Talor Stewart
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[00:00:00] To Creative Life In Motion Podcast and uh, we have a treat for you here today. Today we have. Talor Stewart, who is a licensed architect with over 25 years experience his book, conscious Home Design has hit the number one best seller list in seven countries so far, specializing in single and multifamily homes and intentional communities.
[00:00:24] He works with clients. All over the US and select places internationally. He also offers a certification program for other designers and architects to learn the conscious home design method to help their clients apply the life-changing principles wherever they are. I'll make sure that all the details about Talor are below in the description below, but right now you might be thinking, Karen, why do you have an architect on your show?
[00:00:53] Like. So I'm gonna let Talor dive into that because he's the best to tell you. We know that we're connected. To our environment and it connects us to health. And what we look and see and look at every single day can contribute to how we feel. And if we feel good about ourselves, we're gonna do more good things.
[00:01:19] And this conscious hi home design. It's not what you think it is. So, Talor, it, it's, it's, thanks for coming on the show and tell the listeners what they're gonna get today. Sure. Thanks for having me. I'm, I'm honored to, to be a guest. I, I love the work you do and I'm happy to, you know, Al align with it and, and share some knowledge with, uh, with you and have a good conversation and, and, and hopefully the audience listening in will also get some value.
[00:01:46] In fact, I promise they'll get some value because the truth is most people won't hire an architect in their life. Most people will be working with the spaces that. Or that they, that they have. And so my goal is to, even if you're living in an apartment somewhere, uh, that you rent, you know that I'm gonna share some things that you can do to make your space a little bit more supportive, uh, of you.
[00:02:07] And, uh, you know, of course if you are planning to build a new home 'cause you're upsizing your family's growing or you're downsizing your empty nest and you, you know, then of course there's opportunities there too. But no matter where you fall in the home, you know, shifting spectrum, um. We're gonna start with the low hanging fruit, what we know to be the single biggest predictor of people's happiness and health, and even their life expectancy.
[00:02:30] Uh, how we can start putting that mind, body, environment connection to work for you, to give you a little lift into your, into your day. Because the home really does, um, play a, it influences, it influences us, you know, whether we're aware of it or not. It subtly works on us, you know, 24 hours a day. You know, we're, uh, Yogananda.
[00:02:52] There's a great quote I love by Yogananda. He says, environment is stronger than willpower. And, uh, that's because, you know, think of like tree root, you know, that's growing under a sidewalk, and just over time it actually moves. It, it'll move it, you know, wood is softer than cement, but yet it wins at the end of the day, you know, it it because of that slow, steady pressure.
[00:03:14] And so our buildings put a slow. Steady pressure on us. Like Winston Churchill said, we shape our buildings thereafter. They shape us. And so conscious home design is about understanding who you are as a person, as an individual, and how you wanna be shaped. Because the opportunity to control your space is the ability to control your future, to shape your destiny.
[00:03:35] And so I wanna know, who are you and who do you want to be? What's the next version of yourself? Let's plan for it. So that's what conscious home design is all about. This is really exciting and I, you know, on the show that I al I always talk about how we don't wait until we reach our goals to be happy.
[00:03:53] We fall in love with who we are being along the way. So that means we're not waiting until fill in the blank to renovate this and renovate that, or do this, or start that walking plan or, you know, write that book. We we're, we're actively putting it into our environment so that, uh, becomes a piece of us because.
[00:04:15] You know, how happy are we when we're completely being that future version of ourselves before we're there. Mm-hmm. I think it makes a difference. I know it kind of sounds a little mm-hmm. Um, mm-hmm. You know, almost like toxic positivity. But you and I meeting, uh, was kind of serendipitous because. Uh, and the listeners know this, if you've been listening along, you know that I've been struggling with my office and I had this, um, this, this blemish on the wall behind me because I refuse to get out a can of paint.
[00:04:51] And over and over I'd walk in. I tried to cover it up with things I thought about, you know, maybe I could buy a mural or something and and day would go by and every day I'd be looking at that thing that I was just not doing. So finally. Um, my husband, he said, just, just paint it. And I'm like, mm-hmm. Okay.
[00:05:14] So now I'm looking at different types of paint and I thought I was always known for the green paint behind me, that it was actually painted by my stepdaughter 20 years ago. But now I've opened up the possibilities of what, what's going to make me feel more creative. 'cause this is where everything is born in this room.
[00:05:33] My books, my podcasts, my one woman show, everything was born. This is my creative room, which we're gonna talk about a little bit later. This is the creative space that I have. So yellow popped in because I am not a big lover of, of winter. It's dark here. Mm-hmm. It, we do get snow, but it's. Uh, I'm a sunshine girl and I have had like seasonal sadness in my history.
[00:06:00] Sure. Not anymore. So after I finally did the thing and stopped, like being mad at myself for not doing the thing, the first morning I opened my door to see the yellow wall. The sun was beaming in the window and it felt like a tropical paradise in here. And I just went, ah, yes. Now. There's something connected to happiness in environment.
[00:06:29] Can you? Sure. Can you share that? Like, I share that with you because I, I picked it up out of the, the book, so Sure. With our listener. I mean, so there's, there's so much, right? You're, what you're talking about to, you know, to a large degree, uh, it's, it's two things. What you're, you're experience there. One is something that was irritating you.
[00:06:48] So there's an environmental irritant, like a grain of sand, and you need to form a pearl around that to, uh, you know, to, to remove the irritation. But the other part of what you're talking about is, is in addition to the irritant or removing it, also changing the, the space by the color change, right? Which is going to, which is giving you a different, you know, um.
[00:07:11] A different feeling, right? Because the yellow that you've chosen, you know, yellow can actually, depending on if it's, if it's too bright or too intense, it can actually create a little bit of, um, anxiety. You know, it can, it can actually be stimulating in a way, and, and not, and, and it's not relaxing. But the shade you have there is, is very calm and gentle.
