DesignGXLY Group on Designing Sustainably to Help Clients Sleep

Phoebe Beachner ‘18 (MPSS), Maria Lomanto ‘14 (AAS), Cielo Cortes ‘20 (BFA), and Michelle Jacobson ‘18 (MPSS). Photo by Saatya Tisman

Recently,  the four partners and principals of DesignGXLY Group, NYSID alumni Phoebe Beachner ‘18 (MPSS), Michelle Jacobson ‘18 (MPSS), Cielo Cortes ‘20 (BFA), and Maria Lomanto ‘14 (AAS), noted how many of their clients and friends were wearing products like an Oura Ring or a Whoop to track bio-data. When they engaged the end-users of spaces in conversations about why they began tracking bio data, one of the major concerns that emerged was sleep quality and duration. It’s not surprising: a 2025 report from the National Sleep Foundation notes that 6 out of every 10 adults don’t get enough sleep; nearly 4 in 10 adults have trouble falling asleep 3 or more nights per week; and almost half of adults have trouble staying asleep 3 or more nights per week. Most Americans are not sleeping long enough or soundly enough, and they are exhausted. The team at DesignGXLY Group understands there are few more salient ways to impact human health, wellness, and happiness than to improve sleep, and that this could become an important way of communicating the value of sustainable design to their clients.        

“Often, interior design clients want to focus on front-of-the-house spaces like living rooms because they are the first thing you see when you walk in a house,” says Michelle Jacobson, who is a NYSID faculty member as well as an alum. “But we spend more time in our bedrooms than we do pretty much anywhere. The environment where people sleep impacts the ability to fall asleep, stay asleep, and enter the deepest phases of sleep.” The all-female-led team at DesignGXLY Group works collaboratively on every project, and between them they have accumulated almost every credential for sustainable design: the WELL Accredited Professional (WELL AP) credential; the LEED AP ID+C credential; Living Future Accreditation (LFA) in Regenerative Design, and the Healthy Materials Advocate certificate from the Parsons Healthy Materials Lab. Beacher and Jacobson are graduates of NYSID’s unique Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments (MPSS), and Cortes is beginning her Masters of Professional Studies in Lighting Design (MPSL) at NYSID this fall. Lomanto, Jacobson, and Beachner are on the ASID NY Metro Health, Wellness and Sustainability committee, co-founded by Lomanto in 2020.

Lomanto, founding principal of the firm, says, “Sustainable design is at the core of what we do. We think about this expertise as designing for wellness and neurobiology, which is ultimately about longevity.” Adds Beachner, who is on NYSID’s MPSS Advisory Board, “When we talk to clients about the dollar signs involved in making sustainable choices–which aren't always more expensive, but can be–it’s important for them to understand what they are investing in. Sustainably made things not only last longer, but are also healthier, and almost everyone wants to invest in health. . .especially when it leads to longer, deeper sleep.” The principals of DesignGXLY Group discuss five considerations for designing for more restorative sleep.    

Create a Lighting Strategy that Supports the Body’s 24-Hour Clock

“We approach lighting as something that regulates how the body moves through the day,” says Cortes. “This strategy goes beyond the bedroom to the whole home. We prioritize circadian-effective light, which means designing for daylight exposure and high-intensity light early in the day, and shifting to a softer, warmer effect in the evening. You must use high quality LED drivers because LED lighting flickers, which might not be perceptible to the eye but can be overly stimulating to the brain. So high-quality LED drivers with dimming protocols will create lighting that feels calming and stable, and supports sleep at night, and productivity in the day.” Cortes adds, “Blackout curtains, motorized to open when you wake up, are important in the bedroom, and help with circadian rhythm. It’s also very important to get the blue light out of the bedroom in the later hours, which means putting screens in night mode or dimming TVs.” 

Primary bedroom composed of layered textures and soft contrasts in Brooklyn, New York by Cielo Cortes ‘20 (BFA)

Improve Indoor Air Quality (Ventilation, Filtration, Dust Reduction, and Healthy Materials)

“There are many studies about indoor air quality and health in general that come into play when you consider sleep quality in the practice of design,” says Lomanto. “There are well-known health benefits to lowering the particulate matter, outdoor pollutants, and VOCs in interiors, from reductions in asthma attacks and cardiovascular disease, to fewer ‘sick-building symptoms,’ such as dizziness, headaches, congestion, coughing and eye irritation (see this report from the Harvard School of Health Healthy Buildings Program). You want to keep allergens and pollutants out of the bedroom. I tell clients if you have high rates of particulate matter in the air of your bedroom, not only might you wind up stuffed up, which can interrupt sleep, but it can create cumulative health risks across time.”   

