8 August 2018

Away Room Design Tips-According To LiLu Interiors

Away Room Design By Lisa Peck, ASID An away room is the perfect addition to a open floor plan home. Within a great room there is much activity and...

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6 August 2018

Peek at a Porch!

Peek at a Porch! We recently installed a cozy porch for a family of six! A small room off of the kitchen serves as a casual area...

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3 August 2018

Wellness Products Friday’s LiLu Look of the Day

We have been focusing on wellness this week, and here are a few of our favorite things to support wellness. Fun patterned yoga mats and soothing products for self...

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As I get older, I am more and more interested in wellness. Not the kind of wellness that can be found in a monthly visit to the spa but the kind of wellness that is built from the inside out. I’ve revamped many things in my life and environment to improve all aspects of my health. One of the things that have always interested me about interior design is the impact our environment has on us. There are many elements in our homes that can help or hinder our physical and mental health. I thought I would share some cornerstones of health and wellness that our homes can either impact. Great Sleep As a life-long insomniac, I’ve had a long, long journey to the point I am at today. Most nights I sleep 7 hours! For some of you that might sound minimal but for me it’s miraculous. I’ve achieved a wellness goal! Most of my adult life, I’ve slept about 4 hours a night! My environment is definitely a big part of proper sleep. I’ve eliminated any source of light from my bedroom, especially led lights. Even the smallest thing, like the light emitting from an alarm clock button or a small stream of light from the edge of a blind can disturb my sleep. Darkness supports excellent sleep. Great window treatments are a must. In addition, a comfortable mattress and bedding helps you achieve complete relaxation. A serene environment helps cue you psychologically to relax. No visual clues of work or stress should be in your bedroom. Visual order is important. Use a color palette that is soothing to you and textures that are soft and welcoming. Eat Well Eating well can be defined so many different ways and I’m no expert on what diet is the best but I can tell you what works well for me. Eating meals that we prepare ourselves, in a kitchen we love and then eating together as a family. This program has worked well on so many levels. I eat more mindfully when I know the work and care put into the food I am eating. Meals slow down when we are conversing with our loved ones. Creating a kitchen that works well and makes it easier to prepare meals together is the perfect starting point for including eating well in your wellness routine. Having a dining space that encourages conversation and lingering at the table is important too. Limit your exposure to Toxins As part of my wellness, I try to limit my exposure to toxins. From the paint on our walls to the materials in our mattresses and the cleaning products we use, our homes are filled with products that can add to our toxin load. Once we walk out our doors, we can be exposed to poor air quality and toxins in the environment. So at home, I choose carefully the finishes and furnishings that I use. A little bit of research allows me to buy products that don’t off-gas and have no VOC’s. We also are one of those shoes off homes. Many people think this is an idiosyncratic Midwestern “thing”. However, shoes off means you aren’t trailing toxins from the Target parking lot into your home where a baby might be crawling around. Manage Stress There are many ways that our home environment can help us manage our stress. An organized home reduces the daily stress of searching for things and makes daily tasks easier to perform. Having an environment at home that you find relaxing, visually pleasing and allow you to do the things you most enjoy is the perfect way to manage stress. A spot to relax, rejuvenate and fill you cup contributes to both your physical and mental health. For many of us, having a spot to exercise at home is key to stress management also. From a spot to lie out a yoga mat (which is my thing) to an entire exercise room making exercise easy to include in your daily routine is an important part of stress management. Connection to People I’m the ultimate introvert and I love my alone time but I also know that having a sense of community and connection to people is a corner stone of both physical and mental health. They’ve done studies! How can your home support this? So many ways but here are just a couple. Arrange your furniture to encourage connection! From the living room to the dining room make sure that people are forced to face each other and not a wall or a screen. Create a space you can proudly entertain in! Being able to host a friend or the book club means you are more likely to create stronger connections with others and have a community around you as you age. Connection to Nature Connection to nature is also a cornerstone of wellness. It’s been proven that views of nature help ill people recover more quickly in hospitals so of course, you should include nature views or art that shows landscapes in your home. Plants create cleaner indoor air. In addition, here in Minnesota we have less time to enjoy the outdoors but planning a spot to sit outside in a garden, yard or even on a deck can increase your connection to nature! Whatever you want to include in your wellness routine… ask yourself how can your home support your quest for wellness?