[00:07:32] But it's also bright and so, which really makes, uh, makes a difference, uh, especially in the, in the winter months where, you know, where the days are shorter. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, you're, you're work, you are working on multiple, multiple fronts there to, to, uh. Create your space, um, the way you like it there.
[00:07:52] So, um, there's a lot of work done on color theory and different colors affecting people, not just emotionally or, or mentally, you know, I like it, it gives me an opinion, but there's actually physiological. Evidence that shows that certain colors will re, will, will increase heart rate or decrease heart rate, you know, or, or make, or make breathing more rapid and shallow or make, make breathing more, uh, slow and deeper.
[00:08:19] Right. And so there's a, yeah. The, the, our environment will actually have a physical response to us and those physical responses. Are generally more universal than the opinion responses. You may say, well, I like that color, which is true. You might like that color, but it will still have the same physiological response in your body as it would with someone else who says, I don't like that color.
[00:08:43] Right? Mm-hmm. It will still present, you know, because we've, we evolved in, you know. Nature. And so we have certain colors that, that we're used to seeing, you know, the earth tones, the greens, the blues, you know, water, sky, vegetation, um, rocks and, and earth and stuff. And so those are, that spectrum is, is gonna be, um, sort of the, the primordial soup that our DNA was brewed in.
[00:09:12] And so it's habituated to that. They found that. Um, a nature scape. You can look at a nature scene, even if it's not real. A photograph of a, you know, a big mural of, of, you know, mountains and, and trees and a lake or a, an ocean with a beach or even, you know, um, just a forest, you know, with, with nothing spectacular.
[00:09:34] No mountains, no water, but just trees, you know, or a meadow, you know, any of those will produce that physiological response of calming. Whereas if you show someone a beautiful skyline, you know, like a, like at dusk where all the lights are on and the sky's got this beautiful purple hue, and it's, and it's very, you know, you see that ridge line, you know, and it's, it can be very exciting and very aesthetically pleasing, but it doesn't have the physiological calming effect that a nature scene does.
[00:10:03] And so Interesting. That's because our bodies know what they like, you know, because we mm-hmm. You know, we didn't. We evolved in nature, so. That's some, some basic stuff there about, you know, working with environment to, you know, coordinate, um, whatever mood or feeling you're trying to evoke. You know, if you, if you're wanting a, a room, you know, it depends on your activities, right?
[00:10:28] It's activity specific. Some activities are, you need more energy and energizing, and others you want more, more calming and tranquility. So it's just about selective use of, and design and decoration of, of each space in your house to suit your needs, right? Um, I found that super interesting when I first landed on your website.
[00:10:48] I'm like, okay, he's not just talking about like designing your house. He's not just talking about like, you know, like decor and interior design and, and architecture. He's, you have like these, these specific templates for. Individual rooms and how to optimize it. Sure. Which I think is so cool. And some of the questions in, in your workbook.
[00:11:14] There were, there were questions that are actually probing you. Like, no, like, what do you really want? You know, like, what do you really want? Because I think somewhere, you know, in the, in the scheme of like designing things or whatever, we start to, like you were saying, we start to follow these paths of. I need more money.
[00:11:37] I need more, um, I need more time. I need to, you know, do all of these things when, when in fact it, it can be just like one simple little tweak. Mm-hmm. Which is why I mentioned my wall. I, I mean, you could see the rest of the office still means a lot of work. You can't see it. Mm-hmm. That's, that's the whole point.
[00:11:56] You can't see it. But I can, and it's still bothering me. Like that little grain of salt, I mean sand Sure. That you were talking about there. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Well, there, I mean, there's, it's, this is such a rich conversation because it's so, there's so much, right? Like, think of, uh, you know, well it talked about the, the tree root, right.
[00:12:18] Putting pressure on something. Right. But another way to look at it is the sort of the snowball effect, you know, as it, as it starts small, but it gets bigger as it rolls down the hill. Or, you know, the butterfly effect, which is, um, you know, the mathematician, um. Uh, Johan, um, I've, I'm drawing a blank on his last name right now, but he wrote a paper called Do the Flapping of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil, eventually set off a tornado in Texas.
[00:12:42] Mm, right. Yeah, I think I heard of that one. Yeah. Yeah. And so this, this became known as The Butterfly Effect, which says, you know, uh, small changes in the initial conditions led to dramatic, you know, life changing outcomes. Over time. Right. And so with Conscious Home Design we're, you know, we're, we're asking the question, what little 2% shifts could we make around the home that when added up on a daily basis and compounded over years or decades, would pay huge dividends in your life in terms of your satisfaction and your, and your happiness and your health and, and your feelings of, of fulfillment.
[00:13:23] So that's really, um, you know, that's the big idea. And then, you know, there's data to actually support that. You know, we talked, I talked a little bit about the, um, physiological, you know, effects of nature and certain colors on us, but it's so much. It's so much broader than that. There's so much more.
[00:13:42] Harvard did an amazing study on adult happiness. It started in 1938 and they studied thousands of, uh, of individuals and all. So it's been going on 87 years now. Uh, if my math is correct, um. At least, well it was 1938 to, yeah, 40 to 85. Yes. Something, you know, 86, 87 years, something like that. They're still working on it now.
[00:14:06] Like currently. It's still going on. It's still going on today. Okay, cool. Yeah, the, um, they've had at least four different directors running it because they retire and they have to, but the study keeps going. It's the longest study of its kind on in the world. And so it has, it's very significant what, what they've discovered.
[00:14:25] So they started with, uh, a couple of thousand people. They did health assessments and mental and emotional assessments, and then, you know, where are they, what are their circumstances in life? You know, what, what, what are their conditions? And they tried to get a, a big overview, a snapshot of who this person was and, and were they happy and what's going on in their lives and stuff like that.
[00:14:48] And then periodically they tracked them over the years. Throughout their whole lives, in fact. Mm-hmm. And, but periodically they would check in with them and do another, you know, medical test and, and more, you know, psych evaluations and just, you know, update their, their findings. And they were able to plot the journey of, of these, of thousands of people.
