What makes you get up in the morning and jump out of the bed with a wish to do something positive and improve your life? Is it your goal of living a better life? Are you driven by your obligations and bills to pay? Or, perhaps, every day is just another day? What can you do to make your tomorrow better and more significant?
If we don’t have a goal to inspire us and drive us forward, we are taking a vague direction, and sooner or later we are going to go downhill in our lives.
When you are inspired toward a goal in your life, it gives you the energy to enjoy life in full, and have fun regardless of what it throws at you! Our life inspiration is what makes us live a better life, have a better relationship, become successful in our jobs, appreciated in the community. Inspiration comes from within. Therefore, if we live and work in a place that doesn’t inspire us – how can we create a better lifestyle?
Our mental wellness has a direct effect on our physical welfare. Nice music has a calming impact, but it can also energize and inspire us. The artwork has a similar effect. Colors can have different effects on us, depending on our mood.
Sunlight energizes us.
An aromatic space boosts vibrant feelings, or it has a calming effect.
All sensations mentioned above have a direct effect on how we memorize the things happening around us. Family events, getting together with friends or coworkers, such moments are the essential components of our lives. When we combine them together to shape our emotions, these emotions shape our feeling of the moment, resulting in a memorable time.
We create memories on a daily basis in our homes and sometimes in our workplaces. The more your life elements are matched with your personality and customized to suit your taste, the more enjoyable they will be. The result will leave a lasting effect on our lives, every daily activity can make your tomorrow better.
And what is the ultimate place where we combine all these elements to make the personal comfort that matches our DNA? Our home.
Our home gets our aroma, our taste of color, and the smells of all types of food we like to eat.
When you go for a vacation, you don’t always miss your home. Still, after you return, you are happy that you got back. You feel it.
Your own bed, your own bathroom, the comfort that made to the shape of your body and size.
How can we customize our home to match beyond essential, what else are we looking for?
In other words – what needs to be done to make our home homier?
That’s the sweet spot where a good designer can help. You might not be aware of how much can be done to improve an everyday space. To inspire you for a better version of yourself and your family. To help you to build a better relationship with yourself and the people around you.
That’s Why It Matters. Your Home Can Make Your Tomorrow Better. MUCH better.
A well-designed home, above all, can offer you HOPE for a better future and a healthier lifestyle.
Surely, it needs a bit of work, time, and mutual effort. But, on the other hand, after everything has been done, and each detail and finishing part set to its place to make it more exciting – you will know why it was worth it.
A better and healthy lifestyle shouldn’t start with visiting the doctor’s office every now and then. A healthy lifestyle starts from within and in your mindset, and that includes a healthy environment in all aspects, starting from a healthy living space.
Most of us think that, in order to live a better life, we should make sure our doctor’s visits frequent and on time while keeping our medicine cabinets full of pills. The truth is, the western lifestyle and its approach to medication can also cause more harm than good. Why most people nowadays tend to live a simpler life, eat healthy food, and spend more time in nature? The answer is simple – to have a longer life and fewer issues. This is the path of happy people!
How can you live happily and stay healthy? By keeping ourselves motivated, sharp-minded and focused on the goodness of life rather than negativity. Listening to music that keeps us happy is always a better choice than depressing news that won’t have any effect on our lives. Media are thirsty for your attention, while your mind is thirsty for positive vibes.
Nurture yourself with positive energy and help your body to cure itself.
I am an author and an architectural designer. I combine holistic/self-improvement philosophy with architecture. My wish is to open a dialogue about how to improve our living space to make it age-friendly so that we can live in our homes happier, healthier, and safer!
Your Home Is What You Are
There is no such thing as a magic pill for a better living, yet it doesn’t mean that you can’t live a better life, starting today. Collect your hopes and desires, new aspirations, and change your lifestyle to make the silver time of your life a truly golden one. And what is the one place in the world that overflows with all those? Well, you’re probably sitting there right now.
Coquitlam interior designer
Your home is where you created all your memories, the first times, the happy times and the sad times, celebrations and goodbyes. The community around you makes (and reflects) your identity, the person you have become, and the respect you have within. It’s not easy to leave everything behind and start over elsewhere as a stranger. But you don’t have to.
