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[bc_video video_id="6252904903001" account_id="2226196965001" player_id="rkljM4WDEg"] Whether your home has a contemporary, traditional or rustic aesthetic, a touch of black makes a bold visual statement. Here are some tips for using black as a sleek outdoor accent colour. As you can see in the house below, blacks, whites and grays are the secret to a sleek, modern look. Before being painted, the house had a tan wood trim and a gray-green door. Not very modern! After a layer of black paint for the door and a warm gray for the wood trim, the home looks completely transformed into a chic living space! Balancing Black You don't need to go all dark to incorporate black into your design. The key is finding a balance between dark hues and light ones within the composition of your space. For instance, a natural wood tone, like the one on the underside of this home, can work wonders to add warmth and balance to a heavy black or gray. Too much of anything all in one area, light or dark, can throw off the harmony in a façade, just as it can with interior design. Can You Go Too Far? Of course, colour and design is highly subjective, but there are definitely scenarios in which painting a house entire black is a bit much. In the right context, though, this can actually be a great move! In cottage country it’s become a trend to paint or stain chalets and cabins black so that they just disappear into nature.  Here's a great example of this in a very contemporary architectural style: the combination of black cladding, natural wood and the glass makes it just perfect in the setting.  In another home the house is all black but the white underside of the porch ceiling and the white windows provides a strong contrast, so the look is sleek and contemporary.  Where Should Black Accents Go? A dark hue definitely highlights a home's architectural details! Archways, framing, trim and pillars are ideal places to consider black paint. These elements add a lot of character and make every home unique, so don’t be afraid to enhance them. As well as adding a modern feel, black is also classic and sophisticated, which is why it is often used on shutters, doors, and smaller details like black iron hardware, lighting fixtures and urns. It also works on all kinds of facades, from urban townhouses to country estates and even with a farmhouse style! Even playing with different opacities will give it a different feel. What Should You Keep In Mind While Painting? There are of course tons of different black shades, so you may want to test a few out before painting and think about the look you want. A more crisp and graphic look requires a different technique than a softer, more rustic feel. This is a good cross-section of black paint options. The difference may seem subtle, but some of them are definitely warmer with a brown undertone, where others are cooler almost blue or purple.  Be sure to test out a few samples before completely painting your house! Swatches courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

[bc_video video_id="6252564906001" account_id="2226196965001" player_id="rkljM4WDEg"] The hippies were onto something when they were hugging trees back in the day. It turns out that being with trees is beneficial for us physically, mentally and emotionally. Many of us know this on a subconscious level - being in nature calms us down! But science also has something to say about the benefits of nature to humans. In this article, we're going to take a look at the Japanese practice of forest bathing. Why get into Nature? We all understand that we’re exposed to environmental toxins of all kinds both when we’re at home and out in the world, which increases our risk for illness. Couple that with the high stress of a modern life and you've got a recipe for disaster. Because so many of us live in concentrated urban settings, we’re somewhat disconnected from the natural world. Most of us spend about 90% of our time indoors and a lot of that time on computers and other devices. But we are part of the natural world and being disconnected from it has created something called nature deficit. Kids are learning about the environment in their classroom but not out in the natural world and it’s that experience that will help to cultivate a relationship with nature that we all need to nurture. Forest Bathing In Japan there’s a practice called forest bathing, or "shinrin-yoku". This is the practice of immersing (bathing) yourself in nature fully. One of the world’s leading authorities on the subject, Dr. Qing Li says that walking in the forest can help reduce blood pressure, stress hormones and may help prevent some illnesses like cancer. One of Dr. Li’s studies looked at whether forest bathing could improve sleep patterns among middle-aged Tokyo office workers who tended to suffer sleep deficiency due to high levels of stress. During the study, participants walked the same amount of time in a forest that they usually did in a non-forest setting on a normal working day. After a walk in the forest, participants were significantly less anxious, slept better, and slept longer. In addition, researchers found that afternoon walks were even more beneficial than morning walks. The practice of forest bathing was officially recognized in Japan in the 80’s and has since become a pillar of preventative health in that country.  Why Forest Bathe? It has been observed in all sorts of situations of risk, stress or disaster, that people turn to nature for to help them heal – scientists call this “urgent biophilia.” If we engage with nature frequently and actively, we can often reduce our stress and anxiety before we reach a breaking point. The positive impact of forest bathing on our stress levels, our immune system, blood pressure, sleep and our mood has been proven by Japanese studies on the topic. The investigations backed up what a Russian biochemist uncovered about trees and plants - that they release a chemical called phytoncide, which protects trees and plants from damaging pathogens. This chemical also offers benefits to humans in the form of immunity boosts, mood improvement and disease prevention. Also, there’s a higher concentration of oxygen in a forest than there is in an urban setting, which is good for the lungs and brain! Evergreens are the largest producers of phytoncides, so walking in an evergreen forest seems to have the greatest health benefits. How to Forest Bathe Forest bathing is about being mindful and focusing on being present rather than having a destination, which is a big change from how we operate in our daily lives. This includes having no expectations and allowing ourselves to wander freely, absorbing the experience through our senses. Noticing the different shades of green in the trees, listening to the birds and other critters and feeling the peace and a connection with nature. It is recommended that we leave our camera and phone at home, so we can be fully present with what’s going on. Sounds pretty nice, doesn’t it? If possible, spend some time walking around barefoot. Research shows that taking some time each day to walk barefoot in the grass can help improve sleep, reduce pain, decrease muscle tension, and lower stress. Where Should We Forest Bathe? Researchers in Japan discovered that folks who live in heavily forested areas have decreased risk of early mortality and cancer. The great news though, is that you can forest bathe anywhere; it doesn’t have to be in the country or even in a forest – you can do it in your backyard or a nearby park. As long as you’re around trees, it works, so green spaces in an urban setting are fair game. The beautiful exchange we have with nature when we forest bathe is that nature purifies the air we breathe and helps us feel calmer and healthier. We learn the importance of taking good care of our environment. It’s easy to understand why nature is among the top prescriptions we can take for wellness.

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