Our furnished apartment for a year...we ate out a lot.
A few years ago our family moved to a new community on the East Coast, far from anyone we knew. After a few months we found ourselves struggling to make connections with others.
Our two boys were very young at the time and not having friends or family nearby when kids are tiny is very difficult.
We rented a 3 bedroom furnished apartment. It was very retro...but not in a funky and fun way. The kitchen was confining, dark, drab, mixed with mustard yellow linoleum and greenish-brown low pile carpet.
Considering the amount of time I spent in that apartment with our two boys I have no doubt that the poor design choices contributed to my daily frustration and feeling blue. Of course, I was thankful for a place to live. But we escaped it as much as possible eating out every chance we could.
Our small eating area now. So thankful for this light.
Our living environment affects us in profound ways. It can have a positive or negative affect on our efficiency, productivity, emotions, and our mental and physical health. As designers of built environments, everyone in the planning and building phase of a space has a social responsibility to the end users.
Our home should be a reflection of who we are an enhance and enable us to be who we were meant to be. I'm pretty sure brown and mustard yellow linoleum isn't a reflection of very many people. We still rent, and it isn't a perfect home by any means. But it is a more neutral starting point.
"Unlike a piece of fine art hanging in a gallery, which people can choose to go and see or not, people have to live and work in buildings. The built environment does affect people, whether we like it or not, so we have a responsibility to them.” - Libby Burton
What about your home? How does it affect your emotions and health?