Using biophilic design methods in our home created unimaginable stress relief and a nervous system reset that changed my life forever. I never knew that something as simple as indoor plants for in-home nature therapy could have such a huge mental health impact. But small changes made a huge difference in my health and my husband's health too.
After struggling with my health, I discovered how to transform my home into a sanctuary for healing. This is the story of how specific design choices and faith-aligned principles can completely restore your well-being.
Have you ever felt like your own home was working against you? Like, no matter what you did, the doctor's visits, the prayers, the sheer force of will, you still felt exhausted and sick inside your own four walls? I've been there. My health was at an all-time low in 2014, and my spirit felt just as exhausted as my body. I was trapped in a cycle of chronic fatigue and anxiety, depression, chronic pain, widespread inflammation, mobility challenges, and cognitive decline. I had to give up my career as a tech CEO and found myself using a walker, a service dog, and a full-time caregiver.
We redesigned our cabin as a nature therapy reset without the price tag
The one place that should have been my safe harbor felt more like a contaminated indoor space. But then I stumbled upon a truth that's both powerful and profound, rooted in faith and backed by design: our homes are meant to be places of healing.
“My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.”
NKJV Isaiah 32:18
Our homes, whether it’s an RV, a single room, an apartment, or a cabin in the woods like mine, are supposed to restore us. This is the story of how I stopped fighting against my home and started working with it. It’s how I transformed my space into a nature therapy reset, and in doing so, transformed my health and my life forever.
What it's like when your nervous system is stuck in go mode
For years, my life was just a blur of symptoms. I was wrestling with this bone-deep fatigue, feeling too tired to dress myself. I had a constant buzz of anxiety that stole my peace, and a brain fog that made even the simplest tasks feel overwhelming. I was so depressed and in need of stress relief that it felt as though I had fallen into a black hole so deep I would never climb out of it.
I had lost my ability to communicate effectively because the words were in my head, but always just out of reach. I was doing all the "right" things, or at least I thought I was. I listened to my doctors and attended the therapies: occupational, physical, cognitive-behavioral and speech. I took all the pills, 20 a day at one time. I had five surgeries. I prayed for deliverance from this health crisis, and I just kept pushing myself to keep going until I couldn’t anymore. After a long struggle, something was still deeply wrong.
My home, a newly built luxury condo in a prime location, a place I truly loved, just felt heavy. I felt allergic to my surroundings.
The rooms were full of stuff, years of things I’d collected because I thought they brought me comfort. I could smell the off gassing of the toxic materials used in the construction, paint, cleaners, carpet, and furnishings. I had the best of everything, and it felt like anchors weighing me down and stressing me out. The natural light seemed dim, the air felt stale, and there was this quiet sense of chaos I couldn't ignore. I’d wake up already feeling the chronic fatigue like carrying the weight of another human on your back. I walked through my cluttered living room, and literally felt my stress levels climbing. My neat, clean home was mirroring my inner turmoil rather than calming it.
I remember one afternoon, just lying on my sofa, crying as the sun struggled to get through the thick curtains. I felt like a failure. Failing my family and friends, my faith, and myself. I prayed for a sign, a breakthrough, anything that would point me toward healing. I just knew my home should be a place of stress relief, peace and renewal, not stress and exhaustion.
It was in that moment of complete surrender that a new idea started to grow. What if my environment wasn't just a backdrop to my struggle, but a part of it? And what if, with faith and real intention, I could turn it into a powerful partner in my nervous system reset and recovery?
Going Inward to Find The Truth About Stress Relief
I was already on my "New Normal Big Life" journey to “take back my health” and my life. So, I added a self-reflection on my current living situation as a step in the plan. Where I lived was the place all the tech-nerds like me wanted to be. A saltwater pool, outdoor living rooms, kitchens, grills, and fireplaces. A great room, a free Starbucks, a combined gym, yoga, Pilates, and dance studio with a 24-hour video trainer. And an on-site dog park for my then-service dog, Phoebe. The luxury inside my 10-foot ceilings and open floor plan was what I was supposed to want, right? But somehow, I wasn't happy there. When I asked myself what I wanted in an ideal living space and outdoor space, I realized a hard truth. Not only was I not living in a healing home for my specific needs, but I also wasn't even living in the right part of the country.
