Interior Design for Mental Health: Building Your Sanctuary ft. Jessica Blanco
Ever feel like your living space is draining your energy instead of restoring it? In this episode, we sit down with interior designer Jessica Blanco to explore the powerful connection between our physical environments and mental wellbeing.
Jessica brings a unique perspective, having transitioned from 20 years in education to interior design, where she noticed that how we start our day in our spaces carries with us through everything else. Whether you're living in a small apartment or a large home, the way your space is organized (or not) directly impacts how you feel.
What You'll Learn:
- Why "outer order equals inner calm" applies to everyone, not just those on the autism spectrum
- How Scandinavian cultures design intentionally to support daily rhythms and wellbeing
- Practical tips for balancing shared spaces when family members have different needs
- The mental energy cost of clutter; even the stuff you've stopped "seeing"
- Simple tricks to refresh your space (hint: flowers and charging stations go a long way)
- Why involving kids in the design and organization process matters for the whole family
- How adjustable lighting and seating can transform a room for multiple users
Real Talk Moments: Danna gets vulnerable about living in what she calls a "tornado" with her husband and two teenage boys, while Megan shares her experience navigating design decisions with her autistic partner. Jessica opens up about not having her own space in her home—and the creative solutions she's found.
Jessica's Parting Wisdom:
- Get embodied—pay attention to how you feel in your space
- Take inventory—what do you love versus what are you keeping out of weird emotional attachment?
Coming Up: Stay tuned for our next episode with Jessica where we'll dive deeper into sensory considerations and designing for neurodiversity.
Connect with Jessica Blanco: https://bit.ly/jessica_designs
Mentioned in this episode:
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00:00 - Untitled
00:01 - Introduction
03:21 - Guest Introduction
05:31 - Balancing Design and Mental Health
18:27 - Balancing Household Organization
19:38 - Quarterly Cleaning Routine
27:44 - Creating Personalized Spaces
Jessica:
How we start our day comes with us for the rest of the day, and where
Jessica:
we spend our time affects our ability.
Jessica:
To engage meaningfully with others.
Jessica:
Hi, I'm Jessica Blanco and I'm today's guest on the So Freaking Healthy Podcast.
Jessica:
I am an interior designer and I believe that great design should be approachable,
Jessica:
purposeful, and emotionally resonant.
Jessica:
In this episode, we'll talk about how interior design can
Jessica:
hurt or help your mental health.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: Hey Danna, how you doing today?
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Megan, I'm doing well.
Jessica:
Thank you.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: So, today we're talking about our spaces, meaning
Jessica:
our physical spaces, where we live, how we live in those physical spaces,
Jessica:
that has been top of my mind the last 15 years of living with my husband.
Jessica:
How about you?
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Oh my God, yes.
Jessica:
plus years.
Jessica:
Yes, exactly.
Jessica:
But you have the better end of the deal because you have an organized man
Jessica:
who likes design and stuff like the.
Jessica:
Where I have probably another Audi DHD guy living with me and is a scattered, so
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: you also have three humans living with you
Jessica:
all men, which probably creates
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: three roommates
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: more chaos in your space.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: a little bit is a really cute word.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: yeah.
Jessica:
Do you have anywhere in your apartment that's just for you?
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: It.
Jessica:
No, I mean, no.
Jessica:
Yeah, I'm like wiping off the tear.
Jessica:
No, not really.
Jessica:
I have my desk where I'm standing right now, where it is my.
Jessica:
Pottery studio slash office, but it is in the middle of my open space
Jessica:
living room, kitchen, dining room area.
Jessica:
So I get to see all the mess that they left.
Jessica:
You know, if I don't wake up and do the dishes in the morning and
Jessica:
I work, I don't feel well because it's right in front of my face.
Jessica:
It's right there.
Jessica:
So it's rough.
Jessica:
It's, it's rough.
Jessica:
I have to say it is very difficult for me, especially growing
Jessica:
up with two neurotic parents.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: Well, for me, I have kind of the opposite
Jessica:
because I am the messy one in my relationship with my husband.
Jessica:
he is autistic, uh, somewhere on the spectrum and he is definitely
Jessica:
one of those people where outer order equals inner calm.
Jessica:
And
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Mm-hmm.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: he really needs to have our shared spaces.
Jessica:
Nice and tidy.
Jessica:
And so I do have my own space in the apartment, but we also don't have
Jessica:
kids, so I'm lucky in that respect.
Jessica:
I have an office slash craft room slash whatever, but it's my space,
Jessica:
my room, and this is the only place where I can just like I. Let a pile
Jessica:
build and not feel guilty about it.
Jessica:
But still, you know, I have to keep the door shut 'cause even walking
Jessica:
past it turns his brain into a
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Yeah.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: hamster wheel.