We all have to make sure the environment around us is as safe and pleasant as possible. Even if you are in your golden years, it’s still possible to age in place and achieve peace of mind by proper preparation and some adaptations. Your stamina can be enhanced by the environment designed around your lifestyle, as the indoor atmosphere is one of the prime influences on mental health.
Healthy Living Space = Healthy Residents
Have you ever thought about your house layout and if it really works for you? If you live there long, you’re probably used to it, and adapted your way of life to the way our spaces are arranged. However, never forget that your home can be improved and changed at any time. As your lifestyle and goals change with age, so do your needs, and the environment should follow.
So what can you do to improve your home? How can changing the layout of particular areas improve or complement your healthier lifestyle? Well, the truth is it can do wonders. Not only can it improve efficiency and productiveness, but it also boosts your mood and even help to achieve some of your goals. Even small changes count.
Perhaps you need more space in the kitchen? Finding a neglected corner to upgrade it into a workspace may lower the stress that comes with working from home. Some improvements to a bathroom layout can do wonders for relationships. And don’t even make me start on how beneficial remodelling can be for ageing in place.
Kitchen Is an Essential Part of a Healthy Living Space
Cooking at home is great for both your physical and mental health. The process requires focus, enhances creativity, improves social life and communication. At the same time, using fresh or minimally processed ingredients help you maintain the proper diet and boost your energy levels.
Coquitlam architect
Sharing the experience with your friends and family boosts a sense of community and improves relationships. However, that also requires sufficient space. That’s why replacing a standard kitchen with an open-space plan is an excellent move, that can bring several new dimensions to your life.
Healthy Living Space Should Encourage Movement
A sedentary lifestyle is the destiny of many, and going to the gym is not always an option. A spare room or a basement can be transformed into a designated space for exercise and workouts. Whether it’s a small gym or a yoga sanctuary, this adaptation can seriously enhance your workout routine, leading to improved mental and physical balance.
What you need to do is to create a space that makes you feel good and, at the same time, makes you want to spend time in it. That way, procrastination will not be an option. The right ambiance, smart choice of colours, and tactical lighting can enhance motivation for any kind of exercise. If your choice is yoga, a peaceful palette of beige, green, or blue will promote relaxation and harmony. On the contrary, if you go for weightlifting or cardio, vivid colours and lively patterns will launch you to the right mood.
Burnaby interior designer
Healthy Living Space Is Free of Clutter
Excess can be stressful, especially if your things lie all around. Clutter and disorganization can raise your cortisol hormone levels, becoming a source of chronic stress over time. Smart storage can help to keep that under control.
A cluttered work environment affects your brain and the way it processes information. Having continual mess in the living zone affects all activities, including the time for relaxation. But the worst place to have cluttered is your bedroom.
Sleep problems are a common issue that keeps many adults up at night. Apart from insomnia and conditions like anxiety and depression, hoarding and overall clutter are the main culprits. Investing in remodelling that will improve storage and promote healthy organizational habits means investing in future life.
Keeping your bedroom a safe, technology-free zone is another great way to improve sleep and mental wellbeing. And if you can’t stand to leave your gadgets far, furniture with hidden compartments, even charging stations, will solve the problem. That will keep your circadian rhythm more balanced and the habit of scrolling before sleep at bay.
Healthy Living Space Promotes Social Life
Community and connection are inseparable from well-being. Make sure that your home is an enhancer rather than a barrier to your social life. An open space built to promote communication will raise your hosting standards and help you invite people over more often.
What Else Can You Do
Proper ventilation is very important. A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) or an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) will not only filter the air but also balance out the temperature of the incoming air to level it with the existing home micro-climate. A dedicated system that runs a stream of fresh air in and out of the house all the time is an excellent solution to ensure great indoor air quality, and create a more healthy living space.
It’s also important to know where the air is coming from. Air can travel all around the house, from the attic to the crawlspace, passing through the living environment. Broken-down insulation and rodents can decrease the quality of air that’s pulled into the house. Crawlspaces can contain moisture, mould, gases, while attics may host bugs and critters. Together with cracks in insulation, it’s not the kind of air that you would like to breathe.
