And other ways to create healthy, low stress, creative spaces to live and work by bringing people closer to nature
Have you ever walked into a room and felt either immediately calm and peaceful and in another stressed and claustrophobic? Some spaces inspire creativity while others stifle us. Right now, I’m in a Wetherspoons, one of my regular spots when looking for a guilt free space to work in town, theres cheap coffee with free refills, plentiful plug sockets and as long as you can ignore the sticky floors and early bird gamblers a prime spot for WiFi freeloading. However cheap and cheerful it may be I cannot bring myself to do any other tasks than accounting and other administrative duties, evidently also a little bit of writing.
Wetherspoons is on the extreme end of a creative cul-de-sac, it’s dark and dingy, there’s no plants in sight, there’s a vague smell of spilt beer from the night before and it’s tinged with nostalgic glimpses of teenage hoppy fervour. On the other end of the spectrum I’d place a artisan coffee shop, full-on hipster of course, there’s plants, people have moustaches and smile at you, the furniture is not high end, but it’s nice enough, slightly rustic, so you think the barista has not only made your flat white but also the chair you’re sitting on, the coffee is local, or even better roasted in store. The colours are light, it’s intimate, friends are chatting, students are studying, the mugs were thrown down the road and best of all the coffee is delicious and 3 times the price of course. You get the feeling people take pride in what they’re doing, the details matter and therefore what you’re doing matters. We’re on a mission to create better and we’re in it together.
Here’s a few things I’ve noticed that make spaces feel happy and healthy. These are just my observations as a non-interior designer and have little to no research to back them up, at least not by me.
Plants
Get plants, lots of them. Plants are great! They’re proven to lift your mood (probably), give us a sense of well being, add a splash of colour and break up those oppressive straight lines. They create oxygen, but I’m not sure how much of a noticeable difference this actually makes?
Light
Bring in the light! There’s only one spoons I’ve been to that breaks the mould and that’s The Imperial in Exeter, at least part of it in anyway, there’s an old orangery there where the large glass arch lets in copious amounts of natural light. We’re not built to sit inside for whole days at a time so it’s not surprising that doing so has some detrimental effects for our mood and sense of well being. Sunlight is also said to lift your mood and reduce anxiety, it’s good for you and no one wants to be stuck in a dark room, especially on a beautiful day. You also get a great view of the plants outside, see above.
Textures
Nature doesn’t work in straight lines and usually not perfectly smooth surfaces either. Add texture where possible. Exposed brickwork, charactered timber, plants, natural fabrics all add to a creating 3 dimensional space. Using natural materials such as solid wood adds texture, warmth and is also healthier than engineered timber, reducing VOCs in the air.
Unpolishedness
Embrace imperfection. Especially in a public space. Modern interiors seem to be obsessed with clean lines, perfectly smooth surfaces and featureless flat panels. It’s the look of mass production and gives off a strolling through various departments of Ikea vibes, but without the meatballs. Allowing character and imperfection to shine through not only looks great but it means time will improve the space as the world leaves it’s mark rather than diminish it’s pure form (provided quality materials and methods are used). Think of a garden, it’s not at it’s best at the time of planting, it’s full of potential, a process has begun which will add to a story year after year, a tree’s form will speak of it’s history in the twists and turns of it’s limbs, ancient graffiti warping up it’s trunk, yearly rings forming inside as summer turns to winter writing it’s memoirs as it climbs, until one day a moustachioed gentleman slices is down the middle, sticks on some hairpin legs and sends it on it’s next journey. Bit of a tangent but the point is, things won’t stay perfect forever so don’t fight it. It’s more interesting that way.
Here’s the Exeter coffee shops that have done an amazing job with their interiors and used some of the points I raised above:
Public Service Announcement — While most coffee shops don’t mind you whipping out your laptop to do a bit of tippy tapping while sipping your brew, they might not appreciate you setting up camp for the day. Spoons is a free for all, go for it. Just don’t expect decent coffee.
- The Common Beaver, Magdalen Road
- Boatyard Bakery, Haven Road
- The Tiny Tasting Room, Martins Lane
- The Ridge, Haven Road
- Crankhouse Coffee, Fore Street
- Sundays, The Quay