Jessica:
so I I've been very cognizant of this and technically over the years he has
Jessica:
helped me a lot with organizing the space and I do a really good job, I think.
Jessica:
Of keeping the space out here organized in our shared spaces.
Jessica:
But I definitely have created my little sanctuary in here with my colors and, uh,
Jessica:
fake plants and books and stuff like that.
Jessica:
But, My friend Jessica Blanco is an interior designer, and, she's helping
Jessica:
us, rethink our living room And she was really generous and, welcoming when I
Jessica:
asked her if she would come on the show to talk to us about interior design and
Jessica:
specifically how design and how you set up your spaces support your mental health.
Jessica:
So let's get into it with Jessica.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Hi Jessica.
Jessica:
Hi guys.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: to the
Jessica:
Hello.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: So good to have you on.
Jessica:
I'm so excited for my first podcast guys.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: Yeah, Jessica's a podcast virgin, we're popping
Jessica:
her podcast Cherry today.
Jessica:
So welcome to the show, but you know, if, if you had to do it with anybody, you
Jessica:
should do it with us because we love you.
Jessica:
Yeah, it's either gonna go great or not.
Jessica:
Megan knows me good enough to know, I get real excited and
Jessica:
I can go off on something, but I also can be really awkward
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Oh, wait, wait, wait.
Jessica:
Can I
Jessica:
for no reason
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: can I ask if there's neurodiversity there as well?
Jessica:
I'm undiagnosed, but like we, so my son is diagnosed, my oldest son,
Jessica:
and When, we were just recently with his psychologist and she's like, so is
Jessica:
anybody else in the family diagnosed?
Jessica:
I'm like, not officially.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: You just kind
Jessica:
I think we know.
Jessica:
I think we know, like, 'cause
Jessica:
I was in education for like 20 years before I taught high school in the us and
Jessica:
like, here's the way the universe works.
Jessica:
During my student teaching, I had a first grade class was one of my first
Jessica:
internships and I was like, I can't.
Jessica:
Work with parents.
Jessica:
I need to teach high school So I immediately went to junior seniors in high
Jessica:
school and spent the rest of my student teaching focused on I will teach high
Jessica:
schoolers, I will teach young adults.
Jessica:
And then came here and taught preschool.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Ooh.
Jessica:
Ouch.
Jessica:
Ooh.
Jessica:
So, yeah, coming all the way around, but I always had a really good
Jessica:
feeling for kids who were not gonna.
Jessica:
Function in the typical way.
Jessica:
I always right away was like, okay, these guys might need a different approach.
Jessica:
Let's break up into smaller groups.
Jessica:
I always had a really good feeling for that.
Jessica:
Never consider that I might need a diagnosis.
Jessica:
I was like, I'm just gifted.
Jessica:
I guess I just get these kids.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: as we all are.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: So Jessica, we're gonna talk in general about mental health
Jessica:
and We're gonna get you into another episode to talk about neurodiversity
Jessica:
and neuro spiciness because we are both quite interested in that.
Jessica:
But we thought for people who are not sensory, overwhelmed or neurodiverse,
Jessica:
how can we focus on interior design for just everybody's mental health,
Jessica:
for calm, productive, restoration.
Jessica:
so When you told me you're interior designer and then you
Jessica:
started talking about mental health about it, I was like, wow.
Jessica:
Okay.
Jessica:
So what made you realize that there was a connection between our spaces that
Jessica:
we live in and mental health, or what kind of got you started down that path?
Jessica:
so coming from background in education, my first teaching
Jessica:
focus was gonna be with young adults.
Jessica:
Then when I came to Switzerland, I started in early years as a English
Jessica:
teacher, and I went from low income schools, low income families to high
Jessica:
income families, highly privatized and specialized individual care.
Jessica:
totally different age groups, but I was seeing a lot of the
Jessica:
same issues and realizing that.
Jessica:
How we start our day comes with us for the rest of the day, and where we
Jessica:
spend our time affects our ability.
Jessica:
To engage meaningfully with others.
Jessica:
So it's not like you can just pop into a classroom and suddenly I'm a student.
Jessica:
No, you woke up.
Jessica:
You had breakfast, didn't have breakfast.
Jessica:
Your mom was stressed, your dad was stressed.
Jessica:
Nobody was home.
Jessica:
Who knows what the situation was, how you came into your day,
Jessica:
but it, you brought it with you.
Jessica:
It's affecting where you are now and the space you are in now is signaling
Jessica:
to you how you're supposed to behave.
Jessica:
Now you're supposed to turn off all those other things and function in a different
Jessica:
way, and that's just not possible.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: that's super interesting 'cause you, the way you
Jessica:
said it, I just watched a short video the other day talking about how.