Without seals and proper vapour barriers, you will probably end up will the amount of moisture too high for a healthy living space. Moreover, older homes have more issues and a higher potential to be toxic than newer homes. Remodelling will eliminate all these issues, including lead paint, leaks and cracks, to deliver a strong shell in which you will build a new, improved life.
If you need advice or professional input to make sure your home is a healthy living space, schedule a consultation and find out how to improve today. Investing in the quality of your future life is one of the best investments you can make.
What is an architect’s job anyway? Is an architect a designer?
Like medical physicians, dentists, and lawyers, architects’ profession is to serve the public interest. Our job is to follow regulations and make sure to design the buildings in a safe manner that will not compromise the occupant’s well-being.
But wait a minute, is that the job description of an architect?
Many years ago, most of the world’s masterpieces were designed, coordinated, and constructed by one architect. The architects in charge had many apprentices to help them along the way. But along with technological advancement came the need for other professionals such as structural engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, geotechnical engineers, civil engineers, interior designers, building envelope consultants, building code consultants, building technologists, environmental consultants, landscape architects, and more. All of them have a role today in building design and construction.
In other words, a comprehensive team of consultants now have to go over the task of designing a building, the job that used to be done by one person.
I want to remind you that once upon a time, architecture was a combination of technology, functionality, form, and art. Most people considered architects as technological artists. Architects were creators whose art was bound to last for hundreds of years. Unlike other artists whose art is passive, impossible to experience by all senses, architecture was a livable art to feel, experience, and flourish.
Office Design Vancouver
So, IS every Architect a Designer?
The reality is that a good architect has to know all of the above. In order to be able to run a successful business, an architect has to master the logic of the mechanical system, heating and cooling, electrical, the building technology, and building envelope. Then come the zoning and building codes and the ways to keep the building safe from fire and water damage. Furthermore, an architect is also the manager. S/He has to run the team of office employees and HRs, possess the knowledge of marketing, and make sure the clients are happy and satisfied.
Really, Aryo, only that much? No, not even nearly. Then we have the skills to conduct the feasibility studies with the clients, making sure the end product is suitable for each client’s needs as well as the codes. The project has to fit the client’s budget yet to look as beautiful as possible. Does it meet the local market trend? The architect then has to make sure the municipalities will approve the documentation submitted. That involves a lot of communication.
An architect never stops learning. Learning about the general contractors and their expectations of management. Learning the software to design and prepare design development and working drawings, presenting, and above all running business management. Keeping up with education to fulfill the associations’ duties and fulfilling the annual learning units!
The problem is that not too many architects are able to be an architect and a designer at the same time. What does that mean?
When our generations’ fresh minds leave university to enter professional life, they come across many hurdles. Each educational institution focuses on a different aspect of architecture. While some set the major goals on technological aspects, like construction challenges (what they now call a building technology), others prefer the artistic part of the work.
When fellow students graduate from the faculty of architecture, they hear that, in order to call themselves “architects,” they need to register with the architectural institute of the country, province/state.
That means they have to go through many hours of training and work in different architectural firms. They must gain a lot of experience and write many exams to make sure they meet the criteria to be able to practice “Architecture.” (similar procedure for immigrant architects) But there’s something many find out after getting registered.
After a couple of years of internship and passing the exams, they became a registered architect, yet learned how NOT TO DESIGN rather than becoming creative masters!
The building industry, unfortunately, is regulated by lawyers and left-sided brain people. It’s disregarding the artistic flair and beautification of the buildings for the purpose of bare function and safety. That’s why architecture becomes a commodity rather than a carrier. The architectural institute is a watchdog to ensure that a registered architect is the one who submits all building applications.
Most clients who want to build a house, a multifamily building, or a mixed-use building, approach the architect simply because the permitting authority obligates them. They aren’t looking to hire the architect’s creative mind but rather need someone to put the stamp on the drawing and get the building permit.
Sunshine Coast Modern Homes
What Makes an Architect a Designer?