[00:15:10] And as they age, you know, they, so they're on to second and third generations now because all the original participants have, have passed on after 87 years. They were college age when they began. So, you know, I don't think anyone lived to be more than 105 years old, um, from the original study. Right. So, but it's, it's still going on today.
[00:15:27] So what they found is that regardless of a person's. Health, uh, challenges or of a person's career or business, uh, success or failure. They found that throughout the ups and downs of life that everybody has in their own fashion, they found that. Those things didn't really matter in terms of how happy or or rich a life they reported.
[00:15:53] You know, they said they felt like they had and they also didn't matter very much on their actual life expectancy, the longevity of of a person. They found the single biggest predictor of how long a person would live and how happy they would say was the quality of their relationships. And so, you know, we're hearing that more and more now, right?
[00:16:15] We're here, we know that intuitively. We all know that. Yeah. But it's so nice to have scientific evidence, you know, big data, you know, statistical evidence to, to support it, to, to sort of confirm what we, what we know to be true. Don't you think like I, and this is. This just came to me just now. Don't you think that it's a little odd that here we are in 2025, like if you could go back and tell yourself like 30 years ago that, that the toughest thing for society would be like making friends and communicating with each other after we've been connected to the world.
[00:16:52] So like social media was supposed to bring us closer together and, and it feels like, you know, I'll give you an example. A couple weeks ago, someone came and knocked on my door. The first thing I think is as a scammer, Uhhuh, like, 'cause we don't go to the neighbor anymore with a, like, with a dish saying, here, welcome to the neighborhood.
[00:17:13] Because that person will probably throw it away. They'll think we poisoned it. You know, there's just so much lack of, of, of trust, so mm-hmm. So conscious house, home design, what you're doing is actually, I'm kind of seeing it now in, in a way of thi this is, this is a way to help us repair, or just enhance, or, you know, lift up more our, our relationships with each other.
[00:17:42] And you like. You have everything in their different groupings, but there's different types of relationships, um, that matter for our wellbeing. And can you break that down for us? How does it, how does it all translate into the design? Sure, sure. Yeah. I mean, which is exciting now that we know that the data supports, you know what, we intuitively know that hey, our relationships matter and not, but, but not only do they matter, they are the single most important thing in our lives is our connections with people.
[00:18:14] So knowing we do know that knowing that, having, having the math prove that for us really can, can help us. Informal, well wait a second. You know, so conscious home design was, was about, is about. Facilitating relationships. How can I create space? How can we bake it into the mold of our homes, that our relationships are supported and facilitated and encouraged.
[00:18:37] Right? We want to dedicate space for those activities. Yeah, because you know, think about the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa is like the most famous painting in the world, and Leonardo da Vinci. It took him 10 years to paint that, and when I realized that, I thought, you know what? This really proves the point.
[00:19:02] Architecture is responsible for, you know, without architecture. All of our human advancements in medicine, technology, uh, science, arts, they just wouldn't be possible because we need to be able to control our environment and dedicate space for certain human activities. 'cause if we didn't Oh yes. If we didn't have architecture, yeah, you, you wouldn't be able to accomplish anything.
[00:19:30] That took longer to, to work on than a sunny afternoon because as soon as the weather changed, or night came, and wild animals came, you know, or, or, or neighboring tribes came and they, they'd mess everything up. And so architecture allows us to build on yesterday's achievements. And, and continue to, to, to grow.
[00:19:50] And so we all have this, this idea of, we, we all know this formula about it takes time and effort to become good at something. Right? That, that makes sense. You've gotta practice, you know, practice makes perfect. Right? And I think it was Seth Godin that coined the 10,000 hour rule. He said, Hey, if you put 10,000 hours into something, then you'll achieve, you know, expert level or mastery status.
[00:20:12] You know, depending on, on what it is you're working on. But that's sort of like a general rule of thumb that they're, that they're throwing around these days, 10,000 hours. But what's missing from that formula is that it also takes space. Yeah, it takes time, it takes effort, but you also have to have a place to do what is that you do?
[00:20:30] You know, without space, without, if Leonardo da Vinci did not have an art studio where he could work on the Mona Lisa and then put it away. When he was busy with other projects, or he didn't have inspiration at the moment for that particular painting, then it wouldn't have been accomplished. It was, it only got done because he was able to store it safely in the context of, of a dedicated, you know, architectural art studio.
[00:20:56] Yeah. And so. What we want to do is figure out what makes people happy, what sparks their joy, you know, both universally and individually, and then dedicate space to that activity in their home somehow, right? So it doesn't necessarily mean you need more space, it just means how do, are we going to arrange the space we have to, to make sure we're highlighting and not missing out on these, on these things?
[00:21:24] So in the context of relationships. So that was a, that was a, that was a big journey to get to answer your question. It's good, but that's, that's what we hear. But we need to see the whole landscape to under, to enjoy the path. Yeah, absolutely. So I'm painting, I'm illustrating the picture of, of how relevant and how it all ties together.
[00:21:43] The, the, it's really an ecosystem, you know, the hip bone, connected leg bone, yeah. Mm-hmm. Yep. And so. Harvard was very clear about the relationships. They said, this is not limited to your romantic relationships. Mm-hmm. The study said, it's all kinds of relationships. You wanna have, you know, a diverse, uh, a rich bag, a mix, a healthy ratio of, of relationships.
[00:22:06] So if you're, if people are single, you know, uh, don't worry. You can still live a long happy life as a single person. You know, it's, it's, that's not what they were saying at all. Um, so. When I found out, you know, I was doing the research for my book, uh, conscious Home Design, uh, back in the teens I had been, I always knew I'd write a book.
[00:22:25] It was 20 years in the making. You know, it just took me 20 years of practice before I was able to con, congeal and, and gel and solidify all the things that I learned along the way into. A solidified message that I could say, okay, now this is worth sharing. This is, this is this, this is what I know to be true.
[00:22:44] This isn't theory anymore. Yeah, this is real. Let's, let's present this. You know, so it took me 20 years to crystallize my message. In that process is when I discovered the, the, um, in, in my research process, I discovered, um. Harvard Longevity Study, and when I found out that they said relationships was the big one, um, I said, okay, let, let's pause here.