Jessica:
Scandinavian parents, I don't remember which country, they don't have like
Jessica:
a set bedtime for their kids, but instead they change the environment.
Jessica:
They dim the lights, they put on nice music, everybody slows down.
Jessica:
So they actually change the environment to help the child transition from.
Jessica:
Daytime to nighttime, rather than just be like, bam, okay, it's bedtime.
Jessica:
You gotta go to bed now.
Jessica:
Brush your teeth, put your pajamas on, and get into bed with their mind still racing.
Jessica:
So I feel like that is bang on with what you're just talking about, but in
Jessica:
reverse, right, how to end your day.
Jessica:
And everybody says having a good nighttime hygiene is good, but
Jessica:
your environment is part of that.
Jessica:
Yeah, well Scandinavians are like, everybody knows a little
Jessica:
bit about Scandinavian design.
Jessica:
Their societies are supposed to be some of the happiest, but when you look at
Jessica:
things like exposure to sunlight, they have some of the shortest days, so they
Jessica:
have developed design and daily techniques to help their bodies get into rhythm.
Jessica:
When there is no external signs, there's not so many hours of sunlight that you can
Jessica:
guarantee that's how you're gonna work.
Jessica:
You have spaces that might be really dark, so they have really looked at.
Jessica:
How they design purposefully to make things have a rhythm when the sun
Jessica:
isn't indicating your daily rhythm.
Jessica:
And I think that you just see that quality of thoughtfulness, that some of
Jessica:
us might take for granted in other places or we just haven't really considered.
Jessica:
What does our well bringing do for how we function in the day?
Jessica:
Because we're focused on the functioning, right?
Jessica:
Like the functioning, especially coming, I think all of us being American, like
Jessica:
productivity and functionality are like, that's what you need to have.
Jessica:
You didn't think about wellbeing that wasn't, we're not doing that.
Jessica:
That doesn't matter.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: I see these poor women who want to have like one tiny space.
Jessica:
They have big houses in the states, right?
Jessica:
So much more space, but they still feel like they don't have their own space
Jessica:
and they're finding like a closet.
Jessica:
and transforming this into their little sanctuary, just
Jessica:
Yeah.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: someplace where they can close the door and
Jessica:
not have the kids around them.
Jessica:
so I feel like it doesn't matter how big your fish tank is, essentially
Jessica:
people struggle whether you have a small apartment or big apartment.
Jessica:
And I think sometimes people who have a smaller living space.
Jessica:
Try to do this more intentionally because their space is so small.
Jessica:
Whereas people who have a
Jessica:
Yeah.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: are like, well, I have all this space, but it's not as
Jessica:
intentional because they have more space So I, it's a really curious, topic for me.
Jessica:
So Dana, we're really similar.
Jessica:
I have two boys and a husband.
Jessica:
I'm the only girl, and then I got a boy dog because that's needed.
Jessica:
and I also don't, I'm in my husband's office right now slash guest room
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Yep.
Jessica:
slash laundry room.
Jessica:
But, he needs a space.
Jessica:
So there was no option.
Jessica:
so my desk is normally in, also in our living room.
Jessica:
Which is just hard and difficult because you need space to allow your creativity.
Jessica:
At least I do.
Jessica:
I need a space to let it percolate.
Jessica:
especially, 'cause what I do is really tactile.
Jessica:
I need materials in my hand.
Jessica:
I need to look at colors two or three times, I wanna see the lighting change.
Jessica:
If it's in the middle of our living room, it's like I, I don't
Jessica:
have a great space for that.
Jessica:
and I get jealous when I go to Megan's, not fully because I know her husband and
Jessica:
I'm like, oh, that is a lot of pressure.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Yes.
Jessica:
I cannot be that tidy.
Jessica:
So I am working on Megan's design.
Jessica:
It's pretty much done, but Megan and I have decided I will present it only
Jessica:
to her first so that she can run it.
Jessica:
Well, I, I have a Jörn filter on it now, but is it enough?
Jessica:
I don't know.
Jessica:
So it's gonna have to go through a Megan Jörn filter and then.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Yep.
Jessica:
present it and see if I got it.
Jessica:
because it's not just like having your separate spaces where you can allow
Jessica:
your own process to unfold and not feel like you have to accommodate others
Jessica:
in how you're processing something, but it's the second part of wanting to
Jessica:
constantly accommodate your partners.
Jessica:
And it's really difficult In a home environment where you have
Jessica:
so many needs, and I think the.
Jessica:
Really important part is it does have to be adaptable.
Jessica:
It does have to be flexible, but it sometimes separate but equal is important
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Yeah.
Jessica:
in your home.
Jessica:
I think having those spaces for everybody where it's like we each
Jessica:
have a little place that's just ours.
