Andrew is founder and managing partner of Havelock Wool. He has a passion for all things New Zealand, where the company procures its wool, that is mirrored by a desire to affect positive change in the built environment. He has lived and traveled around the world and seeks to leverage those experiences in bringing a biophilic, best practice to an industry known to contribute excessive waste to our world. What You'll Discover: How does sheep wool insulation work? Is it a healthy choice for your home? Is it good for the environment? How much does it cost? Is it easy to install? Plus a lot more! Helpful Links: Episode Link Havelock Wool

Healthy Home Design

046 // The Best Insulation For Your Home with Andrew Legge of Havelock Wool

We have a special guest interview today, from a company I love to recommend, but first I have a quick, fun announcement. If you've tried visiting my Balanced Home Balanced Life website lately, you probably noticed that it's no longer there! I decided to combine my two websites into one, and now everything I do can be found at Balancedarchitecture.com And it's been totally revamped! You'll find all the latest podcasts episodes, resources, the different ways I can help you create your renovation or new build, and just lots of great info about making a healthy and sustainable home. So make sure you check that out!   Ok, now on to my special guest. I recently had the opportunity to interview jay Watts who is VP at AFM Safecoat. you might have heard me mention this company before. They specialize in making healthy paints, stains, coatings, sealants, and pretty much all other liquid coatings you'd use in a building project Jay has been with AFM for 25 years, and through his time there he's be counselling consumers, especially those with chemical sensitivities and allergies, on strategies to building or remodeling safer homes and offices. We dive into all things indoor air quality in this episode. It was a really fun discussion. I hope you enjoy it! www.balancedarchitecture.com/045  

045 // All About Indoor Air Quality with Jay Watts from AFM Safecoat

There is a lot to discover about the Living Building Challenge and how you can create a Living House.  This month's podcast episode is bringing you an overview of the concepts and how you can bring the ideas into your own home design. You'll Discover: What the Living Building Challenge is and who it's for The 7 'Petals' that make up the core concepts of the LBC How to use the LBC framework without having to go all in on certification How to apply the LBC strategies to your upcoming project whether it's a renovation or a new build   Helpful Links: The Living Building Challenge International Living Future Institute Loom House Project Spotlight

044 // How To Make The Ultimate Sustainable Wellness Home

Have you ever started searching for a healthy product and then found yourself three hours later even more confused than when you started? I have been there.  Searching for healthy and earth-friendly building materials for your home renovation or new home build is hard!  It's exhausting and confusing. This episode is meant to help you narrow down your choices and guide you to the best websites to find the information you're looking for. You'll Discover: What product certifications are Which certifications you should look out for The best websites to search for healthy materials My process for researching healthy and earth-friendly materials   Healthy Materials Guide: This Easy-To-Use Guide Will Help You: Save time and avoid frustration - you can stop the endless internet research for healthy and sustainable materials Feel good about the materials you're selecting for your home Share your material ideas with your architect and builder so they have a head start on understanding what you want to use in your home balancedhomebalancedlife.com/healthymaterials Helpful Links: Declare: https://declare.living-future.org/ Healthy Materials Lab: https://healthymaterialslab.org/material-collections/ Mindful Materials: http://www.mindfulmaterials.com/ Declare Label Image: https://www.balancedhomebalancedlife.com/043    

043 // How to Find Healthy and Sustainable Materials When You're Renovating Or Building A New Home

We spend a lot of time in our kitchens, but do you know what’s in the air when you operate your stove or cook food? It sounds a bit silly, but cooking can actually be dangerous!  Cooking puts a lot of toxins into your air, so whenever you're cooking, those toxins are releasing into your air and you're breathing them in.  With proper ventilation, you're curbing a lot of those toxins from getting into your air, which is why a ventilation system is so important for a healthy home! Today's podcast episode dives into the kinds of toxins found in your kitchen air and the best ventilation options to help minimize and remove them. What You’ll Discover: How a mechanical engineer can help keep the air in your home healthy Why it’s important to ventilate your kitchen What you can do to mitigate the dangers and toxins in your kitchen air What particulate matter (PM) is and how it’s released into the air through cooking Why an induction stove is healthier than a gas stove The best practices for using range hoods What makeup air is and why it’s needed with a range hood Links:Rocky Mountain Institute's study on gas stoves

042 // What You Need To Know About Kitchen Ventilation

Can you live in a small house? Now, we’re not talking about tiny houses, which are wonderful for the planet, but a small house relative to the number of people and how those people live their lives. Being comfortable in a small house, or any house, is all about the design. You can walk into a 3,000 square foot house and it can actually feel smaller than a 1,800 square foot house. Creating a spacious feeling in a small house is about the layout, design elements, and organization options. This week’s Healthy Home Design podcast episode digs into ways to design a small house without sacrificing your comfort or flexibility. What You’ll Discover: The benefits of living in a small house What to consider when designing your small house Tips and design ideas for making your house flexible, multi-use, and organized How to make your house feel comfortable and spacious Why a smaller home doesn’t necessarily affect the resale value Links: Episode 37 // What is a site analysis and why do you need one before designing your renovation / new home build?

