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HEALTH & HOME

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WHO WE ARE

Health & Home

INTERIOR DESIGN WITH HEALTH IN MIND

Health & Home is an interior design-based business that seeks to help others create healthy homes through minimizing toxins, optimizing design and maximizing health. We do so by addressing the build of the home, the design of the space, the decor and even the products used in the home, so our clients can live their healthiest life!

Meet

Haley Bowers

Founder, Ceo & Designer

Hi there! I’m Haley Bowers and I should probably start off by saying that I am not your typical interior designer.

While I love and am passionate about being creative and cultivating beautiful spaces for people to live in, more than anything I would say my first passion lies in loving on and helping other people.

So when I learned firsthand the negative impact that our home environments have on our health AND also the positive role they can play in optimizing our health, I knew I had to specialize in creating homes that were not only beautiful and functional, but also minimize risk for disease and support the health and healthy habits of those living there – combining two things I really care about!

I have found that by taking my passions for design and health, I can get to live out my creative design dreams while also helping people better their health and their lives – and I couldn’t be happier to do so!

Haley x

HOW WE GOT HERE

let's go back

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The Beginning

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and as far back as I can remember, even as a little girl, I always knew I wanted to do interior design.  So when it came time to pick a college and a major, it was a no-brainer; I chose to get my bachelors in Interior Design at San Jose State University.

Design School

During my time in design school though, I struggled with figuring out if I wanted to stay with my major, not because I didn’t love it (because I absolutely did!) but because, if I’m honest I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to tangibly help people. Don’t get me wrong! I think designers absolutely can help people through their work, it’s just that it wasn’t going to be able to on the level or in the way I had always wanted to.

It felt superficial to a degree for me and I really had to consider if design without helping others in ways I had imagined, would be enough for me. My parents encouraged me to continue on, having full-confidence I would figure out a way to help others using what I learned later on; so I did. I began dreaming and brainstorming all the ways I could give back to others in the future and began to get excited for it again!

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It was towards the end of my senior year at SJSU though, that my life, plans, vision and dreams were flipped upside down. 

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Not so long ago...

I started feeling sick every now and again, then it began happening more and more often until it was all the time. This turned into years of being undiagnosed, dismissed, misdiagnosed and more to finally get an answer, only to find out 5 years later, that I had somehow gotten poisoned from my college living environment which caused me to develop a bunch of chronic conditions.

While I was grateful to finally know what was going on with my body, I found I had even more questions than answers.

How did this happen? Why did this happen? And who else is it happening to? 

As someone who had a:

  • Bachelors in Interior Design from San Jose State University
  • Diploma and License in Decorating from Ashworth College
  • Multiple Certificates in Real Estate 

I can tell you not a single one of these educational paths ever talked about the direct impact our homes can have on our health. 

After learning about this health and home connection, I decided to continue my studies by getting my:

  • Masters in Interior Design from The National Design Academy at Staffordshire University

Here, I spent 2 years doing every project and my thesis on how the interior environment can impact health. At this same time, I was also studying it from a medical perspective as I tried to put the pieces of my experience and my life back together.

Doing these, really got me interested in learning more about how exactly someone can get sick from their environment and what happens to their body when they do, so after graduating, I went on to take certificate courses in the more broader topics of:

  • Environmental Health: An Integrative Approach through the University of Arizona College of Medicine 
  • Environmental Law & Policy through North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Chemicals & Health through Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Environmental Toxins and Health through Talking Toxins
  • Evidence Based Toxicology through Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Doing these diploma & certificate courses truly opened my eyes and gave even more meaning and purpose to the career path I was on. 

I saw a need for...

…and so much more!

I created health & home as a way to share all that I have learned with you as we explore ways to minimize toxins and optimize the design in our homes in order to maximize health for ourselves and our loved ones.

I hope that through the health & home freebies, courses, resources, podcast, blog, recommended products, services and social media pages, we are able to help you start to create the healthy home and life you have been dreaming of having. 