Jessica:
Then we have these places that have to be flexible because they're shared.
Jessica:
and I need lived in, my husband's quite on the like analytical,
Jessica:
highly rational, like minimalist.
Jessica:
Everything would be white if he.
Jessica:
Any control over, and he has a lot of influence.
Jessica:
Like color has taken 15 years to get into our home.
Jessica:
Like I introduced color very slowly, very slowly over time.
Jessica:
But it's really that balance too, because it's like for Megan as well,
Jessica:
our partners chose us for a reason.
Jessica:
We bring.
Jessica:
That grounding, that energy, that light, that love, that laughter, that
Jessica:
thing they need, they need the color.
Jessica:
They're seeking it out, but they're not totally comfortable with it.
Jessica:
So it's like how do you bring it in a way that feels natural, feels
Jessica:
accessible, and doesn't feel overwhelming.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: that was actually one of the questions that we had was really how
Jessica:
do you balance creating a space that works for multiple people with different needs?
Jessica:
And you started to get there.
Jessica:
And I think from my experience, and then I wanna hear how Danna
Jessica:
balances, because I I like, I feel like Danna lives in a, in a tornado.
Jessica:
So, I'm curious how that happens.
Jessica:
But anyway, for me, I realized.
Jessica:
Very quickly that my husband's, the outer order inner calm thing
Jessica:
going on directly affected how happy and calm and peaceful he is.
Jessica:
Then I set that as my priority, because I also enjoy a calm, peaceful space,
Jessica:
I don't need a calm, peaceful space.
Jessica:
So for me, for my balance was.
Jessica:
Let him kind of take point on those design elements that will help him be calm.
Jessica:
And then, like you said, Jessica slowly introduce color and fun and shapes and
Jessica:
I have my way of dealing with that when we're talking about how to, redesign
Jessica:
the living room and he's like, oh, I've decided this, this, and this.
Jessica:
And I'm like, okay, is there room for my input on this?
Jessica:
Or is that something you really need?
Jessica:
and having that open communication about it.
Jessica:
And he'll be like, no, no, no.
Jessica:
I just.
Jessica:
is what I like and I know that this is also part of his.
Jessica:
Nature in his, plane of autism is that he doesn't think about other people
Jessica:
and not a malicious way, but that's just how the brain works, you know?
Jessica:
so I try not to take that personally but it's also that communication, to help.
Jessica:
sure that it's clear what he needs and what need or want
Jessica:
in as well, which is far less.
Jessica:
I feel very much in reverse, like the normal woman role of
Jessica:
getting a new shower curtain.
Jessica:
then she's like, what about this shower curtain?
Jessica:
And what about that shower curtain?
Jessica:
And the man is just like, I just don't fucking
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Who cares?
Jessica:
Yeah.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: But for the woman, it's very important.
Jessica:
And these are definitely the role reversal for us.
Jessica:
You know, my husband's telling me like, do you like this handle for the
Jessica:
kitchen or that handle or this handle?
Jessica:
And I'm like, does it open the drawer?
Jessica:
Then it works.
Jessica:
I'm fine with it.
Jessica:
So I think that's acknowledging what each other needs is helping to balance that.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Yeah.
Jessica:
That.
Jessica:
Can I cry now?
Jessica:
No.
Jessica:
Listen, I, how do I get into this without going through my life story?
Jessica:
I met my husband very young.
Jessica:
We started dating when I was like 23.
Jessica:
I already realized right off the bat that he is most scattered human on earth like.
Jessica:
single day he will not find his keys every single day.
Jessica:
It's been 20 years plus.
Jessica:
So I kind of realized what I'm getting myself into from the beginning.
Jessica:
I had a few years to try and help him mold into a, you know, more
Jessica:
organized person, failed miserably.
Jessica:
the kids came along and then depression came along, and then,
Jessica:
you know, all the things came along.
Jessica:
And then I just lost.
Jessica:
Track of what the fuck is going on.
Jessica:
So yes, I am living in a tornado.
Jessica:
It definitely feels like it so much so that it's at a certain point, I
Jessica:
actually rented out a small office space because I needed to get out.
Jessica:
not, I mean, this was already also when I was burnt out, so I completely
Jessica:
was, you know, neurodiversity plus burnout plus, oh my god, you And so
Jessica:
you can't be in that space at all.
Jessica:
I removed myself and there oh, I loved it.
Jessica:
I, I had like two pictures on the wall.
Jessica:
I had, the desk was always clean, like there was nothing on there
Jessica:
except for a couple of things.
Jessica:
It was just heaven for me.
Jessica:
So I know that there's a huge dissonance between how we're living and how I
Jessica:
would want to live, in all honesty.
