04/02/2026
I N D O O R L I F E
I shared this slide in a wellbeing design talk with 130 eleven-year-olds last week, and I really hope that this one sank in.
Modern humans have been around for about 300,000 years. For most of that time we lived outdoors — in daylight, fresh air and close connection with nature. Our bodies evolved in rhythm with the natural world: the seasons, the weather, plants, landscapes, the sun, moon and stars.
Even 100,000 years ago humans spent virtually their entire lives outdoors.
Fast forward to now… we spend around 90% of our time indoors.
That means our homes, schools and workplaces have become the environments shaping our health, mood, sleep, focus and overall wellbeing.
This is exactly why I care so deeply about designing interiors that actively support human health — and why frameworks like the WELL Building Standard matter so much.
And maybe part of why we’ve drifted so far from respecting nature is simply because we’re no longer living in it.
We’re built to be outdoors but we can design our indoor spaces to give our bodies more of what the outdoors has always done naturally 🌿💚.
Catherine Borse Design 🌿 Designing spaces that support physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing 🌿| Creating healthy homes and communities 🌿 | WELL AP (IWBI) 🌿|