Together, we will learn, grow and create healthier homes for healthier lives! 

Homepage hero image

Who We Are

HEALTH & HOME

We believe your home should be created with you & your family's health at the forefront

Health & Home is an interior design based business that seeks to help others create healthy homes through minimizing toxins, optimizing design and maximizing health. We do so by addressing the build of the home, the design of the space, the decor and even the products used in the home, so our clients can live their healthiest life!

Meet Haley

OWNER // DESIGNER

Designer, Podcaster, Youtuber and your go-to-gal for everything Healthy Home

Hi there! I’m Haley Bowers and I should probably start off by saying that I am not your typical interior designer.

While I love and am passionate about being creative and cultivating beautiful spaces for people to live in, more than anything I would say my first passion lies in loving on and helping other people.

So when I learned firsthand the negative impact that our home environments have on our health AND also the positive role they can play in optimizing our health, I knew I had to specialize in creating homes that were not only beautiful and functional, but also minimize risk for disease and support the health and healthy habits of those living there – combining two things I really care about!

I have found that by taking my passions for design and health, I can get to live out my creative design dreams while also helping people better their health and their lives – and I couldn’t be happier to do so!

A Bit More About Me & How Health & Home Came To Be

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and as far back as I can remember, even as a little girl, I always knew I wanted to do interior design.  So when it came time to pick a college and a major, it was a no-brainer; I chose to get my bachelors in Interior Design at San Jose State University.

During my time in design school though, I struggled with figuring out if I wanted to stay with my major, not because I didn’t love it (because I absolutely did!) but because, if I’m honest I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to tangibly help people. Don’t get me wrong! I think designers absolutely can help people through their work, it’s just that it wasn’t going to be able to on the level or in the way I had always wanted to.

It felt superficial to a degree for me and I really had to consider if design without helping others in ways I had imagined, would be enough for me. My parents encouraged me to continue on, having full-confidence I would figure out a way to help others using what I learned later on; so I did. I began dreaming and brainstorming all the ways I could give back to others in the future and began to get excited for it again!

It was towards the end of my senior year at SJSU though, that my life, plans, vision and dreams were flipped upside down. 

I started feeling sick every now and again, then it began happening more and more often until it was all the time. This turned into years of being undiagnosed, dismissed, misdiagnosed and more to finally get an answer, only to find out 5 years later, that I had somehow gotten poisoned from my college living environment which caused me to develop a bunch of chronic conditions.

While I was grateful to finally know what was going on with my body, I found I had even more questions than answers.

How did this happen? Why did this happen? And who else is it happening to? 

As someone who had a:

  • Bachelors in Interior Design from San Jose State University
  • Diploma and License in Decorating from Ashworth College
  • Multiple Certificates in Real Estate 

I can tell you not a single one of these educational paths ever talked about the direct impact our homes can have on our health. 

After learning about this health and home connection, I decided to continue my studies by getting my:

  • Masters in Interior Design from The National Design Academy at Staffordshire University

Here, I spent 2 years doing every project and my thesis on how the interior environment can impact health. At this same time, I was also studying it from a medical perspective as I tried to put the pieces of my experience and my life back together.

Doing these, really got me interested in learning more about how exactly someone can get sick from their environment and what happens to their body when they do, so after graduating, I went on to take certificate courses in the more broader topics of:

  • Environmental Health: An Integrative Approach through the University of Arizona College of Medicine 
  • Environmental Law & Policy through North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Chemicals & Health through Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Environmental Toxins and Health through Talking Toxins
  • Evidence Based Toxicology through Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Doing these diploma & certificate courses truly opened my eyes and gave even more meaning and purpose to the career path I was on. 

I saw a need for...

…and so much more!

I created health & home as a way to share all that I have learned with you as we explore ways to minimize toxins and optimize the design in our homes in order to maximize health for ourselves and our loved ones.