[00:23:08] There's meat on the bone. You know, we, we need to, we need to camp out here and dig some time. We can't, we, we, we can't pass. We can't pass through this subject lightly. We need to spend time here and unpack. And so I said, okay. Relationships, all different kinds of relationships. I started thinking about all the diverse myriad relationships that we have, you know.
[00:23:29] And I was like, well, okay, how do you, you know, and people have different, you know, the Greeks have all seven different types of love, you know, agape and philia and all these different flavors of love, depending on the type of relationship you have with the person. And so I, you know, as, as I dug more into relationships, you know, and, and I, I came up with sort of my own three categories and every kind of relationship that we have is gonna fit into one of these buckets.
[00:23:57] And they are giving, receiving, and reciprocal. And so our giving relationships are ones where we are the primary giver. And so those are gonna be relationships that we have with, um, anyone we're teaching or mentoring. Um, children that we're raising or looking after or, or babysitting, um, even pets and, and plants and animals.
[00:24:22] You know, if you have a bird feeder, you know, you're, that's a giving relationship. You're providing food for, for wildlife. And so, um. You know, you could say, oh, well, you know, I water my plants and my flowers and I feed the, I feed the pets, and I, and I do these things. That's, but I also receive, I, I get more than I give.
[00:24:41] You hear people say that? Yeah. And they say it's true. Of course, there's always a give and take in all the relationships, but at face value it's a giving, you know, you're the one who's initiating the giving, and, and those things would be. Perhaps not as better off. You know, they're better off for your presence in their life.
[00:24:57] You know, you're giving them something, you know, so it at, at the first, you know, there's always a give and take, but at the face value of it, it's a giving relationship. And so then we have our reciprocal relationships, which was what you and I are having right now. It's where, you know, peers or friends or colleagues are, um, you know, seeing eye to eye and you can sort of let your hair down and have a conversation.
[00:25:21] There's a give and take. Um, it's not a situation where you're being, um, have to be a role model, you know? Yeah. And put on your best behavior and, and wear, you wear a certain. Face to, to present, you know, as, as the case would be if you were teaching children, you know? Yeah. And so there's a different energy, there's a different comfort level, a different way, a different vibration that you can show up with, um, at, in a reciprocal relationship.
[00:25:45] There's a equal give and take. And then of course we have our receiving relationships, and that's where we are the beneficiary. Of someone else's, uh, knowledge, wisdom, care, you know, concern or, or love, right? And so those are gonna be the relationships that we have with our elders, uh, you know, our, our ancestors, um, our mentors and teachers and coaches, um, our heroes and inspirational figures, maybe our spiritual figures.
[00:26:12] Anyone that's giving us wisdom or encouragement or inspiration. Or, you know, knowledge or, or, or love to help us grow and, and be, reach our potential. Just be the most beautiful version of ourselves that we can be. Yeah, so those are our receiving relationships. And as we move through life, Karen, we're going to have different balances of, of each of these relationships.
[00:26:39] You know, if you have young children at home. Boy, you're gonna be giving, giving, giving, giving, giving. You're gonna be like desperate. You know, I, I see so many, so many, especially single parents, they're just desperate to have reciprocal. I should please can have just 15 minutes of reciprocal relationship right now.
[00:26:54] Yeah. Because, right. I need a, I need a balance. Right? And, and so there's gonna be times in your life where things maybe are, are unbalanced. That's okay. It's just over the scope of your life. You want to have a rich mixture and a rich, a rich balance of all three. Types to all three categories of relationship.
[00:27:16] And what that looks like is gonna be individual people. Different people have different needs. Some people are introverted, some people are extroverted. People have different sort of social expectations or, or desires or requirements that they have. And so you know that's gonna be an organic thing for each individual.
[00:27:31] However, we just know that we want to have all three kinds of relationship in our life no matter who you are. So for conscious home design, I say, let's make sure that in the home, whether it's a brand new house we're building, or it's an apartment that you're just redecorating right now, how can we make sure that we have opportunity for all three kinds of relationship in the home?
[00:27:55] And so that's, it's wild, really. That's it in a nutshell, right there. Yeah. I love how you've boiled it down to three. I'm, that's, that's my kind of talk, you know, like I, I, um. When, when I help people through their, like, their life planning, like getting, getting to their goals, I, I always like to talk about life as an ecosystem.
[00:28:18] It's, and, and like, instead of like, you know, let's, let's make a thousand goals and let's try and reach 'em all in the next year. Um. I've often said that every goal that you set is like a kitchen renovation. Once you open it up, it usually takes twice as long and two times more money. Mm-hmm. To get there.
[00:28:42] Mm-hmm. Because there's always all these little things. So if we boil it down to three things, do one thing for your mind, one thing for your body, and one thing that fulfills your purpose, you'll find that you can get more, um, momentum. Because it's easier to grasp. So you, you have all, you're seeing the same thing.
[00:29:04] You have all these different types of relationships, but let's just boil it down to three so that we can have. Simpler, easier, more cohesive success in what we're trying to do here. And, um, I, I just love that, um, this, it makes it a lot more easier to kind of have a view through an architect's eyes, you know, like, because.
[00:29:33] Like this is a lot, a lot. Like you talked about this being an ecosystem and like every door you open, there's just like a, a, a wealth of more knowledge there on and on how we can like really take action on this immediately. Right. Um, so yeah. In your experience, um. When you're thinking about what a home truly needs to provide, like how do you, um, how do you framework this mm-hmm.
[00:30:09] Mm-hmm. Like when you're, when you're, you know, how, how do you get started? Sure, sure. So, um, yeah, there's,
[00:30:22] there's really, I. I like to refer to Maslow, actually, Maslow. Abraham Maslow was a psychologist. Um, his work really took off, started, uh, started to gain, gain fame, um, in the late 1950s, and has stood the test of time, you know, since then, you know, so, um, he really, he he's most famous for, for, I think pe most people would recognize Maslow's the hierarchy of human needs pyramid.