Architecture is part art and part science. As an art, it’s a channel for creative expression that affects the whole society. It allows them to change and improve their environment in many unique ways. As a science, architecture takes care of society’s functional needs, creates various living spaces, and covers different lifestyles by using modern technological advancements and techniques.
An architect should be able to practice both functional and aesthetic approaches in building design. The limits are moving, and the architecture challenges are continually expanding. We get the chance to build new sorts of wonders day by day. Yet, the excessively complicated administrative procedure makes us sacrifice the aesthetics in the name of functionality. The bureaucracy preserves the status quo, slowly deleting the unique differences between artistry and engineering.
Instead of shaping the community, most architects obey dictations.
Retail Design Vancouver
The Solution
There is no cookie-cutter approach in architecture. Every single project should respond to a particular context. The design should be progressive and able to age well, and be flexible to adapt to changes. If architecture is only the building technology, then every single building existing would be architecture. But as it is, architecture is something different from building technology—just like artistry is different from engineering.
Architecture is, above all, the realization of the concept, embodying an idea. It can grow from practical or metaphorical roots, from immediate needs, or the vision. Architecture, as we know it today, echoes the history of humanity. It tells the stories of society as it once was.
We need it to manifest the changes instead of being background.
Architects represent a force of society because architecture is an expression of its spiritual strength as well as technological progress. It’s a future display of society’s values, desires, ideals, ideology, and many other things at this particular point in time, serving as a time capsule of human history.
Yet in today’s society, the treatment of architecture is almost exclusively shortsighted, following narrow terms of finance, cost, and return of investment. Politicians impose restraints and ever-growing rules about every single detail. That inevitably affects performance. It’s the road to the domination of uniform, ugly buildings that are not interpreted as any real threat to society.
If we better understood that issue, we might raise a more robust voice against it. If architecture’s significance for the psychological and mental health of society gets recognized, it might be treated accordingly. Then, instead of encouraging bad design, we might start promoting the benefits for the collective spirit. And that will make the architect a designer again.
The association which overlooks the building design community’s activity should watch the design quality as well as building code requirements!
Most of the people I came across don’t know much about the construction costs, nor haven’t set a budget for their project. Even better, they have no idea where the money would come from!
Before you start any construction project, it’s essential to get a clear perspective of your budget and how much you can pay for your renovation or custom home building. Better said, to finance your construction project, you need to be prepared to stretch and to know precisely how far you’re ready to go.
I see many of my clients taking their project and asking a builder to provide them with an idea of the cost. Without a plan or drawing in hand, how could anyone expect the contractor to give an even remotely accurate estimation?
Allow Me to Show You How to Finance Your Construction Project, and Do Things the Right Way, in Your Best Interest
Firstly, try to have an idea about what you want to do, even a basic one. Secondly, make sure to consult an experienced designer who will understand your needs and properly involve. Share your dreams and ideas of the renovation or custom home with a designer who knows their job well.
An experienced home designer can offer you a reliable plan to develop based not only on your dream but also the approximate cash availability. Only after that you can decide how to finance your construction project.
These are some options you can look at:
Savings Account
This is the most reliable way to finance your construction project, as long as you have enough money sitting in your account. The best use you can put it in is your overall life improvement.
Borrowing From Friends or Family
Many of my clients, who want to add a secondary suite to their property for the purpose of creating an extra income, rely on this idea. They borrow from their siblings, children, or parents to build a laneway home or an ADU, and pay them back in installments as the investment starts to pay off.
This way they don’t have to go through getting approval from a financial institutions. But what if you don’t have someone to borrow money from? That where you should get creative!
Finance Your Construction Project Through Shared Accommodation
If all of the above fails, there are still many additional ways to jump over the financial obstacle. Some people dream of building a single-family home, and they don’t want to live in a condo. Usually, they team up with a friend and buy a duplex or a single-family house with ADU. This way, they can share the cost and still get their own paradise, avoiding significant debt along the way.
Finance your construction project
Just the other day, a client called me to discuss the idea of building a duplex in Vancouver. She had it arranged with a friend to purchase a lot, build a passive house duplex, and share the cost so they can own a great affordable home, each on its own side. After calculating their budget, I told them the money wouldn’t be enough to finish the project in the way they want. But the solution was easy—they can apply for a construction loan, which I will explain next.
