7 Interior Design
Trends That Promote
Wellness
Eugene Chrinian

2. 7 Interior Design Trends That Promote
Wellness
 As function and form continue to meld in interior design, homes are becoming
havens of wellness that reflect their occupants’ desire to lead healthy
lifestyles. Interior design can affect everything from mental fatigue to
cardiovascular health, whether it’s the amount of natural light that enters a
home or an efficient and streamlined space that encourages a simple, focused
lifestyle. Features such as neutral palettes that reflect the soothing colors of
nature or a bathroom that previously only would have been found in a spa are
transforming homes into retreats designed for mental and physical well-being.
Design experts across the spectrum expect to see wellness explode in interior
design in 2017.
 Here are trends that integrate wellness into home design—while most are now
cropping up in high-end homes, it’s possible to integrate these trends into any
home, no matter your price point.

3. Minimalism
 With cues from Japanese design, the stark, clean lines of minimalism are
finding a place in American homes. Minimalism calls for few accessories and
symmetrical spaces that create a natural sense of balance. Careful attention
is paid to lighting and statement-making furniture that mimic the simplicity
of the room’s design. The resulting impact is a comfortable, welcoming space
that exudes calm and tranquility.
 Recent minimalistic design focuses on optimizing space and downsizing.
Designers favor multiuse furniture, such as beds or desks that can stealthily
be moved out of the way to create larger living spaces when needed, as well
as hidden closets and other storage areas. The result is a marriage of
purposeful design and clever storage solutions that make for a functional, yet
architecturally beautiful space.

4. Spa bathrooms
 Today’s bathrooms often mirror the luxury of a
spa, with everything from custom showers to
recessed lights. Trending neutral colors,
including grays and creams, are similar to the
relaxing hues found in spas. Other trends
include heated floors, teak shower seats, and
the use of wood and other natural materials,
such as river rock, that create a room that feels
like a sanctuary.
 Designers report that homeowners are looking
for functional bathrooms with simple designs
where they can feel invigorated in the morning
and relaxed in the evening. Design elements
can include soaking tubs, steam showers, and
piped-in music to recreate the tranquil
atmosphere of a spa.

5. Water and air filters
 In the aftermath of stories of contaminated water in Flint, Michigan,
homeowners are installing all varieties of water and air filtrations systems
into homes to ensure that their families are drinking and using clean water.
One of the most innovative new systems draws humidity from the air and
sends it through a seven-step filtration system to create several gallons of
drinking water a day. Other, more traditional systems provide filtration for all
household water or for selected faucets.
 Homeowners also are focusing on indoor air quality and reducing volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), which can seep from furniture, flooring, and
fabrics. Some builders now are installing whole-house ventilation systems,
and homeowners can choose paints, finishes, and carpets with low VOC
levels.

6. Home saunas
 While saunas have long been a staple of gyms
and spas, they now are finding a place in
people’s homes. Home improvement retailers
sell small saunas, which typically seat one or
two people, for as little as $1,500.
 Health experts extoll the benefits of infrared
saunas, claiming that they can promote
everything from fat loss to increased
metabolism to detoxification. Do-it-
yourselfers can easily construct one in an
outbuilding, or use a sauna kit to install one
indoors. The smallest recommended sauna
footprint is about 24 square feet.

7. Outdoor living
 The relationship between wellness
and nature is well documented, and
now homeowners and builders are
using floorplans that encourage this
connection. Some floorplans focus on
natural light, flooding homes with
sunlight to give them a bright, open
atmosphere, while others focus on
elaborate outdoor living spaces that
can include full kitchens, couches and
televisions, bocce courts, and fire
pits.

8. Circadian lighting
 The first smart light bulbs have hit the market, and these LED bulbs
connect to a homeowners’ smart phone and can be regulated throughout
the day. The bulbs’ light can change color to correspond to the body’s
circadian rhythms, including the sleep cycle. Color settings range from
white light to energize during daylight hours, and an orange glow to
encourage relaxation in the evenings.

9. A clean environment
 A home’s interior is its own ecosystem, and consumers are becoming savvier
about the environmental and health impacts of cleaners and other home
products. Many also are looking for features in their homes that promote
cleanliness.
 That means homeowners are looking for shorter-pile carpets and upholstery
that doesn’t hold dust, low-maintenance countertops that have anti-bacterial
qualities, and mudrooms where shoes can be left to avoid tracking toxins and
germs into the house.