041 // How to Design a Small House Without Sacrificing Comfort or Flexibility

Starting a renovation or a new home build can be daunting and there are often a lot of questions at the beginning.  Everyone always wants to know how much the project will cost, how long it will take, and if they should phase the construction. So what should you consider when asking these questions, and what information can you provide to your contractor to prepare them as much as possible? This week’s episode walks you through three of the most common questions contractors receive and how the variables of your site, design, or materials might affect the answer. What you’ll discover: The three most common construction questions How different variables can affect the answer to your questions Why a square foot cost analysis might not be helpful in determining the overall cost What to provide to a contractor for them to answer your questions 

040 // How much will your project cost? How long will it take? Should you phase the construction?

We’re spending a lot more time in our homes and as work and family responsibilities merge, we’re finding ourselves more distracted and less productive. With January being the time we set goals and figure out how to make our lives better, I wanted to share some ideas that can make your new home or renovation help you become more productive and healthy.  These 10 design ideas will help you work efficiently, get more done in less time, and reduce stress for a healthy, productive home. What you’ll discover: What designs you need to consider for a productive home How to increase natural light and decrease noise Why colors and the right furniture matter How the layout of your home and rooms can increase productivity and wellness   Helpful links:Baux Acoustic Wood Wool PanelsEpisode 34: Biophilic Design and How To Design Nature Into Your Home To Reap Wellness Benefits Episode 16: Choosing Paint Colors For a Calm and Stress-Free Home with Mehnaz Kahn Wellness kitchen:An Architect’s Tips For Getting Your Wellness Kitchen Layout Right 8 Tips for a Healthy Kitchen Makeover Episode 9: Healthy and Sustainable Countertops for Your Healthy HomeEpisode 14: 5 Reasons To Create A Kitchen Designed For Wellness Pure Living Space - Promo code BALANCED  for 10% off    

039 // How can the design of your home make you more productive?

This might be bad timing, with it being 3 days before Christmas, but I've been meaning to talk about this subject for a while, and finally had the chance. So here we go... Who's really affected by all the things we buy (and then throw away) in this country? Who's primarily dealing with asthma and other serious illnesses because of where they live? Who takes the brunt of the extreme weather events caused by climate change? It's generally not the people that are buying all the things, or jet-setting around the world, or building mansions. It's the country's low income and African American, Latino, and Native American populations. This is what's known as environmental injustice, aka environmental racism. This week's Healthy Home Design podcast digs into environmental justice and what we can do when building a new home or renovating to start fixing the environmental health disparity. What You'll Discover: What environmental injustice is What you can do in your day-to-day life to help end the consumerism cycle How to use less when building a new home How to choose healthy materials for your home   Have a safe and happy holiday season, and I'll see you in the New Year! Take care, Kate P.S. It's my New Year's resolution to do better at my own consumerism habits. What's yours?   Helpful Links: Cancer Alley Louisiana:  https://www.propublica.org/article/welcome-to-cancer-alley-where-toxic-air-is-about-to-get-worse Recycle Building Materials:HFH ReStore: https://www.habitat.org/restores EPA guide to recycling building materials: https://www.epa.gov/smm/best-practices-reducing-reusing-and-recycling-construction-and-demolition-materials

038 // How to Help Everyone Live In A Healthy Home

How well do you know your site? If you're planning a renovation or building a new home, you need to know it REALLY well.   You need to spend time on your property conducting a site analysis.   A site analysis is probably one of my favorite things to do. I realize I say this for a lot of things when it comes to design, but this one I love because I get to be outside and just look around.   Imagine if your home was filled with beautiful, warm sunlight all day long. Imagine if it felt like an extension of the outdoors. Imagine if in the winter time, ice didn't constantly build up along your walkway, and in the spring the threat of water coming into your basement wasn't a concern. Imagine if the neighbor's blaring music wasn't waking you up in the morning, or the street light outside wasn't shining directly into your bedroom window.   To make sure these dreamy things become a reality for your home, you need to conduct a site analysis. It's the first step to make sure your home is going to be comfortable, healthy and safe.   The sad thing is, it's rare for a new home being built to go through a site analysis before it's designed and plopped onto the site. This is why most homes have annoying issues like bad daylighting, neighboring noises, ground water concerns, views being blocked, over heating etc. etc. etc.   So what exactly is a site analysis and how do you conduct one? make sure to listen to this week's episode of The Healthy Home Design Podcast to find out.   What You'll Discover What is a site analysis? When do you conduct a site analysis? Why is a site analysis so important? What do you need to do before you begin? What should you be observing? What should you be recording?   Helpful Links: Climate Data Website: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/

037 // What is a site analysis and why do you need one before designing your renovation / new build?