[00:30:55] Called it, you know, he called it out, but he was able to put it into a framework and says that, Hey, we're not just animals. We need more than, you know, shelter and food and a, and, and a place to sleep, you know, and a chance to procreate. You know, we have higher needs. You know, we, we have, we're complicated beings, you know, we have personal.
[00:31:15] Needs. We wanna feel like we're good at something or like that. We're growing and we're, and we're, you know, becoming better. Uh, that we're adept, that we have aptitude and, and skill. We wanna feel, uh, like we have, uh, love and belonging and connections with, with others. You know, we don't wanna feel isolated and, and alone.
[00:31:32] Um, you know, we also have creative expression needs. You know, we wanna feel like we can just do something that's, that's creative. Whether, whether it's profitable or not, doesn't matter. You know, you could do model trains or you could, you, you could paint or you could play a musical instrument, or you could do, um, clay on the potter's wheel.
[00:31:50] Or you could do podcasting or you could do creative writing and journaling. You know, your creative, you know, your work might be creative, but outside of work, people also wanna do something creative too, whether cooking or any number of things. However it shows up for you. Right. And so, going back to what we know from, from the Mona Lisa, and that we are, we're more successful when we dedicate space to an activity.
[00:32:13] You know, I look through, um. Home and I say, well, who are you and what, you know, what kind of creative activity do you like to do? And say, well, let's see if we can dedicate space for that. You know, where, where could we do that activity? Because if you dedicate space to it, a you're just making a value statement.
[00:32:31] You're saying, Hey, this is important to me. You're raising your hand. This is, this is, this is a part of me. I value this. I'm gonna dedicate a little space to it. I may not be able, I may not have the time to do it as much as I like. But just by carving out the niche, the, the, the nook, you know, or the, a whole room.
[00:32:48] If you, if you have that much space, you know, then you're, you know, raising your hand and, and saying, Hey, this is important to me. It is a priority. And so then even if you just do it for five minutes, you know, every step we take in the direction of our dreams is self-affirming. And it gives us, it sets up a positive feedback loop.
[00:33:10] It says, Hey, you know what? My future is a little bit more attainable. You know, my, my destiny is within my control. I have the ability to shape, you know, 'cause I can do, I can choose things that I like, things that feed me, things that make me sparkle. And so we're trying to give you opportunities to do that so that you can, you know.
[00:33:32] Be happy because happy people are better neighbors and are better citizens. Right? It's like world peace. Let it begin with me. You know, if Maslow says like, if someone's starving to death, they really don't care if someone respects them. You know? It's like, Hey, that's nice. Great, some I'm respected in the community, but please just give me a sandwich.
[00:33:52] You know? I need. I need a bowl of soup right now. You know, it's like, so we have certain priorities in in life, right? And so when we can, when we can satisfy our shelter needs, but then also our higher needs, then we start to say, okay, I'm feeling good in life. What, you know, how do I engage the world around me?
[00:34:12] And so happy people are gonna send ripple effects out into, you know, people are gonna be better citizens. So that's the whole, you know, upward spiral of, of the, of the adventure. Yeah, like I, I find that a lot of times in, in creative space or in health space, which is what I talk a lot about on, you know, on this podcast and, you know, when we're in the creative space or the health space, it's all about proactivity.
[00:34:40] So it's usually the first thing that falls off the plate. I like is, is looking after our internal needs and desires of what it means to be human. We have to move our bodies, we have to have creativity. And so I always, I I always talk about like creating these environments for yourself that, that make it impossible for you to.
[00:35:03] Fail. Mm-hmm. So I do have, you know, I, I, I was, I was a runner back in my running days. I, um, I did half marathons and marathons. I have a home gym, I, you know it, which is in the basement, which is. We will get to that. It's probably not the best place. Um, I was known for, you know, sleeping in my went running or walking clothes so that I wouldn't wake anybody up when I left early in the morning, rummaging getting my clothes.
[00:35:35] Um, because that would be, that turns into an excuse of not to. Mm-hmm. I don't wanna wake up the whole house. So I would like force myself into these kind of rituals to make it impossible for me. To not succeed, um, right at what I was, what I was doing. And then when I became a writer, I had those skills and I, I was able to put those into my creative space and then also create kind of environment windows where my brain knows that I'm turning this music on.
[00:36:07] I'm walking into this room, it's this time I have coffee in hand. All it's gonna do is write. That's it. Mm-hmm. Not check social media, not do that. So I'm really good at that. But as I was going through, um, some of the, some of the materials that you have and, and I was learning how, how I could make this better, I learned, uh, that you mentioned about having the physic, the fitness space.
[00:36:36] Mm-hmm. Like. Say on your way to the kitchen. Right. And I thought, I thought that's brilliant. That, that's really, really brilliant. Um. In, uh, Benjamin Hardy's book, willpower Doesn't Work. He talks about the chocolate cake. Like if you're trying to have an environment to live in a healthier body, and you have a chocolate cake on your counter every single day, you're making it really hard for yourself.
[00:37:04] Mm-hmm. But if you don't put that cake there, then your environment is set up for your success. Right. And he explains that so simply. Just like you are explaining this here too. But another thing that you talk about that I'd love for you to dive into a little bit more is something that's called the Sunny Window effect and what does that and, and why does it matter.
[00:37:27] Sure. Okay, great. Yeah, the sunny window effect is, so now we're getting into the cycles of nature and again, uh, human, the physiological response and, you know, and working with our environment to help, to support us, uh, reaching our, our goals, our lifestyle goals. And so, you know, even as a kid, I remember.
[00:37:50] Seeing a room and having a beam of sunlight coming in through the window, and it would put a little sunny patch on the floor or on one particular cushion, on the couch. You know this, this cushion was shaded, but this one had the sunny patch on it and the family pets, whether it was the dog or the cat, that's where they would be.