Since each unit would have a secondary suite, the money they could collect from the rental could easily pay for that loan. After several years, the loan will be paid off in full, leaving them with an extra source of income.
Now, I am aware that my readers come from different regions, but most places have collected equity over the years. If the property you own doesn’t have any mortgage, there’s a good chance that the bank will grant a loan or refinance the house. The same applies if the mortgage amount is less than 30% of the house market value. Naturally, as long as you meet their other criteria and credit requirements.
Using the Bank’s Money
If you plan to renovate your house, you can ask your designer to draw the plans and have the contractor write an official cost estimate for you. Next, you have to present your project with the estimated cost and timeline to the financial institution’s representative. Banks love to give loans as it allows them to collect interest. However, for the same reason, they have to make sure that their money is safe, granted to a reliable person.
If you are planning to build a new house, however, the scenario is a bit different. I had a client who bought a lot and paid a 40% down payment. He also had some cash aside, ready for starting the project. He hired me to design the house and help him to manage the builder and all trades for him. While revising, I found out that he didn’t have enough money to finish the project after all. The next step was to help him apply for a construction mortgage.
We finished the house’s framing, installed the windows and exterior doors, and fixed the roof membrane. This stage of the building is called “luck-up.”
This is where I introduced him to a bank rep and presented the bank with the drawings. We went over the total construction cost, the amount that has been spent to that point, and the estimated value of the house after the finish. The bank sent an appraisal, and I had to present the same documentation to him, now for his approval. After the assessment has been done successfully, the bank granted my client the money he needed to finish his project. If you think you need help with a similar process call me to discuss further at 604-929-6696.
More budget, more features and benefits
Why Is It Good to Use Banks’ Money to Finance Your Construction Project?
Firstly, you can take advantage of the low-interest rate and use it to upgrade your project further. That is particularly convenient if you have the potential of implementing a rental suite within your project. The income you collect from the rental unit will pay for the mortgage.
I understand some people are afraid of going under any dept. Like another client of mine, who could have been easily approved by the bank for the entire renovation of his house. The only problem? His wife was against any loan or mortgage. So they ended up living in their run-down house for the rest of their lives.
What Exactly Is a Construction Loan
A construction loan is a segment of short-term loans, tailored specifically for use by an individual home builder. Construction loans serve to finance your construction project of either building a new home or renovating the existing one.
Construction loans are not supposed to cover the entire cost of the project. Instead, those are used as a temporary financing bridge that can cover the missing part of the budget during the build time. Typically, after the construction is complete, the homeowner will obtain a longer-term solution. The options include refinancing the existing construction loan and transition to a conventional mortgage.
It may happen, though, that a bank considers your construction project as a risky investment. In that case, you may still get the money, but the interest rate will likely be somewhat higher. Also, such a loan will feature strict terms that you must adhere to, like paying off in entirety by the time the construction is complete.
What A Construction Loan May Include
A construction loan comprises one application and one closing. Those cover the construction phase and the permanent financing.
It can start with the initial loan payment you need to purchase a lot. If you already hold a loan on that property, the first disbursement of the loan will pay off that specific loan before the construction starts.
The bank may make scheduled payments to your builder during the 12-month construction phase. Subsequently, they will offer a transition to a fixed-rate mortgage after that period.
Finance your construction project and build a laneway house
How Can You Use Construction Loans to Finance Your Construction Project
Construction loans provide more flexibility in utilizing your budget to get the most out of it. That may include expansions, hiring better designers, making payments to contractors, or even getting more luxury materials. Even when the initial budget seems sufficient, by upgrading it with a loan, you can get more quality in each segment and get more creative with design solutions.
The Bottom Line
As Robert Kiyosaki says, there is good debt, and there is bad debt. To apply for a loan and mortgage to upgrade your living standard, which gives you better mental and physical health, especially if you can collect rental income, is good debt. So, do not be afraid to get into a good debt if the end result will give you a better financial outcome as well as more comfort and mental health.
After all, life is too short and we should live it to the fullest!