036 // My top 8 healthy and sustainable products from my renovation adventures

  Choosing a contractor can be a tricky task!  Not all contractors are created equal.  Some contractors are much more experienced in building durable, energy efficient, healthy homes than others. The best way to find a contractor that will build your healthy home correctly is to ask lots of questions!  It is a good idea to interview up to three contractors before hiring the team that will build your home. You want to make sure they are going to build a quality healthy home and that they are willing to learn some new tricks along the way.  Here are 10 great questions to ask your potential contractors to make sure they are comfortable building your healthy home. 

035 // 10 Questions to ask a potential contractor when building / renovating your sustainable wellness home

“…the enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it, tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; and thus, through the influence of the mind over the body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration to the whole system”  -American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, 1865 Olmsted describes the benefits of nature perfectly.  At once, being in nature relaxes the mind and enlivens it.  It's pretty amazing. I know it's not possible to always be outside surrounded by nature, especially when living in a city. But the benefits of being in nature are so powerful that the lack of living close to nature cannot be an excuse for avoiding it.  Humans need that natural connection.  It's how we thrive. Biophilic design is design that reconnects us with nature.  Biologist Edward Wilson popularized the term Biophilia in the 1980s, saying that humans have an innate desire to connect with nature. Biophilic design is at the core of a wellness house.  Today's podcast episode dives into how to design your home and spaces within your home to bring nature to you and to reap the benefits that nature provides. What You'll Discover: What biophilic design is The health and wellness benefits of nature Simple ideas to incorporate biophilic design into your home now Holistic design strategies to get the most out of biophilic design for your new home / reno project Design tips for making your home office a productive, happy and creative space Helpful Links: Check out examples of biophilic design here. Learn more about the psychology of color with expert Mehnaz Khan.

034 // Biophilic Design and How To Design Nature Into Your Home To Reap Wellness Benefits

Ventilation is at the top of everyone's minds these days thanks to COVID. And while a lot of attention is being focused on commercial ventilation systems, there is less talk about home ventilation systems. We're in our homes more than ever before.  And there's more people in the home at one time than ever before since so many of us are working from home and our kids are schooling from home. There has never been a more important time to understand and incorporate proper ventilation in homes than right now.  With proper mechanical ventilation in your home, you're protecting your family now and for all future viruses. Today's Healthy Home Design Podcast episode is going to cover all the basics on home ventilation systems. What You'll Discover: Why the air in your home is less healthy than the air outside Why having an air-tight house is so important for air quality What Air Changes per Hour (ACH) actually means All the benefits of having fresh, healthy indoor air The best type of ventilation system for your home The cost of good (and bad) ventilation  

033 // Ventilation Systems to Keep Your Home Healthy and Safe

We did it! It's finally done. Three years later, my husband, Pieter, and I finished our DIY healthy home renovation. There were good times, bad times, you know we had our share. ..  And I'll be getting into all of it in today's Healthy Home Design Podcast episode. We had A LOT of lessons learned, so I put together my top 8 most important lessons learned to share with you. What You'll Discover: Why it's so important to take your time buying a fixer-upper Financing and budgeting mistakes to avoid How to be realistic about time frame Why being clear on your goals and intentions will prepare you for challenges How to keep yourself sane and healthy when living through a renovation project Helpful Links: Before and After photos Purpose Statement

032 // 8 Things I Learned During My Healthy Home Renovation

This podcast is all about opening up the possibilities of living a healthier life by creating a healthy home for you and your family. Everyone deserves to live in a home that will keep them safe, healthy and happy. As a licensed architect that specializes in wellness and sustainable design, Kate Hamblet is here to give you the tools you need to start improving the health of your home today. In this podcast you will learn how to create a more natural home that not only reduces you family's exposure to toxins, but that provides more restful sleep and more energized days, that makes it easier to nourish your body with healthy foods and daily movement, and that minimizes stress levels and helps you find calm in your home. Whether you are looking for ways to upgrade your existing home, renovating your home, or building a new home, Kate is here to help.

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Healthy Home Design

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