Designing spaces to promote a healthy and active lifestyle

Health and well-being are some of the biggest factors in designing spaces for commercial and residential interiors.

Having areas or pods for power naps during work breaks is quite common in computer tech offices in the US to help relax the eyes. Pantries have kitchen cooktops for office staff to prepare their own fresh food for lunch.

Corporations have even added game rooms on busy floors with billiard tables, pingpong tables, slides, ellipticals, and different forms of kinetic equipment to help staff reach their 5,000 to 10,000 steps a day. Indoor plants and vertical gardens have also been incorporated into pockets of open office spaces, gyms, and indoor mini parks.

In our own design and construction office, we’ve converted our office desks into hydraulic ones to allow users to work sitting or standing so they don’t stay sedentary for hours. We’ve added a vintage arcade console for the team to play with during breaks.

Improving well-being

Designing for health improves physical and emotional well-being. It can also increase productivity and comfort, and reduce stress.

Having this mindset in designing a public space for a community can be even more beneficial. Parks, open spaces, walking areas, dog parks, and jogging paths that are better designed, more spacious, and more welcoming can improve community well-being and encourage more people to move.

In a residential setting, the same principles of designing spaces to inspire a healthy, active lifestyle can also be applied.

HEALTHY KITCHEN

Apply the work triangle concept in any kitchen size. Your kitchen doesn’t have to be huge. You just need to have ample space to apply the refrigerator, sink and cooktop spacing following the triangle. This will give you enough space to prepare fresh meals. The triangle workspace will also allow you practical movement and efficient use of space and time. A comfortable kitchen allows you to prepare your food wisely and to enjoy more family time.

Allow natural light to come in. You can see your food prep better–enough said.

Keep the clutter away. Organize your kitchen cabinetry and pantry stock. Allow a kitchen professional to help you plan your pantry organization. One is always guilty of overbuying tableware, cookware and most especially, pantry food. Proper placement of items can save you money and time.

Have a big counter or work area. I love big counters since this can hold all your ingredients while you’re prepping.

HOME GYM

Invest in a home gym. You have an option to convert a whole space, spread out the equipment around your house, or make your gym equipment built into the walls so they can be concealed.

A recommended size for a home gym is around 15 to 20 sqm, if you don’t have enough space. For a condo unit, you may opt to spread out your equipment, which makes it a must to choose pieces that look good as well. Scavolini and Life Fitness offer a wall-mounted, full system gym, while Technogym has a bestselling bench that has a dumbbell storage underneath.

While I own a women-only gym with a partner, I still enjoy my home gym. My husband and I have been designing and building gyms for condominiums for 17 years and this enticed us to buy our own equipment. The treadmill, elliptical and dumbbells are our staple. I also can’t live without my Powerplate, which I’ve had since 2014.

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Invest in good exercise equipment. Make sure that your floor finish is tough enough to handle these equipment. Hardwood floor is pretty good and kind on the knees too.

RELAXING BEDROOM

A good sleep can have us wake up to better memory, a more focused brain, better judgement, sharper reflexes, happier mood, and a better day.

Choose a comfortable mattress. Select the mattress yourself as this is crucial for a good night’s sleep. You will be surprised with the choices that Uratex has. Check out the Ronac Center. There’s the classic Tempur-pedic for memory foam, and Simmons for the Beautyrest coil spring technology. For those who have extra moolah to spend, Duxiana offers different firmness levels to support the shoulder, the hips, and leg areas individually.

Part of choosing a mattress is selecting the bedsheets. My sheets have to be really comfortable and soft to the touch, cold when felt, light and airy–100 percent cotton. This is my biggest indulgence. I need to have a full set of sheets with a down duvet filler with a duvet cover, a comforter on top which can be folded depending on the weather and indoor AC.

My love for sheets started on a trip to Egypt with my parents, when I was single. I was given a set of Egyptian cotton sheets which I still have and use. That was back in 2006. I have a collection of Frette sheets from years ago which I cherish and love to use.

GREEN SPACE