1 August 2018

Wellness at Home-According to LiLu Interiors

By Lisa Peck, ASID As I get older, I am more and more interested in wellness. Not the kind of wellness that can be found in a monthly visit...

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30 July 2018

Yoga Room: Peek at a Project

Peek at a Project: Yoga Room! Check out this yoga room designed by LiLu Interiors. For this serene, yet energizing space, we used material selections to create soothing texture...

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27 July 2018

Outdoor Dining Friday’s LiLu Look of the Day

It is the season for outdoor dining! Dress your table up with fun outdoor dinnerware…there are so many fun colors and patterns available for outdoor dining. Here are a...

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Design for Outdoor Entertaining-What vibe do you want

25 July 2018

Design for Entertaining Outdoors-According to LiLu

Design for Entertaining Outdoors-Three Key Questions to Ask Yourself In Minnesota, we celebrate summer. We suffer through, or ski , skate, and ice fish through a long winter depending...

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23 July 2018

Garden Retreat: Peek at an Outdoor Project

Don’t let the “IN” fool you, good interior design travels OUTside! Take a look at our mood boards for the backyard garden of this cozy bungalow and how...

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20 July 2018

When Tables are Turned—Friday’s Look of the Day

By Josh Anderson Our feature project Condo-maximum includes a custom dining table that perfectly fits the needs of our clients. Susie loves to cook. And she wanted their move...

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18 July 2018

The Story Behind Condo Maximum-According to LiLu Clients

Susie admits that their wish list for a downtown condo was extremely specific. And she concedes that their unwillingness to compromise led to a search that stretched on for...

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16 July 2018

Condo Maximum-Peek at a Project

By Josh Anderson Susie and Matt were asking some important questions as they considered moving out of their family home in the suburbs of the Twin Cities. Now that...

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13 July 2018

Kitchen Refresh: Low Cost Big Impact Ideas – Friday’s LiLu Look of the Day

This week we have been looking way to refresh your kitchen. Monday’s Peek at a Project featured a small kitchen update that transformed the overall look and feel, and...

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11 July 2018

Design Tips for a Kitchen Update on a Budget-According to LiLu

By Lisa Peck, ASID We often talk about big projects with large budgets on our blog and the truth is that is mostly the type of work we do...

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9 July 2018

Update for a Blah Kitchen- Peek at a Project

Update for a Blah Kitchen Our latest peek at a project is an update for a a blah kitchen. Our client moved into a new home and didn’t love...

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6 July 2018

Red, White and Blue – Friday’s LiLu Look of the Day

Red, White and Blue! Friday’s LiLu look of the day is featuring products from a few of our favorite showrooms, Tapis Decor at International Market Square, Dessin Fournier at...

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4 July 2018

The All-American Home-According to LiLu

By Lisa Peck, ASID How do we define the All-American Home? Well, the truth is, our homes are as diverse as our population. Each person in our country is...

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2 July 2018

Simple Kitchen Refresh: Peek at a Project

Sometimes the best thing to do with a design is to keep it simple! Our client moved into a home with lots of light and dark contrast in the...

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29 June 2018

Nautical Knot Interior Design Trend : LiLu Interior’s Look of the Day

Nautical Knot-Interior Design Trend LiLu’s Look of the Day~ Check out some of LiLu’s favorite pieces from Kenneth Cobonpue featuring knotted furniture and lighting! Any of these great...

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27 June 2018

Connecting to the Water- According to LiLu

Some of the best built environments are better because they connect with nature. Some people are desert people, some are mountain people and some are water people. The list...

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