As a result, I packed up everything I owned and my dog Phoebe, and we set off on a big adventure to Colorado. I thrived there for a time, but the desert mountains made me hypoxic, or oxygen-deficient, and worsened my chronic cognitive impairment after a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). After Colorado, I moved to a cabin in the Midwestern Northwoods with my new husband, and it changed my life and my health forever for the better. We learned about biophilic design, and it opened our minds to the possibility of stress relief through nature therapy.
What Biophilic Design Means: And Why Your Nervous System Cares
The turning point wasn't a lightning-bolt moment; it was more like a quiet whisper. It was this deep conviction that God wants us to live in peace and that our homes can be a physical expression of that divine peace. The Bible talks about a sanctuary, a holy place set apart for God to dwell with His people. And I started to wonder: what if I could create a sanctuary right here in my own home? Not just a pretty space, but a home intentionally designed for wellness, a home that honors the principles of order, light, and life that you see all through God's creation. Proverbs 24:3-4 let me know that I was on the right path.
“Through wisdom a house is built… by knowledge the rooms are filled...”
Proverbs 24:3-4
This idea sent me on a journey. I started learning about how much our physical surroundings can influence our minds and our bodies. There’s a growing body of research suggesting that creating "restorative environments" can help improve our mood, provide stress relief, and serve as a nervous system reset.
Imagine leaving the chaotic world outside behind and retreating to your nature therapy zone using biophilic interior design principles.
I learned about biophilic design, which is really just the simple practice of connecting with nature in our homes. The thinking is that natural light, views of nature, or even just having indoor plants around can help lower our stress hormones and improve focus.
When you subscribe to our newsletter, you’ll immediately receive a password that unlocks our entire library of FREE e-books and guides—including the “Biophilic Design Guide for Beginners,” packed with key takeaways, resources, and links from this article.
What A Licensed Counselor Says About Seeing Nature Vs. Being In It
In season 2 episode 66, “Suicide Prevention: The Myth Costing Veteran Lives and How to Help,” Licensed Professional Counselor Healey Ikerd said this.
“There's a lot of research that backs up ... not just being in nature but even seeing nature. If you can't go outside, people who have a window to look outside do better in their healing than those (who) don't. And then when you go outside, there's research that shows that even just standing in the grass in your bare feet for 30 minutes a day can significantly improve your mood.”
Healey Ikerd, LPC, LMFT
It became so clear: my home wasn't just a passive building; it was an active player in my health. So, my husband and I decided to give our new cabin a makeover, but this wasn't about following design trends or buying expensive furniture.
This was a soul-deep, faith-led mission to turn my home with my husband Matthew, also a TBI survivor, into a healing home. This was about making specific, intentional choices that would reset the nervous system and support our health recovery, alongside the medical and home care already part of our lives.
I'm going to show you the key biophilic design principles I followed so you can start to cultivate your sanctuary — a healing home of your own.
Screening Your Biophilic Design For Sick Home Syndrome
Before I begin, I want to encourage anyone who has a chronic illness or is a caregiver to someone who does to budget for a sick home syndrome inspection. We hired a building biologist who is also an Environmental Air Quality (IAQ) specialist. The price range is $300-$800, and it was the best $500 we’ve ever spent. We then spent $28,000 making our cabin in the woods environmentally safe. And we removed toxins from our home materials and furnishings. The return on investment was priceless. The work took four weeks, and we immediately felt the difference in our health.
Some people are living in a home that's making them sick, and no matter how much they improve their health, they’re pushing a boulder uphill because they never will remove the toxins in their environment that are contributing to their poor health.
This is our forever home. And yes, we could have spent that money on other things, we’re not wealthy people. We worked hard at multiple jobs for years to afford this huge life and health change. And it was worth every penny. With research help from AI, PubMed, the NIH, and builders' associations, you can learn how to do much of this work yourself. This is a more budget-friendly model that we were too sick to take on at the time.
The Biophilic Design Principles
I landed on three core biophilic design principles that I feel are divinely inspired and are supported by design science:
- The Principle of Light
- The Principle of Order
- The Principle of Life
Embracing God's Light As Nature Therapy
The very first biophilic design principle I tackled was adding light to our home. In scripture, light is tied to God's presence, to truth, and to life itself. And practically speaking, our bodies are designed to respond to light.
