How To Connect With Natural Systems In Your Kitchen and Bathroom

 

Observing naturally occurring systems gives us a sense of time and belonging.

For a literal and straightforward interpretation, the kitchen may be the easiest place to establish our connection to the cycle of life. However, many of the fourteen biophilic patterns overlap and can be accomplished in just a few elements. Discover why should you ask your kitchen and bath specialist to include biophilic patterns. You wouldn't believe the benefits of connecting with natural systems.

Imagine reducing your risk of:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Obesity
• Asthma that results in hospitalization
• Cardiovascular disease
• Mental illness
• Emotional disability

Your kitchen and bathroom have the power to help you live a healthier life just by being thoughtful about the layout, materials, and features you include. These are two areas that are a powerhouse for healthy living. Don't sell yourself or your investment short. 

Another benefit of being connected to natural systems is the overwhelming sense of belonging to something bigger than yourself. Not only do you feel connected to nature you can depend and rely on it to always be there. That concept helps lift a level of responsibility off of human shoulders. We simply can't control everything. There is relief in knowing the days and seasons will come and go. Life will continue and there will always be something to look forward to. This brings with it the benefits of anticipation. Suddenly our homes are a sanctuary of wellness we can't wait to get home to enjoy. What if your kitchen and bathroom could produce the same sense of prospect that seasonal change gives us:

• Anticipating the heart of the peach season in full swing at the end of summer.
• Waiting with bated breath for Starbucks' pumpkin spice release date signaling the start of sweater weather.
• Looking forward to colorful leaves giving way to the decadence of white blanket trees that sparkle in sunlight during the frost of winter.
• Just when a long winter drags, the idea of seeing the first bright green buds of life emerge from dormant branches. 

Regardless of how conscious humans are about their connection to ephemeral cycles the reduction of stress on the mind and body is what provides the emotional and physical health benefits. It is our connection to temporary cycles that will most certainly begin and end promising a new experience that makes us feel optimistic about the future. The philosophical message being sent to humans from the natural environment is, that no matter how difficult a moment in time can feel, just wait. In a short time conditions will change and bring with it renewed life and a different reality. How good does that feel?

Our connection to natural systems gives us the emotional and physiological benefits that reduce emotional, psychological, and physical health risks. They are easily reproduced by a skillful kitchen and bath specialist. Where we see and feel the cues of transition in Mother Nature, an interior designer can simulate them in the built environment. Some of the more obvious methods are:

• LED lighting schemes that mark the passing of time by reproducing daylighting patterns.
• Designing indoor kitchen gardens and views from a soaking tub of wildlife habitats. 
• Including water systems and seasonal water sculptures that encourage social gatherings. 
• Interior accents that display the natural patina of materials communicating a passing sense of time like leather, stone, copper, wood, and bronze. 

If including these patterns and elements in your kitchen or bath remodel is going to improve your quality of life, why not ask your designer to incorporate them? It does not require any more budget than what has been set aside. It only requires the knowledge and skill of being able to identify beneficial features and materials. Ask Lynn to give you design options that will connect you to the natural cycles of life and give you a more positive outlook on life.