I hope that through the health & home freebies, courses, resources, podcast, blog, recommended products, services and social media pages, we are able to help you start to create the healthy home and life you have been dreaming of having. 

Together, we will learn, grow and create healthier homes for healthier lives! 

LET'S WORK TOGETHER

WHY THE NATURE VIDEOS ON AN INTERIOR DESIGN SITE?

At Health & Home, we’re all about creating a healthy home by minimizing toxins and optimizing the design to maximize your health! And you know what? The easiest way to do that is to look to nature! Research has shown time and time again that using more natural and non-toxic products as well as incorporating elements of nature into our spaces, can both have a really positive impact on your overall health & wellness!

Now, don’t worry – you don’t have to turn your family room into a forest to get those benefits! Actually, you don’t have to change your aesthetic at all if you don’t want to! No matter what your personal style may be, we can work with you to create an environment that supports your health and wellness goals. We do this by looking at nature for things like colors, textures, and sounds to determine how they can positively or negatively impact your well-being based on the latest research, and then we use that information to create a space that’s just right for you & what you want from your space!

So why are there these videos at the top of the pages? Well, we put these here to help set the tone for the page and give you a taste of how exposure to elements of nature can impact your mood, your perception, and even your physical health! Below you will find an in-depth explanation as to why we chose the video we did for the page you are on and the research that we used to decide on that. Our hope is that this can help you see how you can intentionally take this kind of research and apply it to the design of your home so you can naturally get all the amazing benefits AND have a beautiful home at the same time!

HOW DID THIS PAGE MAKE YOU FEEL?

We wanted you to encouraged, hopeful & excited as you shop the amazing non-toxic products that will help you create a healthy home! The video featured on our Home page showcases the natural beauty and calming aesthetic of bluebell flowers gently swaying in the wind amidst lush greenery. This was carefully chosen to create an atmosphere that embodies calmness, tranquility, and trust. Inspired by the science-backed benefits of colors and elements from nature, we wanted to evoke a sense of calmness, openness, and trust in our visitors.

Research shows that exposure to blue colors can reduce blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of anxiety and stress (Elliot et al., 2015). By incorporating this calming color into our home page, we aim to show you that when you are here with us you don’t have to stress about creating a healthy home and figuring it all out because we are here to help! It was also influenced by the principles of biophilic design. This design approach emphasizes the integration of natural elements into indoor spaces to improve cognitive function, reduce stress, and enhance overall well-being (Kellert et al., 2008; Ryan et al., 2014). By incorporating the beauty of bluebell flowers and the organic sway of greenery, we aim to foster a deep connection with nature, which in turn promotes a sense of balance, renewal, and well-being.

Embrace the soothing shades of blue found in the flowers by incorporating them into your color palette. Soft, pastel blues or deeper hues can be used for accent walls, furniture upholstery, or decorative accessories (Elliot et al., 2015). Introduce natural materials and textures that mimic the organic qualities of lush greenery. Opt for wooden furniture, rattan accents, or jute rugs to create a connection with nature (Kellert et al., 2008). Choose fabrics and textiles that evoke a sense of comfort and tranquility, such as plush cushions, cozy throws, and soft curtains in calming blues or complementary earth tones. These soft textures invite relaxation and reinforce the soothing atmosphere (Hemphill, 1996).

References:

  • Hemphill, M. (1996). A note on adults’ color-emotion associations. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 157(3), 275-280.
  • Kellert, S. R., Heerwagen, J., & Mador, M. (2008). Biophilic design: The theory, science, and practice of bringing buildings to life. John Wiley & Sons.

Health and Home

Health & Home is an interior design-based business that seeks to help others create healthy homes through minimizing toxins, optimizing design and maximizing health. We do so by addressing the build of the home, the design of the space, the decor and even the products used in the home, so our clients can live their healthiest life!

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