The Green Stuff Makes Us Happy

It鈥檚 true! We don鈥檛 spend enough time outside in nature. It鈥檚 a fact. We need this stuff for our emotional wellbeing and, no sh*t, spending eight hours a day inside staring at a screen, with (if we鈥檙e lucky) some natural light reminding us that we are actually inside rather than breathing that air outside, our emotional wellbeing is really not being pampered the way it should be. There are physiological and psychological impacts on our bodies 鈥� we need to listen to them!

As you鈥檝e heard me say before, we don鈥檛 follow 鈥渢rends鈥�, at Evolve Design Build, but we do follow 鈥渞esearch鈥�. Research is clear on this.

We can bring the outside, inside. Effectively 鈥� and it really, really does work. Of course our bodies don鈥檛 know the difference, we literally 鈥渟ee鈥� the shape of the flowers, the leaves.. the nature.. and boxes are ticked. Our brain stands down.

In an article named Biophilia: Does visual contact with nature impact on health and wellbeing (Bj酶rn Grinde, Grete Grindal Patil, 2009) the authors evaluated fifty empirical studies to conclude that 鈥渁n environment devoid of Nature may act as a 鈥渄iscord鈥�, i.e., have a negative effect鈥� and that.. 鈥渄iscords are mismatches with a potentially undesirable impact on health or quality of life鈥�. They established that even the visual absence of plants had a negative effect on our wellbeing and this was improved by simply adding elements of nature; creating parks, offering a view through windows and by the addition of potted plants inside.

How cool is that??

Often times in my work I witness the experience of our Clients and can never quite put my finger on it. The workplace just feels better, we know it, they know it, and we also know that this is because we鈥檝e injected our magic (aka Study and Research..). Harvard Biologist EO Wilson, said we have an innate human need to affiliate with life. We need to be amongst living things.

So some of the benefits that we might not expect to experience just by adding a few of our green friends into the workplace are reduced stress and improved cognitive function, go figure! We can come to work and actually have our stress levels r e d u c e d - biophilia can enhance our mood and our creativity 鈥� stack those babies up! What鈥檚 not to love? Except I kill every plant I touch, just ask my sister, it鈥檚 true. #imnotproud.

But the best part?

If you鈥檙e like me and kill everything in sight, or you can鈥檛 put real 鈥渘ature鈥� into your space, you can fake it! Not joking! It鈥檚 not as effective, it鈥檚 true, but it does work! Your brain is looking for shapes and recognisable natural forms 鈥� I the absence of the real green stuff 鈥� fake that sh*t.

And 鈥� did I mention, Biophilia literally means Love of Life (I stole this, and credit it to the amazing Terrapin Bright Green Urban Design Company, out of the States, who I鈥檝e been following for ages, they centre their sustainable designs around people and places).

Love

Of

Life.

What could be better?

Until next time, friends 鈽�

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About Jules Galloway:

Jules Galloway is known as an agitator and a change maker, and she wouldn鈥檛 have it any other way. As the founder/owner of Evolve Design| Build and co-owner of HUB Office Furniture, Jules ignores the status quo and is fundamentally changing the way the design industry does business. Having started her first business more than 25 years ago, Jules鈥� continued success comes from knowing when to buck the trends and instead dig into the 鈥榳hy鈥� as a way to understand what her clients really want. Especially when they have no idea! Jules has vision and it鈥檚 not just about the right chairs to go with that flooring. She is passionate about function-first design and purposeful projects. She has a clear idea of what it means to be part of the community and she incorporates this into every aspect of her life. As an instructor at the Centre for Arts and Technology Design School, Jules encourages young designers to understand the fundamentals but to also be confident to take the risks. Her personal passion for child and youth mental health has led to non-profit organizations making up 80% of her design projects. Jules brings her heart into all she does. She is a relationship builder who has a savvy eye, strong business acumen and leads with her heart. She lives in 91大黄鸭, B.C.with her two children, her dog and her fianc茅 鈥� soon to be husband, Lee!

Email: jules@evolveinteriors.ca

Founder and CEO

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