‘Wellness spaces’ at home a welcoming trend

For The Union-Tribune

Feeling stressed? Overwhelmed? Wishing you had a sanctuary where you could escape from the stresses of the day to decompress and recenter yourself?

You don’t have to get in the car and drive in traffic to a spa or studio or gym. You could create a space in your own home, either in a dedicated room or a part of a room that incorporates the elements of the space you want — whether for meditation, yoga, working out, soothing your tired body, listening to music or reading.

Home spaces already are multitasking for us, especially since the pandemic, when many people started to work and learn from there. Now, interior designers are finding that clients are seeking to add “wellness” rooms.

“It’s really about ‘How do we create an environment that feels like a space where you can retreat and find tranquility,’ ” said Megan Siason, owner of M Studio Interior Design. “The term ‘wellness’ is so broad that it depends on what it means to an individual person. I love to do yoga. For my husband, it’s very different: It’s moving his body.”

For Gabriel Sepulveda-Villarini, senior interior designer at Jackson Design and Remodeling, a wellness room is a place where people can disconnect.

“It’s a designated place where they don’t have to be reminded of the outside, or maybe the mundane things like, ‘Oh, I have to cook. I have to worry about this.’ It’s just a place where the person can do whatever they want to do that makes them feel better and makes them feel healthier.”

Sepulveda-Villarini has created several wellness spaces that include spa bathrooms along with gyms.

For a complete remodel for a Ramona couple, Sepulveda-Villarini designed a gym the size of a two-car garage that includes not just workout equipment, but also a filtered water fountain, a locker and a dry sauna. As it happened, the couple already had a free-standing sauna, so Sepulveda was able to create an alcove in the gym space for it.

For someone who wants to build out a home gym, Sepulveda-Villarini identified some key components.

“I think the primary thing, especially for renters, is sound insulation and floor insulation to protect the floors from the heavy machinery and the footprint,” he said. “Sound insulation is key because a lot of people go to these rooms energized, and they play loud music that can keep them going.”

The other thing to consider, Sepulveda-Villarini said, is having a view.

“Even if your equipment is just a Peloton or an exercise bike, you probably want to have a view,” he noted.

He also pointed out that the average person with a home gym will probably have some weights and want a dedicated wall where they can be stored, along with a bench. And that’s something that can be set up in a spare bedroom.

Flooring is also important in a gym space. Vinyl flooring is a good option, he noted, as long as it has a rubbery substrate that is more suitable for a gym. For heavy machines, look for thick rubber tiles.

Spa bathrooms have become hugely popular. Siason recently created one that her Encinitas client wanted in a second jack-and-jill bathroom.

“They wanted a retreat and to use the shower as a steam room,” she said. “Steam is one of my favorite things when it comes to supporting wellbeing. It’s also practical if you have kids who get respiratory illnesses like croup and need to be in steam to clear their lungs — or for adults to help with skin care and just detoxifying the body.”

The aesthetics are just as important in a spa bathroom as the equipment. According to Siason, you want as much natural light as you can bring in. You want natural stone for fixtures like a vanity or a bench in the shower. You need porcelain tile on the floor and ceiling but look for soothing colors and patterns. For her client’s steam room, Siason chose a palette of blues and soft blush pink tones for the engineered quartz vanity and bench, the wall paint and the textiles.

For a La Jolla couple, Sepulveda-Villarini designed a large spa bathroom that has both a steam shower and a dry sauna. The space is blues and whites with mixed metal fixtures and porcelain tile — modern and sophisticated yet very relaxing. In the steam shower, Sepulveda installed aromatherapy.

Other versions of a wellness room could be a space for meditation or yoga — or a reading nook.

Kim Nadel, owner of Gaia Inspired Design and Consulting, has based her business on the creation of wellness spaces. While she’s more into creating a stretch of integrated rooms that emphasize wellness, she thinks a single room is a great place to start.

“For me, one room would be a place where you would do like stretch and yoga and meditate,” she said. “A lot of people have great rooms, and you can carve a niche in one.”

Nadel recently designed a space in her own great room for her wellness practice. It’s centered around a painting by young artist Sienna Browne.

“It’s a portal for me, a meditation tool,” Nadel explained. “This painting brings me into a place of inner knowing; it brings me peace. I also just love what it does for the space. It’s not just for meditating — I meditate with my eyes closed — but you can gaze into it, which is really powerful.

“Some people like to light a candle when they start their rituals. Looking at the painting takes me to another place. It’s part of my altar. It keeps me grounded in my purpose, even when I just walk by it.”

While Nadel thinks art is very important, a sanctuary or wellness space can also be inspired by a beautiful view.

