Healthy Homes and Environments matter
We are a WELL Certified design studio. What does that mean you might ask?
Our studio places an emphasis on sourcing environmentally-friendly products that contribute to a healthy living environment, with WELL certified building practices put into practical use. For those that may not be familiar with this newer building standard, WELL is the gold standard in creating environments that are built with the long-term health of their inhabitants in mind. From reducing VOCs and circulating air flow to selecting organic materials that won’t off-gas, WELL is about creating equitable, clean living spaces.
In many ways, WELL acts as a counterpart to LEED certification, with LEED focusing primarily on the environment and WELL focusing on human health. We believe that design can help to create a better world and strive for this ideal in each project we collaborate on with our clients. Kristine became certified in WELL practices after a near-death experience due to toxic mold poisoning. She was lucky enough to experience a full recovery and now works to advocate for safe building standards. Learn more about WELL.
A Personal Story
I’ve always been passionate about creating beautiful environments. Even from a young age, I was “redecorating” my friends houses, enlisting them (and sometimes even their parents!) to help me move furniture around to create more optimal spaces. I’m what you could call spatially sensitive to a fault—if the lighting is bad or the vibe is off I’m the first to leave a space. Endurance in this area has never been my strong suit. So when I started my own interiors studio back in 2012 it felt like a natural fit. I don’t think I realized how lucky I was at the time—I started the business and although I hustled hard, had a nearly immediate stack of great clients that I loved working and creating with. I was building out a team to help keep all of our projects running alongside building out a beautiful new office in San Diego as we quickly outgrew our first one.
The signs came slowly and then I suddenly realized I was very, very sick. Like thinking I was going to die kind of sick. I went to exactly twenty eight of the best doctors (we were doing well—we had great health insurance!) around Southern California of various specialities and no one could seem to diagnose the problem. Their conclusions ranged from thinking I was a mental case to testing me for breast cancer at 27 because my blood work was so far off kilter (thankfully neither were true). I’ll back up and say I’m a bit of the black sheep as an artist, designer and general creative type in my family of doctors and scientists, but all that to say, I have a huge amount of respect for these professions and understanding of the systems. But after nearly six months of my health continuing to decline to where I couldn’t think clearly or function for more than a few hours a day, I was over it. As a last ditch effort I went to an integrative doctor who had her medical degree but also specialized in more holistic therapies—she was incredibly expensive and not covered by insurance and I simply did not care. After two visits and a ton of testing, she asked if there were any water intrusions issues in my home or office. There was indeed—a water leak in my bedroom that my landlord at the time kept doing half fixes of that really only lasted until it would rain again. Long story short, I was diagnosed with toxic mold poisoning, which was confirmed by my endocrinologist.
Suffice it to say, I moved out of that apartment as quickly as I could and took several months off of work where I spent most of my time, energy and money in the pursuit of getting better. And I was so lucky—I was young and had an underlying history of good health and recovered within a year. This experience changed my understanding of the importance of my profession though. I always used to joke around with family members about the insignificance of my profession while they were out literally saving lives and working to cure cancer. Being so sick from something so simple—a building that had a faulty design element with the building envelope not being properly sealed—made me realize the importance we have as design professionals to create spaces that don’t just discourage illness, but actively foster wellness for their inhabitants. As I transformed my own life, health and household with non-toxic cleaning products, no VOC paint, furniture and fabrics made without toxic chemicals, I realized this was a way I could help others as well. I frequently think that if I had been a child in that environment, or a person with a compromised immune system, I may have actually died from this experience (instead of just wishing I was dead, such was the misery).
While I naturally build these practices in to any space I create (but in particular in homes), I’m happy to work to incorporate more of these principles into your space or project (or even just consult on this topic), as it’s something I’m truly passionate about. When you’re sick, you realize there is truly nothing—no amount of money or obstacle—that you would trade your health for. My hope is that with better awareness and more thoughtful building and design practices, people will be able to lead longer, healthier lives.