Jessica:
And now having two teenage boys is even harder 'cause they don't listen.
Jessica:
They don't, they, they don't seem to care.
Jessica:
They probably do care in some.
Jessica:
At a certain level, but they don't really care.
Jessica:
I do have certain things where I try to be like, look, this is my desk
Jessica:
and you do not put your phone, your chapstick, your anything on here.
Jessica:
This is my space.
Jessica:
It's not organized.
Jessica:
It's my organized mess.
Jessica:
Right?
Jessica:
I know where everything is.
Jessica:
It's not beautifully organized, but it's, it's my organization.
Jessica:
And then with some of the other rooms, I have one kid who's apparently
Jessica:
Scandinavian, complete minimalist, has like nothing in his room, perfect.
Jessica:
Cleans his room on a weekly basis, happy days.
Jessica:
And one who's a hoarder, like his dad, will keep every single thing.
Jessica:
I mean, my husband will pick up stuff off the street that says Free on it.
Jessica:
Just
Jessica:
Yeah.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: so he will keep a broken chair when we replace it,
Jessica:
because when that one breaks, we'll have the broken one to replace it.
Jessica:
Like it makes zero sense.
Jessica:
But that's the guy I married, so I need to often put my foot down.
Jessica:
I pick my battles and there are certain things where I'm look.
Jessica:
This cannot continue this way unless you want me to go back to the clinic.
Jessica:
so that's kind of a, a very short way of saying it.
Jessica:
Like I, certain things that will always be organized my way, certain things that
Jessica:
will not come into my house, certain things that I'll be like, no, this is
Jessica:
not happening, and other things that I just hide when they bring it home.
Jessica:
Yeah, so what I, I am like a magpie too, so I can identify with
Jessica:
your husband there, I can think of 55 uses for this thing, and it's a kinda
Jessica:
agreement that my husband and I created.
Jessica:
We have a house and luckily we have like in the cellar level, there's like a hobby
Jessica:
room and then like a room that was kind of finished, but it's not heated or anything.
Jessica:
Um, so he got his gym and I got my hobby room but even there, I took in stuff from
Jessica:
my past life and education and brought it into my home when my kids were little.
Jessica:
'cause we first had just an apartment.
Jessica:
so like big things that you just have to get on, no matter how much you hate them.
Jessica:
Quarterly cleaning.
Jessica:
Like quarterly deep cleaning with your kids.
Jessica:
Go through what have they not played with in the last few months?
Jessica:
What have they not worn in the last month?
Jessica:
What doesn't fit?
Jessica:
Is the younger sibling gonna keep or use any of those things?
Jessica:
If not, they get donated if they're worth donating.
Jessica:
If not, put 'em in a trash bag.
Jessica:
People don't want your trash.
Jessica:
That will help you so much.
Jessica:
Plus, when you do that with your kids all the time, they get used to doing it.
Jessica:
Like it's, they know the day is coming.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: You would think
Jessica:
my kids, it's,
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: How old are your
Jessica:
yeah, they're nine and they're gonna be 10 and
Jessica:
14 in the next few months, so,
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: I have a
Jessica:
yeah.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: and a soon 18-year-old.
Jessica:
Nothing that I taught them throughout their years stuck.
Jessica:
I, their brain just goes stupid for a few years and it just doesn't.
Jessica:
So again, I, we
Jessica:
I see puberty coming.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: yeah, yeah.
Jessica:
Brace yourself.
Jessica:
Brace yourself.
Jessica:
I do the, quarterly cleaning.
Jessica:
I go through their stuff with them.
Jessica:
We toss shit.
Jessica:
we give a lot of stuff perfectly good stuff that probably was not used.
Jessica:
We do that quite often.
Jessica:
as often as I manage to get them to do it with me.
Jessica:
And sometimes I do it alone.
Jessica:
So I hate, I hate.
Jessica:
clutter.
Jessica:
Like I can't deal with too much stuff.
Jessica:
and I need to know where everything is.
Jessica:
and of course, living with three men the fridge, blindness, it's everywhere.
Jessica:
Blindness.
Jessica:
They don't see shit like they don't know where anything is.
Jessica:
but somehow, somehow in this very small space that we have, it doesn't.
Jessica:
Last very long.
Jessica:
So
Jessica:
Yeah.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: don't wanna make this episode about
Jessica:
With, yeah.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: I'm assuming there are other people
Jessica:
With, so what I do with my oldest, that is super
Jessica:
challenging at the moment.
Jessica:
Wednesday afternoon is the only half day he has, and literally I make him
Jessica:
take everything out of his backpack.
Jessica:
I make him take everything up off the floor and he has
Jessica:
to separate it into topics.
Jessica:
All his school topics and as he pulls the topics apart.