“But not everybody has the opportunity for that, so you want to have something that makes you feel whatever your intention is,” she said. “It’s not the same as filling a wall with family portraits. It’s just for you to find your inner sanctuary, whatever makes you happy or brings you peace.”

That, she said, is intentional design. Maybe, like Nadel, you want more water elements in your space. You can hang a large photograph or painting of the ocean. If your desire is more earthbound, you can bring in wood elements that inspire or ground you, and so on.

Nadel includes other objects in this space that inspire her. She has a blue metal RAV drum, a type of steel tongue drum known for its soothing sound. She created an altar with an intricately carved trunk from Bali, topped by a brass tray holding a couple of books and a geode. When she’s ready for her ritual focus on the painting, she sits on a Moroccan pouf.

For some of us, wellness is quiet time with a good book or journaling. You can create a space within a larger space — perhaps in your bedroom or the second floor landing or loft — that holds a comfortable chair. But think about more than the chair, said Nadel. You’ll want good, dimmable lighting. If you enjoy having a snack or drink nearby, you’ll want a side table large enough to hold them. Comfy down pillows with natural fabrics to sink into. And, of course, a throw with natural fibers to ward off chill.

If your wellness practice includes or focuses on yoga and meditation, perhaps you’re making do with whatever floor space you have, but having a dedicated space that provides you with just the right environment can make a difference in your practice.

Alana Samuels runs Full Circle Farms, a holistic wellness retreat in the hills of Ramona that’s owned by her family. She offered some ideas on how to create a yoga space.

She believes that in creating a sanctuary you want to feel safe, soothed and relaxed.

“Lighting is a big part of that, as are the materials,” she said.

The retreat’s large yoga studio is in a converted garage with a door that can be opened to the outside. It brings in breezes, light and the sound of birds. The studio features a backlit wall of Himalayan salt bricks framed by greenery. Two stacked gongs that reach almost to the ceiling are in one corner and on one wall are two windows, two shelves that hold candles and a painting of a Buddha.

Now, you probably don’t have room for a wall of Himalayan bricks, but Samuels suggests incorporating them into your space, and they’re easy to find online, as are Himalayan salt lamps.

“The reason that we chose Himalayan salt for our yoga studio is because it actually has a scientific effect on the body. It drops you into that relaxed state,” she explained. “The negative ions that are released by Himalayan salts help the body relax, and it’s also just great for your health in general.”

Cork floors are gentle for yoga practitioners, she noted, as are luxury vinyl floors. Find a container — a beautiful woven basket, perhaps — to hold equipment like your yoga mat, blocks and a blanket. Or, suggested Samuels, a bench with storage can also contain them.

“I definitely don’t recommend having your props sitting out,” she said. “I’ve seen the difference it makes to have an actual place to store things versus just placing them on the floor. You don’t want to walk in and feel like your space is a mess. It’s distracting.”

As for illumination, natural light is best in the daytime, but on gloomy days or in the evening, go with warm, dimmable lighting. And if you have room, add a comfortable chair that reclines or has an ottoman to create a relaxing transition space for before or after your practice.

Space planning and decor tips

• Before you start shopping, Siason suggested thinking hard about what your plans are for the space. Create your own design questionnaire. What are you committed to? What will you need to support it? Then create an intentional space for that. It doesn’t have to be one thing. Maybe you want a meditation space but also a quiet, cozy place to read. Or a workout space that can include yoga. Identify all the activities happening in that space, what furnishings you want, the colors, the textures and do accurate space planning. Identify the function, then create the environment that supports it.

• Take inventory of how you feel in all your spaces and if there’s one that feels underutilized or not used in a way you find satisfactory, that might be the place for your wellness space, said Nadel. Also take a comfort inventory of your preferences. Do you need privacy or prefer openness? Do you need a lot of light or prefer darkness? What inspires you or makes you feel peaceful? What elements — water, earth, light, greenery — make you feel good? Knowing these things can help you determine how to furnish your space.

• Nature can be a big part of a wellness space, said Sepulveda-Villarini. Try to design around a view or large door that opens onto a garden. If that’s not available, bring in plants.

• Go with cooler tones that tend to allow us to wind down, said Siason. Opt for materials that look natural and have organic movement to help you feel at ease.

• Siason also advocated for products that are environmentally sound and sustainable, like paint that doesn’t have volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that off-gas, which can cause health issues, or furniture with polyurethane finishes.

“Have that kind of mindset when it comes to looking for not just what looks good, but what also supports you in the home. Read the labels like you do at the grocery store.”

• If your space combines different activities, Samuels suggested installing curtains or decorative privacy screens as space dividers to block weight machines from a meditation space, for example.