Photobiomodulation is a type of low‑level light therapy that uses specific red and near‑infrared wavelengths to influence how cells function. PBM is being studied and used as a noninvasive way to support healing, reduce inflammation, and modulate pain by affecting cellular energy production and signaling pathways. Matthew, our 15-year-old dog Phoebe, and I use a patented photobiomodulation patch 12 hours a day to activate our stem cells for healing and longevity. You can learn more about light therapy here and see photos of how I aged in reverse using light therapy patches for under $100 per month.
The Core Idea Behind Nature Therapy With Light: Photobiomodulation
Photobiomodulation uses non‑ionizing light (typically red and near‑infrared) delivered by LEDs, patches, or low‑level lasers to tissue at doses low enough that it does not heat or burn.
The light is absorbed by molecules in cells (especially in mitochondria, your DNA, like cytochrome c oxidase), which can increase ATP production, leading to changes in inflammation, blood flow, and tissue repair. You can see from the photos below how I appear to age in reverse. Just imagine how I’m reversing chronic health conditions on the inside.
ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is the primary energy-carrying molecule found in all living cells.
Clinically, Photobiomodulation is used or studied as an adjunct or add-on for wound and soft‑tissue healing, musculoskeletal pain, arthritis, oral mucositis from cancer treatment, certain skin conditions, and aspects of medications and rehab after injury or surgery.
Getting enough natural sunlight helps regulate our internal clocks, which can improve sleep. It’s also a natural mood-lifter; some research suggests sunlight exposure can help the brain release serotonin, which helps us feel calm and focused. It's a nervous system reset using nature therapy. My old homes were dark. The heavy curtains, dark paint, and even the way my furniture was arranged were literally blocking the light.
So, in our new marital home, we made some simple, but honestly, radical changes. We opened the heavy drapes before sunrise to let the sunlight pour in.
We selected low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paint and chose cool colors for areas where calm and relaxation are central to the space. Like a pale blue-gray for our bedroom. With warm earth-toned colors in rooms where people gather, like the family room and kitchen, the rooms instantly bounced more light around and felt bigger, brighter, and warmer. We even hung a few mirrors across from windows to push that light into the deeper corners of our home. The difference was immediate. Walking into a bright, sun-filled room in the morning started to energize me. This house didn't feel oppressive like places I’ve lived before; it felt hopeful. It felt like I was physically letting God's light into my life in a brand-new way.
Creating Order As A Stress Relief Support
The second biophilic design principle was order.
“For God is not a God of confusion (disorder) but of peace.”
1 Corinthians 14:33.
Well, our brains seem to agree. Many researchers believe that living in a cluttered space can increase our cognitive load, amp up our nervous system, drain our mental energy, and keep our bodies in a state of low-grade stress, with some studies exploring a link between clutter and higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. For me, the clutter was a constant, nagging reminder of having too much stuff and a life that felt out of my control.
Tackling it was an act of faith, an act of stewarding the space God gave us. This wasn't about becoming a minimalist, but about creating breathing room for my soul. We went through every room and asked for each item: Does this serve a real purpose, bring me genuine joy, or help create an atmosphere of peace? If the answer was no, we thanked it and let it go off to Goodwill to support its nonprofit mission.
The process was emotional, but it was so freeing. We created empty space on the shelves and walls. We made sure everything had a home and returned to it's place at the end of each day. This was more than just cleaning; it felt like a spiritual practice resulting in incredible levels of stress relief. We were making physical room for peace to enter. And as the physical clutter disappeared, I felt the mental clutter start to lift, too. My ability to focus got better, and that constant, humming anxiety started to fade. My home was finally becoming a place where I could truly rest, think clearly, restore, and find refuge from the virtual world's noise, where I do much of my work.
In-Door Nature Therapy In Practice: Bringing Nature Indoors
The final biophilic design principle was to intentionally bring life inside by incorporating nature. God speaks to us through His creation, and that connection we have to the natural world is so powerful. If you don't have a connection with nature through spending time outdoors as a hobby or exercise practice it might be the reason that you feel so disconnected from everyone and everything. Humans are part of the natural world, but our modern lives have separated us from nature. This is the heart of biophilic design. Studies suggest that even just looking at nature, or bringing it indoors, can help lower blood pressure and reduce stress. Plants are like living sculptures, but they also work for us, with some types, like ferns, even help purify the air, making indoor plants a must, no matter the size of your living space.