Jessica:
He has to go through and be like, did I miss that?
Jessica:
Did I forget that?
Jessica:
And it literally is two hours of my life every single week.
Jessica:
And it's just school stuff.
Jessica:
he has to clean the room over the weekend.
Jessica:
but in the middle of the week.
Jessica:
He has to organize all his school stuff.
Jessica:
And it starts to get him a little bit to realize he feels calmer.
Jessica:
When he knows what's done and what's not done and he knows where it is, he
Jessica:
still fully resents it and every week it's like the most horrible thing that
Jessica:
he never thought was gonna happen.
Jessica:
That happens every Wednesday, but he kind of starts to realize, It's
Jessica:
super hard as a mom because the other thing you get to, when your kids start
Jessica:
getting to that teenager age and you know, they're becoming young adults, is
Jessica:
like, I wanna know this young man and I don't want all of our interactions
Jessica:
to be full of stress and frustration.
Jessica:
So it's like, when do you push and when do you let go?
Jessica:
But what I'm trying to teach him and what Megan Already observe in her
Jessica:
partner is not just for people who might know that they're autistic everybody,
Jessica:
your outer order is your inner calm.
Jessica:
It, it simply has the strongest correlation and I'm.
Jessica:
Not an expert on hoarders or anything, but I think all of us have seen enough reality
Jessica:
TV or have had enough personal experiences to realize, hoarding is a direct
Jessica:
correlation with your emotional wellbeing.
Jessica:
There's no way around it.
Jessica:
that is an extreme example, When you meet somebody who
Jessica:
literally can't let go of things.
Jessica:
But it's also in the tiny examples in your home, and it's like, What commercial are
Jessica:
those that talks about going nose blind?
Jessica:
I think it was Fe Breeze.
Jessica:
have you ever seen that?
Jessica:
Like your nose blind, like you don't smell your own dog anymore.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: okay.
Jessica:
Like, but other people walk in your house and they know you have
Jessica:
a dog, like you've gone nose blind.
Jessica:
We all do that in our homes and it's not just sense.
Jessica:
It's like that coffee cup that has two paint brushes because the kids water
Jessica:
painted last week and I just didn't pick out that coffee cup with the tube
Jessica:
brushes in it and now I don't see it anymore and it is taking up mental space.
Jessica:
I'm avoiding seeing it, which is already taking energy,
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: Yeah.
Jessica:
but.
Jessica:
I also don't wanna deal with it, so it's super hard to balance that.
Jessica:
one of Megan's questions was like, what is like a cheap trick you
Jessica:
do to like care about your space?
Jessica:
I buy myself flowers twice a month.
Jessica:
I am not waiting for no man to buy me flowers, because I know when I bring
Jessica:
my fresh flowers in and I choose what vase I wanna put them in, and I put them
Jessica:
in a vase in the middle of the table.
Jessica:
Now the table has to be cleaned because I have this beautiful
Jessica:
flowers in the middle of it.
Jessica:
And once I clean the table, then I realize, oh crap,
Jessica:
I gotta vacuum the floor.
Jessica:
So it's like that's.
Jessica:
Little trick that I do for myself, like having a fresh flower
Jessica:
in my space it brings joy, it brings color, it brings life.
Jessica:
I feel good about it.
Jessica:
And then I want the space to reflect how I'm feeling, and that's like
Jessica:
a tiny thing that works for me.
Jessica:
I'm not saying everybody needs to do that, like maybe for other people.
Jessica:
It's just changing your sheets, it can be the littlest thing that suddenly, like
Jessica:
that space has fresh air in it again.
Jessica:
those little tricks are really helpful in getting the habits
Jessica:
that will help you maintain it.
Jessica:
And the other thing is too, I think like, boy, mom.
Jessica:
I don't wanna say that.
Jessica:
I think we're all socialized, women are the caretakers, we're the catchalls.
Jessica:
we're socialized to just make everybody comfortable even
Jessica:
when we're not comfortable.
Jessica:
And it goes so deep into how we raise our kids too.
Jessica:
And it's like, I will just clean it up around you because I wanna avoid
Jessica:
conflict or because I'll be faster doing it myself or whatever it is.
Jessica:
But we're also not doing our children a great service
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: I love that you bring that up because I actually raised my kids.
Jessica:
I'm, I was a fucking neurotic mom, honestly, like.
Jessica:
Okay.
Jessica:
I wasn't too, too bad I think, but there was no organizing toys without my kids.
Jessica:
There was none of that shit.
Jessica:
Like they always helped to take clear the table.
Jessica:
I was really adamant that they would be a huge part of the process of
Jessica:
organizing and dealing with stuff.
Jessica:
'cause I'm not the only one living here.
Jessica:
I'm not the only one making the mess.
