Why people seek environmental wellness support

Environmental questions are heavy to carry—because they touch everything: sleep, mood, energy, immune load, and the nervous system’s ability to downshift. They can also be expensive to get wrong (unnecessary testing, unclear remediation, costly missteps).

Clients come to DesignWell when they’re:

• holding the question: “Is my home helping me… or stressing my system?”

• overwhelmed by testing options and conflicting opinions

• trying to avoid costly remediation mistakes or unnecessary spending

• doing the right health steps, but not improving as expected

• ready to reduce re-exposure and check the environment off the list with clarity
  

  Goal: identify the most likely drivers, verify what matters, and build a phased plan that supports healing and peace of mind.

If this feels familiar, you’re not alone

Sometimes it isn’t a dramatic crisis—just a steady sense that something is “off.”

Maybe you sleep better away from home. Maybe you’re always a little congested indoors. Maybe there was a water event, a renovation, or a musty odor that comes and goes. Maybe lab conversations raised the question of environmental load—and now you’re wondering what to do with that information.

This is where DesignWell helps: calm structure, clear sequencing, steady support.

What you receive 

This isn’t fear-based consulting. It’s structured environmental wellness support designed to reduce overwhelm and create momentum.

You’ll receive:

• clarity on what matters most right now (and what doesn’t)

• a focus zone so you’re not chasing everything at once

• a right-sized verification path (what to check, in what order, and why)

• remediation decision support (how to evaluate scopes, what to prioritize, what to pause)

• re-exposure reduction strategies that support day-to-day recovery

• a home strategy that supports sleep, nervous system regulation, allergies, and resilience
  
  

What happens in the consultation

Environmental Wellness Assessment + Report

This service provides a calm, structured way to examine your home environment for potential exposures—then translate what we find into a practical, phased plan.

1) Intake + pattern mapping
We review home history, water events, materials, routines, and symptom patterns to identify likely drivers and focus zones.

2) 60-minute virtual walkthrough + strategy session
We walk through the spaces that matter most and clarify what’s likely relevant versus noise.

3) Clear next steps (calm, phased, doable)
You leave knowing what to do first, what to verify, what to pause, and how to reduce re-exposure.

Deliverable: a PDF Environmental Wellness Assessment + Report with key findings, prioritized focus areas, phased recommendations (Now / Next / Later), and optional discussion points for healthcare providers.

Two lenses

Preventative lens

For clients who want long-term resilience—even when there’s no obvious “problem.” We strengthen foundations so your home supports wellness quietly over time: airflow habits, humidity balance, filtration/ventilation basics, safer material choices, lighting rhythm, and small shifts that make the home feel calmer and easier to live in.

Focused lens

For clients who have a clear concern and want a grounded path forward. We identify a focus zone, verify what matters, and make decisions without spiraling. This lens is especially supportive after a water event, recurring odor, post-renovation sensitivity, abnormal labs that raise the environmental question, or a pattern of feeling better away from home and worse when returning.

The DesignWell Framework

9 Pillars of Environmental Wellness

We use these pillars to assess what matters, reduce hidden load, and support a restorative, resilient home environment—without turning life into a lab.

1) Location & Surroundings

Outdoor air quality stressors, noise load, local moisture patterns, EMF infrastructure, safety, and access to nature—translated into practical mitigation and lifestyle strategy.

2) Air (Indoor Air Quality)

Ventilation habits, filtration basics, particle sources, combustion considerations, and moisture signals that influence allergies, headaches, sleep disruption, and nervous system load.

3) Water Quality + Filters

Drinking and bathing priorities, filtration approach, plumbing context, and when testing is worth it—simple enough to maintain, clean enough to support wellness.

4) Materials + Furnishings (VOCs + Off-Gassing)

High-impact sources (flooring, cabinetry, paint, furnishings), dust/allergen reservoirs, and practical swaps or sealing strategies—prioritized for impact and feasibility.

5) Light (Circadian Support)

Daylight access, glare, evening light tone/intensity, bedroom darkness quality, and a “day-bright / night-soft” rhythm to support sleep and resilience.

6) Harmony (Sound + Sensory Load)

External noise patterns, internal echo/sound transfer, and bedroom acoustics—supporting focus, rest, and recovery.

7) Ground (EMF Sleep Support)

A sleep-first approach: router placement, device practices, and high-load walls near beds (panels/meters where relevant) to support deeper nighttime downshifting.

8) Nature (Biophilic Design + Nature Deficiency)

Green views, indoor plants, natural materials/textures, and micro-restoration zones that support mood, regulation, and recovery.

9) Safety (Secure + Resilient)

CO/smoke basics, lighting for navigation, stable pathways, and felt security—because the nervous system won’t fully rest without safety.

How we use the pillars: Identify the highest-impact pillars → choose a focus zone → sequence next steps (verify → stabilize → optimize) → build a phased plan that respects capacity, budget, and timeline.

Foundations (easy places to start)

Environmental wellness doesn’t always begin with major projects. Often, small shifts create immediate steadiness.

Air example — quick checks:
How does the air feel? Does it smell funky? How’s ventilation? Any condensation on windows?

Simple solutions:
Humidity monitor, “burp the house” when outdoor air is good, run fans when showering/cooking.