Most of our walls and floors are made of natural, unvarnished wood. Our furniture is made of natural materials, too, for the most part. We don’t have much space for plants, so I brought the outdoors in through wildcrafting projects. There were old Crepe Myrtle tree branches lying on the ground, from a tree that isn’t hardy in the Midwest, so it was no wonder the tree didn’t survive in our forest. Picking up dead limbs and trees to use for indoor firewood or outdoor campfires is a necessary land stewardship practice. Allowing this wood to stay on the forest floor would serve as kindling, making a future forest fire burn hotter and longer. Matthew is very intentional about managing our forest, and I’m his faithful helper. For my wildcrafting project, I attached wooden air plant holders to the tree limbs and bolted the limbs to our cabin wall for a sturdy planter.
I forage for wildflowers that fill a family heirloom crystal vase in the family room and Mason jars in the kitchen and dining rooms, when in season.
These small touches of life had a huge impact. They softened the hard edges of my home and gave me gentle, beautiful things to look at that weren’t a screen. Misting my plants became a small, mindful ritual that grounded me in the present moment. The greenery was a constant reminder of God's creation, of growth, and of resilience.
You can learn how to get started foraging and wildcrafting in this episode of New Normal Big Life podcast.
If you're looking for a fun foraging activity to do with children, check out this episode of New Normal Big Life podcast. You can download my dandelion gummies recipe from the show's transcript.
Next, we added Shark air purifiers with HEPA filters in all the major rooms. Each will purify up to 2,500 sq ft of air. We’re purifying three times the volume of air. And finally, we avoid using household, laundry, and personal care products made with synthetic ingredients. We added another element of light with several electric candles in every room. It serves two purposes. First, as the daylight fades, we dim all the lights in our cabin and brighten dark corners with wall-mounted and tabletop e-candles. This helps your brain prepare to wind down throughout the evening. And when the power goes out, and we’re on precious solar power, we reduce our lighting usage by using electric candles and USB-rechargeable lights mounted over doors and under cabinets.
We use air-cleaning essential oils diluted in filtered water to purify the air of germs and add a fresh scent. You can learn more about antimicrobial essential oils in my blog article.
Finally, we made our home as functional as possible to support our busy work-from-home jobs and our adventure-sports lifestyle as sponsored adventure athletes.
Now, when we go to bed each night, our house looks like Airbng guests are arriving the next day. This allows us to start each morning in a clean, neat, functional, peaceful, and fresh-smelling space. It literally takes us five extra minutes before bed because we are using things and returning them to their proper place throughout the day.
We start the day steeped in nature therapy with a daily lemon water detox with bone, brain, and muscle health-boosting creatine monohydrate. I’ve talked about my morning routine in several episodes. So, binge-listen to New Normal Big Life Podcast Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music, and 10+ platforms.
Here's a YouTube short that tells you how to make the lemon water detox and its companion morning nature therapy protocol. I’ll also cover my day and nighttime routines in a future episode so subscribe to our newsletter.
My home wasn't just a structure anymore; it was a living, breathing space that reset my nervous system and nurtured me back to health.
The Biophilic Home Design Transformation
Making healthy lifestyle choices like deep restorative sleep, quality, toxin-free whole foods, drinking half my bodyweight in ounces of water daily, no screens after 6:00 pm, and quality supplements made by a trusted MD, using patented light therapy patches, and spending time adventuring year-round with family and friends helped me take back my health. But implementing a biophilic home design in the place where we spend the most time is a game changer.
Below, I’m sharing three affiliate links to the brands I trust for mine and my family’s health so you can use the same nutraceuticals we used to restore our good health.
DrStellaMDMarketplace Shop now using promo code NNBL for 5% off.
Focus on the Family With Biophilic Home Design
Here’s a family pro-tip. Everyone living in the home should be involved in implementing biophilic home design changes for two reasons. First, your husband’s personality should be readily apparent in the home. Far too many relationships put the woman in charge of home decor decisions. And everyone can see your dominating, overbearing, narcissism on display the moment they walk through your doors, when they notice how, “It doesn’t look like Jim even lives here.” Don’t be that person. Also, allow your children to have an age-appropriate say in the design of their rooms to make them feel included and seen. Rember, this is your child's nervous system reset through nature and biophilic design too. So, they should give input in what brings them peace, calm and joy. Lastly, give your pets a cozy corner with their favorite things.