[00:38:07] They would always curl up in the sun patch, you know, in the sunny spot and you know. I remember times being in a room, maybe I'd be reading a book or just spending some time in there and suddenly, you know, the, the sun's coming through. It's really nice, but then a cloud would pass in front of it and suddenly it's sha shade from it and the sunbeam goes away.
[00:38:28] And the, and the, and the, the vibe of the room changes. You know, just from that moment and then the, and then the cloud passes and the sun comes in again. Yeah. And you know, we are so attracted to the light. You know, light is life, right? Like the, you can be standing at the entrance to a, to a room, and it can be the most beautifully decorated and well appointed space.
[00:38:49] Very, very attractive and inviting. But when there's a beam of sunlight coming into the window, it's just. That much more welcoming. Yeah. For us. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And so at in Conscious Home Design, I said, okay, let's, how can we put the Sunny Window effect, uh, to work for us intentionally? You know, knowing that, knowing that it gives us a lift, knowing that it invites us in and draws us in, is there some certain activities that really could benefit from having a sunny window?
[00:39:20] You know? And so. For me, for, for a lot of people there are, um. You know, if I, I'll look through as we go through your life and I say, Hey, what, what makes you tick? You know, what do you like to, Karen? What do you like to do for creative activity? What do you like to do for personal development? What do you like to do, uh, for self-improvement?
[00:39:38] What do you like to do for physical exercise? You know, how do you like to move your body? And you know, as we go through these things, they say, okay, where are the gaps in your life? You know, which ones which, which activities are you feel like you're not getting enough of? Okay, let's try and support that.
[00:39:52] Why are you not getting enough of that? Do you simply not have a space for it? And if not, well, let's create one. Let's dedicate space to that activity. Or maybe you have space for it. And I say, okay, you've got space, but you're not using it. Why? We go, oh, well, it's cluttered. It's got storage. All my Christmas decorations are in there.
[00:40:10] And it's no long, it's no longer supporting what it's supposed to. It's, it's been, you've been in basement of something else. You've been in my basement. Yeah, that's right. So now you just have to rearrange and rededicate the space to the activity. Or maybe, you know, it's something where it's like, well, I love to play my cello, except the only time I have is after the kids go to bed and my cello room is right next to the bedroom, and so I'm gonna disturb them.
[00:40:35] And so then you have an adjacency problem. You have a space it's well suited for, for playing the cello. It's just in the wrong location. So may, is there another place? Can you create separation? But. Between the things, you know, um, maybe the space is just uninviting. Maybe you have this thing that you like to do, but it's in a, it's in a basement or it's in a garage and the air is musty and damp and it's cold and, and uninviting, and it's rustic.
[00:41:01] And it's just like, ah, I don't wanna, I don't want to go there because I'm just not inspired, you know? And so it takes an act of will. It takes discipline to make yourself do that. And if you're pressed for time in the morning, or you're tired at the end of the day. Finding that will and that discipline to make yourself do that thing that you know you should do, but you just are tired.
[00:41:20] You know, there's a, we have a limited amount of willpower to, to spend every day on things. And it's like we may have already blown it. Just not having, uh, not responding to that person who, who cut us off 'cause they had road rage. You know, it's like, that may have been our last expenditure of willpower.
[00:41:37] May have been just getting home safely. Right.
[00:41:43] And so, yeah, I, I mean, it's, it's so true. And, and so like we have to in order, like, it's not, it's not willpower. Like I, throughout my running years, I would have lots of people say, I wish I had your willpower. And I'm like, it's got nothing to do with willpower. Mm-hmm. It's because I set up an environment for myself, number one.
[00:42:06] Sleep in my running clothes, no judging, they're clean when I go to bed. Yeah. Um, I, I also sign up for, for these races that I gotta show up for and nobody's gonna move the date for me. Right. So, in order to show up, I need to prepare. So I've, I've called myself a runner, even though I'm not calling myself a runner because I, I had issues with that and I'm like, oh no, I'm not a runner.
[00:42:32] I'm only running every day. But, um. It's giving, it's, it's giving that no excuse framework. And so you're, you are, you are giving people yet another layer of that, which I think is fantastic because you can implement that absolutely. Right away. So to the listener that's wondering, um, and I'm, I'm kind of wondering because I, I am all about, like, I, I like to take action right away.
[00:43:02] So if I was going to optimize. One, one space or one room. Like what it, I kind of feel like I know what your answer's gonna be, but I'm, I wanna know what your answer's gonna be. Mm-hmm. Like what, what's the one that moves the needle the most? Like the mm-hmm. The area that would create the most impact quicker if I had to just choose one and, and I love it.
[00:43:27] The least amount of money. Sure. Where's the low hanging fruit you're asking? Yeah, that's, that's the word. Thank you for finding that for, so you, you know, I, I love it. You know, the quality of your questions determine the quality of your answers, right? Mm-hmm. And so if you ask good questions, you'll, you know, you'll get, you'll, you'll get good answers.
[00:43:47] And so, um, you know. The home really is an ecosystem, and it all works together in, in harmony. You know, they all support each other and it's kind of asking that, asking me that is kind of like saying, well, Taylor, what? What's your favorite organ? And I'm like, well, I kind of like my heart. Oh, but I also like my lungs.
[00:44:08] They're pretty good. Oh, kidneys are good. Oh, my tummy. Oh, I love my stomach. Boy, that really, what would I do without my stomach? It's kind of like, you know, they're all my favorite, you know, they kind of, they all work together to support me well, and, and so, um, there isn't really a universal. Truth, I can't say that this is the one space that will work the most, that is the low hanging fruit for all people in all places.
[00:44:38] So what I wanna say to you as an individual, as a, as any, to anyone listening today, to any of my clients and anyone I'm, I'm sharing this message with is. You need to go through your home and find the gaps. Yeah. You need to say which of the three types of relationships do I, would I like to have more of?
[00:44:58] Where am I seeing. A little bit more support. Where, where is there opportunity for growth? Mm-hmm. What space would make me come alive? You know, do I need to have, make sure I have better sleep and better rest? So do I need to work on my bedroom so I can have safe place to unwind? And, and let go and, and recharge, or no, you know, what I have is a terrible bathroom.
