You may or may not be aware that how you feel about something is more powerful than what you think about it.  Of course they are connected, but in a simple, basic sense what you feel is the physical and emotional manifestation of your body’s stress response. Creating ways to feel better about where we live can help significantly reduce our stress load, which, as we all know, leads to better health.

What does this have to do with your condo balcony? At KANDY Outdoor, we argue the answer is, “Everything!”

You have the power to create the type of outdoor space that serves as an emotional refuge. A place where just looking out, stepping out, immediately makes you feel more relaxed and calm.

Thinking

What we think includes all the mental processing that many of us believe drives our decision-making process. How much will it cost? Can I afford it? Is it worth it? Will I have to do a bunch of work to keep it up? Is it practical?

Feeling

How you feel will affect your body’s stress response, whether more adrenalin and cortisol will be produced in response to that stress, or whether you can trigger the ‘rest and relax’ response in your nervous system.  How much stress you experience, and over how long a period of time, has a major impact on your health and longevity.

At KANDY we believe, therefore, it is important to make decisions in setting up your home that will affect how you feel, balanced of course with your rational thinking.

Let’s apply this to your condo, or more specifically to your condo balcony.

Here’s a little imagination exercise.

Close your eyes and imagine you are approaching your balcony from the inside. As your balcony space comes into view:

Scenario 1: There is junk strewn all over your balcony. Boxes, garbage bags, old furniture that just didn’t fit and you didn’t have the energy (clue: how you feel) to take to the garbage area. Maybe you’ve got cleaning supplies, buckets and brooms out there too.

How does this scene make you feel? Tense? Trapped? Uncomfortable? Chances are that it will add to your negative perceptions about that space. It may make you feel like it’s just another gargantuan thing on your to-do list (must clean off the balcony).  It may make you feel like you’re trapped inside (who would want to go outside onto THAT?). It may make you feel a little claustrophobic. It likely will not make you feel relaxed and happy.

Who wants that?

Scenario 2: You’ve kept your balcony pristine. In fact, there’s nothing on it. Nothing at all. No plants, no furniture, no sign of life whatsoever. Just the cold, hard concrete, the railings, and the big bad world beyond. Let’s call this the bare naked, never-been-loved balcony.

How does this scene make you feel? Probably not like going out there. It might make you feel forlorn, alone, or untethered. Maybe even unsafe or exposed.

Who wants that?

Creating a space that changes for the better how you feel can help you take care of yourself. In the fast-paced, urban, technology dependent, immediate gratification lifestyle that has become the norm, the constant stress and busy-ness puts us all at risk of stress-related fatigue or worse.

At KANDY Outdoor Flooring, we believe in the stress-relieving power of a warm and welcoming outdoor space.

Go ahead. You deserve it.

Feel free to poke around our website for some ideas, or contact us to see how we might help.