There are two main strategies to increase indoor air quality in your bedroom and home: 1. sourcing healthy materials that don’t offgas VOCs (volatile organic compounds) or break down into particulate matter and 2. increasing ventilation, fresh air and filtration. Says Jacobson, “The quality of the mattress, the type of mattress, the type of pillow, the sheets, the wallpaper and paint on the walls and the ceiling, the flooring and rugs. . .all of these factors are as important to someone’s sleep quality as they are to someone’s physical wellbeing.” These designers seek out products for the bedroom that are Red List-free, which means free of the “worst in class chemicals” for human health identified by the International Living Future Institute. Mattresses that are not truly organic can emit toxins. Lomanto notes that there are some organic brands that are economically accessible and have all the important third-party sustainability and health certifications, such as the brand Naturepedic. Window treatments, carpets and other textiles should be low-emitting, free of flame retardants, plasticizers and stain guards, and be lower pile options that do not slough off dust and/or put particulate matter into the air.  

Increasing ventilation is equally important to air quality. Beachner points out that a simple way to do this is to create opportunities to open windows to the fresh air, but that’s not always possible (or healthy) in urban environments with air pollution. Adds Jacobson, “Air quality is also related to temperature and humidity. High humidity can bring molds into the interior. We need to move the air, but living in NYC we rarely open our windows, so we might use fans to move the air, or air conditioning systems that have HEPA filters, or a vacuum with a HEPA filter.”  

Primary bathing environment in Brooklyn, New York by Cielo Cortes `20 (BFA)

Create a Place of Refuge (Neuroaesthetics, Art, Color)  

“With bedrooms, we are designing environments that shift people out of a heightened state and into a restorative one,” says Beachner. “One of the 14 patterns of biophilic design is to create a place of refuge, and that’s particularly relevant when it comes to the environments we sleep in. The colors, the patterns, even the art should evoke the natural world and soothe the user. Reducing clutter is also key.”  The team agrees that the places where people wind down at night, the bedroom and bathroom, should have some of the qualities of a spa. Adds Lomanto, “Having organic shapes and no hard geometries is so important in the bedroom. In general, I would not put anything intensely stimulating or intensely visual in the bedroom. It’s not about sensory deprivation; it’s about investigating what your client finds restful. Concepts of rest can be cultural and individual.”  

Keep EMFs As Far from the Bed and the Head as Possible  

These designers strive to create interiors that bring the nervous system into a regulated and balanced state that promotes long-term health. They therefore think it’s a good idea to develop systems that reduce electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) in the bedroom or change the layouts of rooms so that beds are the farthest distance possible from sources of EMF radiation. Some research links sleep deprivation with excessive exposure to EMFs. Sources of EMF radiation include cellphones, laptops, computers, iPods, tablets, appliances, smart devices, power lines, and certain appliances.     

Engage Multiple Senses (Acoustics, Sensory Design)

The visual is essential in design, but DesignGXLY Group’s principals point out how important it is to engage all of the senses in a room meant to lull people into a restful state that eventually leads to sleep. It is important to remove unwanted noise through acoustic tiles, baffling, and other strategies, but it’s just as essential to introduce sensory prompts that connote rest and relaxation for the individual client. “The scent of lavender, the soft touch of a carpet on the foot. . .” says Jacobson. “Some might find total quiet, darkness, and the absence of scent is what they need, while others need music or white noise. I think of the singing bowls and chimes Maria has in her home, and how those are calming and soothing.” Adds Lomanto, “Sound is vibration that changes your physiology. Vibrations, like that of a singing bowl, induce theta waves that bring the brain into a meditative state. One size does not fit all; designing for neurodiversity is important. Different people need different strategies to come to a state of rest.”      

NYSID Produces Professionals Who Are Thought-Leaders in Interior Design 

NYSID produces thought leaders who strive to improve human health and happiness through the practice of design. Sustainable design is taught in every program at NYSID. If you are interested in NYSID’s Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments or any other of the degree programs discussed in this article, request information HERE or reach out to admissions@nysid.edu.