[00:45:20] You know, one person says, I just need to, you know, I, I'm, I'm short cutting my time in there. It's not feeling like I'm nurturing and giving myself the self-care I need. Another person says, well, I actually don't like my kitchen. You know, I, I, I would prepare much better meals, which is so supportive. My nutrition and the whole family is gonna benefit, but I hate working in my kitchen.
[00:45:38] And so we're always doing takeout food because I, I, I don't like. It's, it's poorly laid out, and so it's gonna be an individual thing. You have to find the gaps and then focus on those. And so I think that that's, that's why I, I felt like, you know, we have, we have a common theme, you and I, because like, you know, through, throughout my coaching career, throughout my writing career.
[00:46:04] People always wanna know like, what, what, well, what can you help me with? And I come back with, well, what are you trying to do? Because it, it's so, it's so different. Everybody just has this different unique expression of what they need to do and what's going to make them successful. And you said it just a few minutes ago, it was like, you know, you gotta ask the right questions.
[00:46:30] I, I, I was a cosmetician for years too. Like, I, I've worn so many different hats. Um, a beautician for about 10 years, 10 to 12 years. And in the fitness industry, same time, you know, looking after that outer core. Mm-hmm. And. Someone would come in and, you know, you get used to these questions like, uh, I, I'm here for, uh, to get a moisturizer.
[00:46:57] Um, what can you recommend? And it's like, well. You know, we, we have to go through some questions about like, you know, because there's 50 million things that a moisturizer can do. Sure. So I need to know delicately because you, you know, if you're talking to a woman that, that has, is middle aged, you gotta delicately get out of her.
[00:47:19] Well, do you want the cream to repair the wrinkles? Or you just looking to slap on some moisturizer and find the right experience for her? Because I can't just go ahead and recommend her. Like, this is what I use and it's the best. That's, that's gonna get you nowhere. Sure. So you came back with a very, uh, a rich answer of that.
[00:47:42] Depends, like conscious home design. We, we meet you wherever you are. Yeah. And I love that. And then we just help you, we, we find what's going to help you create yourself new, you know, what's going. How can we create the next, the next version of yourself that you envision for yourself? And you know, I wrote the book, conscious Home Design with the big idea, and it was really.
[00:48:08] You know, it's, you've, you've, you've got a copy of it. It's not highly technical. It's not full of jargon, you know, it's very accessible. You could, you might not know the difference between one wall and another, but you can still read it and understand the ideas in there. Right. Yeah. It's not, it is rooted in science, but it's, but it's, you know, it doesn't read like a, like an academic paper.
[00:48:28] Exactly. And then it's an easy read. Yeah. Easy read to implement. And so then I worked with, I hired someone that had two master's degrees, one in social work and the other in psychotherapy. This person, um, read my book and together we worked on, um, creating the workbook with, which has exercises and worksheets.
[00:48:51] Yeah. Which are designed to draw out, to ask the right questions, to get the answers that, that are going to uniquely create your own sort of fingerprint of what is gonna make your house, you know. Truly supportive in the, in the biggest way. And so, you know, I like to have, uh, all of my clients answer those questions, whether they, whether they do the workbook on their own or whether I am interviewing them and extracting that information out in a conversation or interview style and taking those notes.
[00:49:22] Um, you know, that's really. What gets at the heart of the issue. And then from there we can then start talking about shaping actual space. So this is before you get, before you draw a single picture, before you pick a paint color, before you make any plans, we wanna understand, you know, the core, uh, the core values of the people who are gonna be living there.
[00:49:47] And then we can make sure that, you know, we, you, you don't wanna have the most beautiful house in the world. And yet it doesn't fit you and it doesn't support you, it doesn't flow. You know, it's like that's just a museum. You know? You don't, we we're gonna get you the aesthetic. That you want, but we first, before, you know that's a given.
[00:50:07] Of course, it's gonna look beautiful to you. Of course you're gonna enjoy your space, but we wanna make sure that it functions for you. You know that there's flow and we we're like, like you said, you, you, what you did to make yourself succeed was you removed friction points you said. I wanna be considerate of the people that I live with.
[00:50:23] I don't wanna wake them up and disturb them, and so I'm just gonna wear my track pants, uh, as pajamas so I can just get right up and, and hit the, and go out the door, you know, silently, you know, and get on my, on my way, you know? And so these are, you know, conscious home design is the same thing. It's like, how can we build success into your life by removing friction points and providing opportunity?
[00:50:46] Yeah. No, that's, that's awesome. So I, I have a, like, I have a personal question before we close. Sure. So what did you wanna be when you grew up? Like when you, well, so I didn't know the word for it, but I always wanted to be an architect. That's, that's really cool. Yeah. I was, uh, you know, as a child, um. As a young child, you know, even preschool age, the blocks were my, was my favorite.
[00:51:14] I liked to build, you know, cities and structures and, and, and, uh, um, little, you know, houses and little worlds for, for, for the action figures. And that continued all the way through, um, uh, through middle school. Um, I remember, you know, other kids would. You know, they'd get their action figures, you know, whether they're girl dolls or boy dolls, whatever they, you know, they're, they're dolls, you know?
[00:51:38] Yeah. But they just have different, you know, clothing and different, you know, adventure stories around them. But other children, both boys and girls, very commonly would, would get their figure action figures together and have them do stuff, you know, they'd go on activities and have adventures, and have conversations and things like that.
[00:51:59] That never, I mean, that was okay. I didn't mind playing that way, but that wasn't my, my, my highest love For me, what was most enjoyable about playing was to dig trenches and build roads and set up forts and lookouts and perches and swings, and I would spend. Days just setting up a giant scene. You know, if it was fair weather, it would be in the backyard.
[00:52:24] If it was not good weather, I'd take over the entire bedroom and the whole thing would become this giant mural or diorama, you know? And I would just set everything up. I'd spend days just setting the stage, and once everything was built and every action figure was positioned and in place, I would just stop and I would just gaze at it, and I could sit there and then look at it for two or three days, just.