The Biophilic Design Home Makeover Key Takeaways
In closing, following these three principles: light, order, and life, didn't just change my home. It changed me. The nervous system reset transformation was gradual, but it was real. Today, I’m a sponsored adventure sports athlete and outdoor influencer, in addition to my work as a health and wellness columnist with 1.5M readers in 200 countries, a public speaker, blogger, and podcaster at New Normal Big Life. But through these simple, intuitive changes, the crushing exhaustion lifted, replaced by a more consistent, robust energy level. The chronic anxiety and depression ended its grip, and my mind felt clearer than it had in years. Of course, my medical treatments gave me a foundation for recovery, nutraceuticals supplied the nutrients my body needed, and prayer gave me the strength to keep going. But changing my environment was the missing piece that helped me finally begin to thrive.
My home had become my partner in healing. It was the sanctuary I had prayed for, a restorative space that supported my well-being on every level.
Now, I wake up in a bedroom filled with soft morning light, and I feel calm. I walk through my home, and instead of stressful clutter, I’m met with peaceful order and little signs of nature throughout. Our home finally feels like it reflects the peace I've found in my faith. It’s a space that doesn’t drain me anymore. It restores me, day after day.
This journey taught me that creating a home through biophilic design isn't a luxury; it's a profound act of self-care and a beautiful expression of faith. It's about intentionally crafting a space that allows your body, mind, and soul to do what they were designed to do: heal itself.
Conclusion
My favorite Bible verse for resilience and renewal in the New King James Version is:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
2 Corinthians 5:17:
I love it because it reminds me that no matter what a person has walked through, God can make them new again.
Turning your home into a place of wellness and a sanctuary for your spirit is one of the most powerful things you can do for your health. Remember, if you don’t focus on your wellness today. You’ll be forced to focus on your illness tomorrow.
You don't need a huge budget or a designer's eye. You just need to be intentional. Start with one small thing. Open your curtains all the way. Clear off one countertop. Or buy one little indoor plant. Small steps truly do lead to big changes.
Your home should be the place where you and your family feel most peaceful, most restored, and most you. It can be an incredible tool for your well-being. You are not alone in this, and there is so much hope for healing.
When you subscribe to our newsletter, you’ll immediately receive a password that unlocks our entire library of FREE e-books and guides—including the “Biophilic Design Guide for Beginners,” packed with key takeaways, resources, and links from this article.
I would love to hear from you.
What is one small step you can take this week to make your home more of a healing sanctuary?
Share your thoughts in the comments below. I read every single one, and I really believe we can learn so much from each other.
And if this story resonated with you, please tune into New Normal Big Life on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music, and 10+ platforms. We always appreciate your star rating and review, as they help others find us.
Citations List
Here’s a citations list with clickable URLs based on the content you provided (no numbers, each on its own line):
Cleveland Clinic – Biophilic Design and Health
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/biophilic-design
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health – Nature and Health
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/how-nature-can-help-us-heal/
WebMD – Nature Therapy: Types and Benefits
https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/nature-therapy-ecotherapy
National Library of Medicine (NIH) – Nature-Based Interventions and Health
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8125471/
National Library of Medicine (NIH) – Biophilic Design and Workplace Stress
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7765018/
National Library of Medicine (NIH) – Indoor Plants and Air Quality
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9317020/
National Library of Medicine (NIH) – Restorative Environments and Stress Recovery
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5575566/
National Library of Medicine (NIH) – Clutter, Cortisol, and Well-being
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9374535/
National Library of Medicine (NIH) – Photobiomodulation Mechanisms and Applications
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5523874/
National Library of Medicine (NIH) – Photobiomodulation for Pain and Inflammation
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7920148/
National Library of Medicine (NIH) – Sunlight, Circadian Rhythm, and Mental Health
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8868565/
National Library of Medicine (NIH) – Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5206475/
Bible Gateway – Isaiah 32:18 NKJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+32%3A18&version=NKJV
Bible Gateway – Proverbs 24:3–4 NKJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+24%3A3-4&version=NKJV
Bible Gateway – 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+5%3A17&version=NKJV
New Normal Big Life – Timeless Vitality Light Therapy Article
https://nnbl.blog/timeless-vitality/
New Normal Big Life – Antimicrobial Essential Oils Article
https://nnbl.blog/essential-oils-to-combat-aerosol-viruses/