How an innovative home can improve your quality of life

Innovative home design isn’t generally the first thing that springs to mind when we think about maintaining our physical and mental wellbeing.

But in reality, the space we create for ourselves can have a huge impact on how we feel. And that means an innovative approach to home design has the potential to drastically improve our quality of life.

Here’s how.

Feels like home

Everything from the layout to the way our homes are lit can impact our perception. Connection with nature has also been shown to boost feel-good hormones in the brain.

On the physical side, homes built to withstand extreme weather, fend off moisture, and regulate temperature can help fend off a whole host of nasty health effects.

And, of course, quality materials are an essential part of keeping our families safe and comfortable.

With that in mind, a SHAWOOD home may be one of the best investments you can make in your family’s mental and physical wellbeing, because our homes are thoughtfully designed with you in mind.

Kitchen area of a SHAWOOD home at Norman Estates

Innovation our way

Innovation is central to the SHAWOOD philosophy.

“To me, it’s all about simple form, it’s about practical solutions, and it’s about architecture that doesn’t age,” says Sekisui House Australia’s Design Director Lester Chambers.

Those thoughtful solutions and ergonomic design have countless upsides when it comes to your family’s wellbeing.

“Things such as placement of rooms, accessibility of rooms that are of similar use, ease of getting from one room to another,” Chambers says.

When you’re not lugging groceries from the garage to the kitchen or fumbling around for a light switch in the dark, you can funnel your energy into the more important things in life.

Chambers says this design mindset is common in Japan, where SHAWOOD was born.

“It wasn’t until I visited Sekisui House’s Research and Development Institute that I realised these things aren’t often thought about in Australian architecture,” he says. “The most successful innovations are the ones you don’t see, but they flow.”

Entrance area of a SHAWOOD home at Norman Estates.

Designed with you in mind

Layout isn’t the only way flow is achieved in a SHAWOOD home.

Our Clearview design uses floor-to-ceiling windows to seamlessly connect the home’s interior to the natural landscape beyond. Yukihiro Suenaga, Product Strategy Manager at Sekisui House says it’s a feature that’s standard in Japan – and it’s got huge potential in the Australian market.

“It’s rare for a timber frame structure to be able to do Clearview design,” he says. “[But] we’ve seen how it’s worked in Japan and we’re looking to trial it in a couple of homes at Norman Estates.

These trial Clearview Design homes at Norman Estates are available to buy now

Inside the home, our unique cavity wall system promotes airflow and helps to manage moisture levels in humid and tropical environments, meaning your family is protected from pollution and irritants.

And all SHAWOOD homes are constructed using low- or no-VOC products.

VOCs – or “volatile organic compounds” – are chemicals produced during the manufacturing process of products like paint, flooring and adhesives. Long-term exposure to VOCs has been linked to a slew of health concerns, including irritation, headaches, and nausea.

Richard and Rose have been living in their SHAWOOD home in Norman Estates for a little over a year now, and every day, they are glad they chose to live in a SHAWOOD home. “The open space in the home is amazing, when you walk into a space, you feel like you can really breathe deeply”, says Richard. “When we first visited the home, we were taken back, we were in awe at how the home was designed”. SHAWOOD endevours to create homes that are designed to not only captivate, but make living easy and enjoyable. That’s why we strive to use products and solutions that mean Australian families can live comfortably in their SHAWOOD .