Jessica:
So I'm not gonna be the only one.
Jessica:
To clean it up.
Jessica:
but yeah, I would love to talk to you in about 10 years.
Jessica:
I know you were a teacher,
Jessica:
Yeah.
Jessica:
I mean,
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: I know how it is, but like I really am curious
Jessica:
to hear how you, if you managed, 'cause oh my God, I don't manage,
Jessica:
oh, we're, I'm barely managing, but I just know these
Jessica:
things have to happen because.
Jessica:
It's like the check-in, it's the routine.
Jessica:
So do the work so that you can appreciate your space and it feels like yours.
Jessica:
I also always include kids in the design process.
Jessica:
If I'm working with a family, with kids,
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: You have to, right.
Jessica:
because what we interpret as important to our kids might not
Jessica:
be what they think is important.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: I love
Jessica:
So it's really important to remember like trust that you've
Jessica:
also given your kids that ability to recognize for themselves, and
Jessica:
you have created those patterns.
Jessica:
They're not gonna tell you.
Jessica:
But if they're alone in a room with me, they might be like, yeah, I know
Jessica:
I feel better when it's cleaned up.
Jessica:
Or like, I probably should organize that.
Jessica:
as a third person coming in and being like, Hey, let's talk about your space.
Jessica:
What would be your dream?
Jessica:
what do you need to happen in here?
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Hmm.
Jessica:
so actually you, you brought up a good topic, and I would love to know, how do
Jessica:
you balance creating a space that works for multiple people with different needs?
Jessica:
Like, what's the one thing that you can give us as an
Jessica:
advice to kind of tackle that?
Jessica:
Mm-hmm.
Jessica:
so for me, what I really love is charging stations, like charging docks.
Jessica:
Does that sounds like
Jessica:
This is the catchall spot for our electronics.
Jessica:
If you can have a good docking station that's organized for devices, you remove
Jessica:
a lot of clutter from other spaces.
Jessica:
You get rid of a lot of wires and this topic that we all have to think
Jessica:
a lot about with our kids is how much screen time are they getting?
Jessica:
Are we managing it?
Jessica:
How do we police it?
Jessica:
Well, maybe you don't have to police it.
Jessica:
Maybe you just create an area where these things go at the end of the day.
Jessica:
Then they're fully charged.
Jessica:
We don't have stress.
Jessica:
We know where to find them.
Jessica:
That's something I would recommend for every family to think about where
Jessica:
do we wanna have a docking station,
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: So I am, I'm hearing you guys talk a lot about clutter.
Jessica:
We talked a lot about clutter and when I think about interior design, obviously
Jessica:
clutter and everything, having a home, I mean, over and over again, I hear
Jessica:
if, if something doesn't have a home, then it's gonna sit out somewhere or go
Jessica:
into a junk drawer, So I think part of creating that outer calm, is making sure
Jessica:
everything has a home, which I think, my husband has done a very good job.
Jessica:
Everything has a home.
Jessica:
I know exactly where everything goes.
Jessica:
When it needs to be put away, Not so much in my room,
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: it's funny because Megan and I, yesterday we
Jessica:
were talking about, recording with you and we were also talking about
Jessica:
how certain things become white noise.
Jessica:
Like again, that cup it just becomes this white noise where it's there.
Jessica:
You see it, but you consciously don't see it.
Jessica:
and, just Now, Megan, when you were talking, it made me realize that those
Jessica:
things that are scattered, and we once said like, we'll do it later, now
Jessica:
there's a new permanent spot for it.
Jessica:
it's like the to-do list that we have in our head and we don't write it down.
Jessica:
It, it feels like the same
Jessica:
Yeah.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: me, right?
Jessica:
It's like I see everything that I need to do, like thinking about
Jessica:
everything that I need to do, but it's not written down, or I'm not actively
Jessica:
actually doing anything about it.
Jessica:
So it's just staying this like heaviness of and then I, I
Jessica:
still need to pick up that cup,
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: Yeah.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: right?
Jessica:
Yeah, and like,
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: it.
Jessica:
We don't like, we're just like, oh, yeah, okay.
Jessica:
Yeah, yeah, sure.
Jessica:
It's still there.
Jessica:
Ah, and
Jessica:
yeah, totally.
Jessica:
And like the embodiment too.
Jessica:
Our, we will start to avoid it.
Jessica:
Our body will physically start to turn a different direction and be like, I'm not,
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: that room.
Jessica:
I'm just not gonna go there.
Jessica:
And like, I didn't think about it.
Jessica:
My body was like, there was a feeling somewhere inside that was like, not
Jessica:
today, just not gonna open that door.
Jessica:
Thanks.