[00:52:47] Taking in the satisfaction that the stage was set, you know, and so that really is the mindset of a, of an architect, because my job is to help you create the scene, and it's your job to go live happily ever after. My job isn't to, you know, get involved after it's built, you know, it's just to, to set the stage and then my work is done.
[00:53:08] Then move on to the next project. So it was always there for me. It actually, you know, and people had suggested, oh, you should be an artist. You're so good at drawing and painting. Mm-hmm. Oh, you should be a carpenter because you're always drawing on graph paper, you know, designs for houses and stuff. No one ever said the word architect to me.
[00:53:24] You know, they'd said, woodworker, carpenter, artist. It wasn't until I was, um. After I had sold my, my first company in my early twenties, and I was traveling around going, Hmm, what now Taylor, what are you gonna do with your life? And uh, I was like, well, I had a very spiritual, a very spiritual, um, disposition.
[00:53:43] And I thought, well, maybe I'll be a monk, you know, and I'll go join an ashram, you know, and meditate for enlightenment. But I thought, no, I actually, I want to engage with people, you know, I wanna have, uh, you know, close relationships and I wanna have, um, creative activities. You know, I wanna do stuff, you know, I didn't want to live a life of renunciation, of outer renunciation, you know, I just knew that wasn't my path.
[00:54:08] So, um, I said, well, okay, if you're gonna stay in the world and, and be productive and be creative, you know, and, and, and, and, and play house, you know, what are you gonna do? And I was like, and suddenly it's just like, bang. The light bulb was like, oh, of course I'm gonna be an architect. I don't know why I'd ever thought of that before.
[00:54:24] It's always been there. So it was just, yeah, it was like destiny suddenly revealed itself to me, you know? And so. At 25 years old, I enrolled in college, you know, to go, um, and, uh, go back to school and get my, uh, get my bonafide. So I I I love that. I, I really appreciate you sharing that. Um, here on the Creative Life and Motion Podcast, I've said more than one time is that our, our purpose, a lot of times the, the clues to our purpose or that thing that we were.
[00:54:58] Um, you know, that, that lives inside us. That needs more, whether it's a creative outlet or it can be a business, it doesn't, but, but there's something that we don't do because we think that everybody else, you know, everybody else gives us this. You should be an artist. You should do this, you should be a nurse.
[00:55:16] You could, you know, they see other things in you, but you know that there's that innate thing and the clues. Are usually hiding in our childhood. That's right. And, and so ages 10, 11, 12, that's the best time to look. You just, you've just been another case study for that. Like, I just, I love how that all evolved and we don't always see it, but it's never too late.
[00:55:40] It's never too late, and you're never done, and your purpose is always with you in some way. Mm-hmm. Mm. So before we close, Taylor, could you tell people like if they wanted to work with you or if they wanted to work on their own being guided by, you know, some of your tools, where, where can, where can they find you?
[00:55:59] Sure. What do, what do you want? Thanks, Karen. Yeah. Yeah. So if you know, if what I'm saying makes sense to you, to, to someone listening and you want to learn more, um, just visit my my homepage, conscious home design.com. And on there, um, there's a, a contact me form. So if you have a specific project in mind, you know, just enter your name and email and tell me a little bit about your project and, and I'll, I'll get in touch.
[00:56:27] Um, but there's also a link to buy the book and the workbook and the audiobook. Bundle, I think it's $47 for an instant digital download. Um, or you can also buy a physical copy, you know, physical copies that I'll sign and mail to you. And you'll also get the instant digital download as well. And if you get the physical package, um, and you can get a consultation with me if, if you want.
[00:56:48] So those are a couple different ways. You know, you can, you can DIY it yourself if you want, or you can or, or we can do it together. Just conscious home design.com. That's awesome. Thank you so much Taylor. And I, I can, I can vouch for this. It's a very. Actionable. You, you can implement strategy right away, no matter where you are or what you're doing.
[00:57:09] It's just like, it's, it's another one of those things that, um, it's one of those hidden health things that sometimes we could be doing everything that we can, you know, we could be working out hard, we could be eating really healthfully, but if our environment is tearing us down, it's, it's not going to help.
[00:57:29] The other health markers. Right? So what if you didn't have to diet in 2026? What if all you needed to do is like shape up your environment? Like absolutely. What, how about that question? Is that the question of the year? It might be anyway. Yeah, yeah. My message, my message to everyone, the message of, of Taylor Sewer Architect and Conscious home design is, is that you are loved, you are respected, and you are unique.
[00:57:57] And your home should reflect that. So the low hanging fruit, the truly low hanging fruit for all people. You know, since we're talking about that the single biggest thing you could do is, is to go through your home. And look for the opportunities for the three types of relationships and say, Hey, am I having opportunity for giving relationship?
[00:58:17] Am I having opportunity for receiving relationship? Am I having opportunity for, um, uh, receiving, uh, reciprocal relationship? And then find those gaps and then, you know, work to, you know, put something up. We, you know. In my book, I'm, I'm very specific. I, I give a specific recipe on what you can do to actually support the individual types of relationships and what that could look like.
[00:58:42] Yeah. And so we didn't, we actually didn't dive into that, you know, that, that actual, you know, redecorating work, you know, on our call today. But it's there in the book, you know, the formula, the recipe, the step by step on how to, how to support. A reciprocal relationship, how to support a receiving relationship, how to support a giving relationship.
[00:59:01] You can do that in your home. And all you need is the book and, and the workbook. And, and you can definitely do that. Or, uh, if you feel like you, you want a private consultation, definitely, um, reach out to me and I can help you with that. So, because that's where, that's what really moves the needle. Thank you so much Talor, and thank you for being so giving of your time and explaining everything for us, and I'll make sure that all of the links to get in touch with Talor are below the description, wherever you are looking at this and or listening.
[00:59:35] And, uh, that's about it for today. And I'll, and, uh, we'll, we'll see you next time. Thank you, Karen. Thank you. Uh.
