The home is the only place where individuals and families can truly be themselves, free from the prying eyes of the public. And while a Melbourne real estate agent can look for you the most ideal and most stylish piece of property you can ever find in the city or anywhere else in Australia, you do have to make sure that the home that you are going to get is of a healthy home design concept.
A healthy home should be able to nurture the people who live inside it as well as protect the outside world from some of the chemicals or other agents that may emanate from the interior of the home. A healthy home should strike a balance between modern comfortable living and sensitivity to environmental needs. However, you simply do not have to go back to an earth-sheltered dwelling in order for you to live in harmony with Mother Nature to be called a healthy home. Even with today’s homes you can initiate certain steps to put a healthy design concept to an existing infrastructure. For tips you can logon to your favorite real estate agent or check out their FB page. Or you can continue reading for some tips on how to make your home healthier.
Strive to Improve Indoor Air Quality
Despite recent advances in technology especially in the manufacture of durable paints and fabrics as well as wood and other construction materials, these products still fill the air with harmful oftentimes toxic fumes. For example, many paints still use volatile organic compounds which are a mixture of potentially hazardous chemicals such as acetone, formaldehyde, and benzene. These chemicals can produce skin irritation to airway problems in susceptible individuals. Using non-VOC containing paints is therefore an excellent way to design a healthier home.
Furniture should also be taken into consideration. Majority of wooden cabinets and furniture are composed of medium density fiberboard which, unfortunately, uses urea formaldehyde in its resin matrix. It is therefore very important to choose furniture that are constructed of resin which is free from formaldehyde in order to prevent the development of leukemia and nasal cancer attributed to formaldehyde vapors.
That said, you may also have to make sure that the ventilation in your home is sufficient to allow the more efficient movement of both interior and exterior air. This is important in maintaining good indoor air quality.
Check Eco-Friendlier Alternatives to Your Flooring
For the floor, it is important to use environmentally-friendly solutions as your flooring materials. If you can get hold of reusable wood or wood that were originally used in another home, then by all means use these are your flooring material. Just make sure that you are not going to apply on any other finishing product that contains harmful chemical. Some experts would suggest using reclaimed wood from fallen trees or old beams. Some would also suggest using bamboo tiles to give your home a more natural look. For sound-absorbing flooring or even wall material, cork can be a great alternative as it is hypoallergenic, excellent insulator, and is soft and durable. These can add an entirely new dimension to your healthy flooring or wall needs in your home.
Create a Green Bedroom
The bedroom is where you spend at least a third of your day sleeping or resting. It is your private personal area of your home. As such it is advisable that you keep it as healthy as possible. This means using mattresses that do not have chemicals such as fire-retardants and petroleum as finishing materials. While these chemicals do provide added benefit, prolonged contact with the skin and the vapors released through the air can reach the respiratory passages and the lungs. This can lead to a host of health problems such as bronchitis and pneumonia. The choice of materials for the bedding can also play a major role in ensuring health in the bedroom. This is especially true if you have asthma or simple allergies such that choosing hypoallergenic materials should be your priority.
Add a Touch of Eco-Friendliness to Your Windows
The most important function of the window of any home is the transfer of heat between the inside of the home and the outside environment. Additionally, windows provide for excellent lighting which can have an important role not only in providing energy efficiency but also in creating a more favorable mood in the home. This can easily translate to better emotional and mental health. Using eco-wise drapes and curtains can help regulate both sunlight and ambient temperature without necessarily harming both the environment and the occupants of the home.
Designing your home to be healthy requires understanding of how certain chemicals used in the manufacture of home essentials can affect health. Choosing those that are safer and eco-friendlier should help you design a healthier home. Making your home a haven of good health and wellness is the best thing that you can give to your family. With resourcefulness, creativity and good research, keeping up a healthy space need not be expensive.