The rise of wellness-based design strategies in recent years has increasingly influenced interior and architecture design as more people are becoming aware of their surrounding environments and its impact on their health and overall lifestyle. This approach seeks to create spaces that promote not only physical health, but also emotional and mental wellbeing. Balancing several elements of the design to promote harmony, balance, and positive energy flow within the space is key to create healthy spaces. At Energy & Space, we specialize in Integrating ancient and contemporary sciences with the art of architecture and design, to enhance our client's health and wellbeing.
The penthouse on the Palm of Jumeirah in Dubai redesigned by Energy and Space through its holistic approach is an excellent example of how good design can enhance our lives in more ways than just aesthetics. Catherine Farrant, the owner of this Penthouse on the Palm is not only a mother and wife, but an entrepreneur offering whole foods, gut health supplements, beauty, and skin care, and sharing the forgotten knowledge about healing. She is also the founder of three organic brands that teach health, childbirth, mindset, and wellbeing, and her main goal has always been to create a home that embodies a conscious, healthy environment that reflects her wellness-based lifestyle.
Energy and Space guided her through the process of designing a home that is in tune with her sustainable values and overall wellbeing, where the harmonious flow of energy and balance throughout the space was carefully considered to create a perfect space for her family.
Below are the in-depth details on the process of how it came to life with a personal testimony from the owner of the home and her view on the finished space.
Tell us your story, how did you stumble across Energy and Space and what were your initial goals for this penthouse?
We moved away from the UK after 16 years, seeking new opportunities with work and a place for growth when we suddenly landed here in Dubai. I’ve always had this vision for my life, even when we lived in London, and it was to always have a much more natural interior and a way of living that felt like the “outside was inside”. However, I made the biggest mistake by constantly pushing that investment out every year to take the time to create that space. Another year went by, and it continued to the point where we were there 16 years and it had never happened. So, the minute we found a home here in Dubai my absolute mission was to bring the outdoors in and create a natural living space that was not only Intune with nature and feng shui but where we’d assess the geopathic stress, we understood the direction of the home and the feeling and energy of the home along with electromagnetic frequencies.
I thought how am I going to do this? And where am I going to begin? And the luckiest thing happened when I stumbled across Energy and Space whose expertise focused on the aspects of a healthy living and wellbeing design.
Prior to diving into the interior, it was fundamental for the characteristics of the home to be assessed with that of my family to ensure it was compatible for us before we settled in. Ensuring that the home was in tune with nature and principles Feng Shui where Valentina would assess the geopathic stress, understand the orientation of the home, the overall ambiance and energy of the home along with electromagnetic frequency which is exactly what we were looking for!
What were your initial thoughts on the design of your home and its connection with sustainable living?
The home originally came with existing furniture which did not fit with the beach house feel we wanted, however it would’ve been wasteful to give it away. Throughout the entire design and renovation process Valentina understood everything that I have in the heart about sustainability and non-toxic living. Her recommendations of repurposing all the existing unwanted furniture and designs into new long-lasting pieces with natural upholstery, nontoxic paint, and materials which was not only practical and ethical but budget friendly. As well as envisioning new furniture bespoke to the theme of our home is something she pulled together to look like this and that is something that I would not be capable of, so I’m really grateful to her for that vision. All the furniture you see in the photos have been transformed and re-purposed.
An example is a cabinet from pan emirates which was all gold, it didn’t at all go with the feel of the home. Energy and Space got this cabinet re-painted with a beautiful blue color, following our guidelines of sustainable living, and keeping the chemicals out.
This is an absolute feature piece of this home, people constantly come in and ask where we got this blue cabinet from and that was just again just a complete upcycled mission that didn’t cost us much money. It was at least half the price of what an actual cabinet would cost us and not only is that good for the environment, but everything here is just unique.
Re-purposed blue cabinet on the right.
How was your experience with bespoke furniture built specifically for your home’s needs?
I didn’t realize that every single piece that belongs in a home, whether you build it in or not, has to be measured and pedantically checked, it’s something that can really go wrong, and I’ve done that in my home before in London. The bar unit is something that Valentina suggested we build in and was completely bespoke to our home and people don’t realize the dimensions and the drawings and the kind of vision that it takes to design something like this. Energy and Space designed this for us, we chose a really workable countertop and a beautiful antique mirror that sits behind the shelves. It’s truly a remarkable piece made with precision which is functional, no-toxic as the MDF used contains the least amount of formaldehyde and the wood is naturally sealed (not with solvent based sealers).
Custom made non-toxic bar counter.
Which is your favorite place designed in the penthouse?
It was definitely transforming this dead space into something so practical and beautiful. We knew we had three boys and needed a space especially for them to play. Now if you send me to Ikea and ask me to buy some stuff it would not end up looking like this, but this was the vision of Valentina where she was able to curate and pick various furniture different places that was all within our budget and the aesthetic we were going for. She used actual drawings, concept designs and sketches to create this beautiful space. It has this bench seat that we had upholstered to match the fabrics of the lounge and bought together all these pierces that were really sentimental to me like these little boats that were given to me when I boys were born. Creating a vision like this is what’s really the joy of working with Valentina because she understands everything that I have in the heart about sustainability and nontoxic living and then she pulled this together to look like this, and that is something that I would not be capable of and I’m really grateful to her for that vision.
Boys play area made with natural materials.
How did Energy & Space integrate technology in a safer way, to mitigate electromagnetic fields (EMF) levels in the home?
This was another very important aspect for us as with all appliances and technology we have in our homes today compared to when I was a child, the electromagnetic fields environment can become overwhelming and unhealthy, especially for children. The fact that we do not see, touch, hear , smell these frequencies make us think they do not exist..they are “invisible environmental pollution”, and when Energy and Space came to measure the EMF with professional EMF meters, we were shocked by the amount of noise they make, which is how the meter translate these frequencies into a sound. We decided to design the home by integrating data ethernet connection for the offices, so we do not need to keep the wifi routers on and be exposed to these frequencies all day, and we have paid attention to all sockets and appliances location to avoid high exposure to EMF while we sleep, play and work. Energy and Space made it very easy to integrate this aspect in our life, and we have learned a lot about electromagnetic fields during the design process.
Bedroom with integrated and safe technology.
How did the energy of the home reflect and contribute to your lifestyle and businesses?
It’s definitely been a journey since we’ve been here, I’ve seen huge improvement in my personal health and lifestyle as well as massive growth within my businesses, especially in such a short period of time. We’ve only been here a year and the process of building that energy throughout our home has definitely greatly impacted our overall lifestyle for the better. I always knew the energy of the home affected the way in which we live, and it was definitely one of the first things it wanted to implement and change when we found this home in Dubai.
You’ve given your home a beautiful name "Sea Whistle", what’s the story behind it?
This has always been another thing I was interested in and believed in, was naming a home, because we owned a home in London called “Moon Whistle”, so we decided to call our Dubai home “Sea Whistle”. There’s a real strong energy behind naming your home and especially when you work with energy and space you realize the importance of the energy of your home and so we worked together to design this beautiful logo which is the Fibonacci sequence but also a beautiful seashell and means so much about energy, creation, and manifestation. So, Valentina worked with us to get it etched into the wood of our bespoke furniture and other places within our home, and it sits beautifully in its perfect place.
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