How to create a healthy home in 2025

In terms of health, not all construction materials are created equally.

Natural materials contain far fewer nasty chemicals than their man-made alternatives. This is why it’s always recommended that you use natural, inert materials wherever possible. Alongside this, exposed, natural finishes can also improve well-being by helping to connect you back with nature.

It’s important to be careful with timber products as they can contain formaldehyde which, when released (known as off-gassing) in high quantities, isn’t good for your health. Alternatively, look out for reclaimed materials which are likely to have released all their nasties long ago.

The high spec finishes that many of us crave in our homes can be some of the worst offenders. Whilst they might look nice, they can have a big impact on the health of your home.

To create a healthy home, avoid paints and adhesives with high levels of volatile organic chemicals, foam in furniture, carpet underlays and mattresses,and fire retardants in soft furnishings.

High levels of insulation are essential for a healthy home, but they come with trade-offs.

When budget and space permit, choose insulations like cellulose, cork, or wood fibre. These natural materials reduce the need for chemicals during manufacturing and allow buildings to breathe.

Breathable buildings improve indoor air quality by absorbing and releasing moisture, odours, and pollutants.

The kitchen island at Sycamore Hall in Sheffield, a small, dated bungalow we transformed into a future-proofed, sustainable retirement home, was made by using a reclaimed school lab bench. Reusing materials, as well as being more sustainable, is healthier, releasing fewer unwanted chemicals into your home.

Natural ventilation is unable to provide sufficient fresh air to create a healthy home. However, there are steps you can take to improve the air quality in your home and ensure that breathing is always easy.

A mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system ensures a consistent supply of warm and fresh air, no matter the temperature outside. It also filters incoming air of pollen, dust, exhaust fumes and other particles, so that it is fresh and clean.

This significantly reduces the chances of your family developing allergies and protects those who do suffer from allergies.

In 1989, NASA researchers found that there are certain types of plants that are very effective at removing toxic chemicals and pollutants from the air. The hardy snake plant is one of the best plants for air filtering – we even have one at the practice

Sound quality can have a big impact on our health and happiness. Thickly insulated walls, roof and floor; triple glazed windows, strict air-tightness and mechanical ventilation all work together to provide homes with minimal background noise.

Having poor air quality in your home can result from damp, condensation and mouldy conditions, none of which are the ingredients to create a healthy home.

These issues can be avoided if you have a house with healthy levels of insulation, airtightness and ventilation.

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Just because a house is well insulated, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a comfortable home. That’s why we always specify excellent air-tightness to minimise heat loss through air-leakage.

When working with the Passivhaus standard, we also design every external component of the house; the walls, windows, roof and floor so that its surface doesn’t get below 17°C internally. Even when it’s below zero outside.

Overheating can be just as detrimental to create a healthy home as being too cold. High levels of insulation dramatically help to reduce overheating in the summer. Coupling this with good ventilation and openable windows on at least two sides of your home is a really good place to start if you’re looking to reduce the temperature of your home.

Increasing the natural light is important to create a healthy home and positively impact the wellbeing of those in your environment. However, think about optimising the amount of south facing glazing on your home. If plenty of glazing to the south is an essential requirement then make sure you provide shading to this.

Paul Testa is a director at Sheffield-based HEM Architects.