Potential next steps (only if warranted):
Air purifier, air testing, mold/moisture verification.

Deliverables + Scope & Boundaries

DesignWell does not diagnose, prescribe, replace medical advice, or interpret labs beyond environmental context. Services are educational and intended to support—not substitute—clinical care.

Each Environmental Wellness Assessment + Report includes:

• review of completed environmental intake

• 60-minute virtual assessment (Zoom)

• expert environmental analysis and prioritization

• a personalized PDF report with findings, priorities, phased recommendations, educational context, and optional discussion points for providers
  

Meet Michelle Bexelius

Michelle Bexelius bridges health and environment through a holistic, intuitive, and practical blend of environmental testing, consulting, and interior design—translating complex exposure and building factors into clear, supportive design decisions. She is the owner and founder of DesignWell Studios, helping residential clients and wellness-led clinics create spaces that feel calmer, function better, and support wellbeing in real life.

For 15+ years, Michelle has performed onsite environmental inspections and testing, guiding homeowners through grounded decisions around moisture patterns, indoor air quality, materials and off-gassing, and exposure reduction. With a background in user-centered design and research, building biology, and biophilic design, she evaluates environments as both systems and lived experiences—how a space behaves, how it feels, and how it supports the people inside it.

Her approach is known for clarity and sequencing: meet clients where they are, examine what matters most, and deliver a phased plan that reduces overwhelm, avoids costly missteps, and helps create an environment that feels safe enough to relax—so the body can settle and recover over time.

Patient Case Examples + Successes 

Composite examples based on real client patterns. Shared to illustrate how Environmental Wellness Support works—calm, practical, and rooted in real-world decision-making. At DesignWell, success often looks like this: the nervous system softens, decisions become simpler, and healing has more room to happen—because the environment is no longer an open question.

1. “I feel better when I’m away… and not so great when I get home.”
   We mapped when/where symptoms shifted, assessed likely drivers across air, moisture, materials, bedroom setup, lighting rhythm, and irritant load, then built a phased plan to verify what mattered and reduce re-exposure without overcorrecting. Result: clarity, fewer rabbit holes, steadier comfort at home.
   

2. Headaches, congestion, and a musty smell that comes and goes
   We mapped the timeline and moisture history, identified a specific focus zone, and created a right-sized verification plan. Result: avoided unnecessary whole-home testing and unfocused remediation; once the localized source was addressed, uncertainty dropped and comfort improved.
   

3. High mycotoxins and “now what?”
   We translated the concern into a grounded home plan: likely exposure pathways, right-sized verification, immediate re-exposure reduction, and calm sequencing. With consent, we provided a brief summary back to the care team. Result: structure replaced fear; steps became clear and manageable.
   

4. Histamine issues, allergies, and “I’m always reactive at home.”
   We focused on indoor air strategy and irritant load reduction: moisture signals, filtration compatibility, ventilation habits, fragrance exposure, and allergen reservoirs. Result: fewer “mystery flares” and more consistent comfort.
   

5. Fatigue, brain fog, and “I’m doing everything right.”
   We built a phased plan that respected energy and capacity, clarified likely drivers, reduced re-exposure, and stabilized the daily environment. With consent, we provided discussion points back to the practitioner. Result: relief, forward movement, clearer variables.
   

6. Asthma / chest tightness and “the air feels heavy in certain rooms.”
   We assessed ventilation behavior, filtration foundations, combustion considerations, humidity patterns, and room-specific triggers. Result: the home felt lighter, and the family had simple protocols they could maintain.
   

7. Post-renovation insomnia and chemical sensitivity
   We reviewed off-gassing dynamics, strengthened ventilation, and rebuilt the bedroom as a restorative zone with circadian-forward lighting and air foundations. Result: deeper sleep, less irritation, and a framework for future choices.
   

8. Anxiety, overstimulation, and difficulty relaxing at home
   We assessed nervous system inputs (lighting timing/intensity, acoustic stress, nighttime safety cues, sensory load) and created a downshift plan. Result: the home felt more grounding—less “wired,” more restorative.
   

9. Sleep disruption and frequent wake-ups
   We treated the bedroom as the primary recovery environment—air/humidity, lighting rhythm, simplified sleep setup, and practical EMF sleep support. Result: more consistent sleep and a clear troubleshooting method.
   

The common thread: It’s rarely one dramatic “aha.” More often, it’s a few high-impact inputs quietly stressing the system—until they’re clarified, prioritized, and addressed in the right order.

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Other Ways to Work Together

Wellness Design

Wellness Design integrates environmental intelligence with design strategy so your home supports calm, recovery, and long-term resilience—through layout/flow, material strategy, lighting/circadian planning, indoor air quality foundations, moisture-prevention thinking, and biophilic restoration cues. We work with you and your build team and advocate for wellness initiatives.

Environmental Wellness Diagnostics

When you need clarity before you invest, renovate, remediate, or keep guessing—Environmental Wellness Diagnostics combines scans, audits, assessments, and consulting into one tailored service. The goal is simple: reduce uncertainty, avoid costly missteps, and create a calm, practical path forward.

You deserve an environment that supports your health quietly and consistently—through cleaner air, steadier light, lower sensory load, and a deeper sense of safety.

Ready to move forward?

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Practitioner/Clinic Collaboration