Jessica:
when we're looking at spaces that have to work for multiple people,
Jessica:
and I think a lot of us have, this situation with the open dining room,
Jessica:
living room also entryways or like problematic areas for families.
Jessica:
so storage solutions are super important.
Jessica:
Obviously clever storage is important.
Jessica:
Another.
Jessica:
Thing that I think for a living room, dining room situations that
Jessica:
you could spend a little bit more time thinking about and investing in
Jessica:
is adjustable seating and lighting.
Jessica:
So multiple seating and lighting options so that it's never
Jessica:
too bright, never too dim.
Jessica:
so multiple sources of light and adjustable lighting, and the
Jessica:
same with seating There could be a beanbag on the floor for the
Jessica:
kid who needs to wiggle around.
Jessica:
there doesn't have to be like matchy matchy chairs at the table.
Jessica:
Maybe one kid needs a chair with a little spin to it, because they're gonna wiggle.
Jessica:
So just, uh.
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: that.
Jessica:
I'm that kid.
Jessica:
You, you need this spinny chair.
Jessica:
I get it.
Jessica:
I totally get it.
Jessica:
So think about making it adjustable.
Jessica:
It does not have to be matchy.
Jessica:
Matchy.
Jessica:
There isn't one size fits all.
Jessica:
You can be thoughtful with patterns, materials, there can be elements
Jessica:
that bring them together, but they don't have to be a perfect set.
Jessica:
And I think there, there's never gonna be one space that is perfect
Jessica:
and everybody likes, but it's making sure that everyone has a space.
Jessica:
Or can adjust the space.
Jessica:
They can grab a pillow, grab a blanket, curl up on that chair,
Jessica:
curl up on that beanbag, make it adjustable, and use different little
Jessica:
accessory pieces so that each person can personalize it for themselves.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: It's good advice, Gonna get into this in the next episode
Jessica:
with you about sensory stuff, but I'll leave it to the point where, my
Jessica:
husband has been automating our home.
Jessica:
I didn't realize it till just when you said this, like adjustable stuff.
Jessica:
I'm like, oh my gosh.
Jessica:
He's been spending the last year automating everything
Jessica:
so we can, create scenes.
Jessica:
So if we just tell our Alexa that we're watching television, the
Jessica:
blinds go down the lights go down.
Jessica:
to create a scene and now every light in our entire house is automated so we can.
Jessica:
Have all these different levels of, like, I have a work mode in the kitchen for when
Jessica:
I'm gonna start cooking and I can just tell it work mode, you know, but if it,
Jessica:
if I'm not working, we can keep it cozy.
Jessica:
So I'm excited to talk more about that in our next episode on sensory stuff.
Jessica:
that also touches a little bit more of the neuro spiciness.
Jessica:
Um, we, wrap up this particular episode, though.
Jessica:
Any final thoughts or encouragement for someone who's feeling stuck in
Jessica:
a space that doesn't serve them?
Jessica:
Is there something that
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Leave their roommates and find another place to live.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: uh,
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: say that's the solution, please.
Jessica:
Two things, you've gotta become embodied.
Jessica:
You've gotta get in your body.
Jessica:
How am I feeling in this space?
Jessica:
Am I feeling fatigued?
Jessica:
Am I avoiding it?
Jessica:
Am I feeling a good stimulation?
Jessica:
ooh, I'm feeling energized, or am I feeling overstimulated?
Jessica:
Like I can't sit down.
Jessica:
Now, really pay attention to those signals from your body.
Jessica:
And the second one, take inventory.
Jessica:
What pieces do I love and what do I have because I have some
Jessica:
weird emotional attachment to it.
Jessica:
Take inventory what is needed and what is not needed, and then once you know
Jessica:
the pieces that are really central to you, start designing around those and
Jessica:
eliminate the pieces that have just
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Cool.
Jessica:
So
Jessica:
to space, but maybe aren't necessary.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: and we're gonna leave it Danna's
Jessica:
I am glad you read between the lines.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: out of her house.
Jessica:
Okay, thanks Jessica for the talk today
Jessica:
Yeah,
Jessica:
Danna Levy Hoffmann: Thanks, Jessica.
Jessica:
Megan J. McCrory: episode.
Jessica:
So excited about that one.
Jessica:
right.
Interior Design
After nearly 20 years in education, Jessica made a pivot into interior design, driven by a desire to turn lifelong passions into a purpose-led business. Her work sits at the intersection of wellbeing, lived experience, and sustainability.
Drawing on a deep understanding of individual needs, Jessica Blanco designs spaces based on clients’ unique sensory sensitivity profiles, creating environments that actively support mental and emotional wellbeing. Alongside this, she champions sustainable design by sourcing materials and furnishings from the circular economy, making conscious design both practical and beautiful.
Committed to accessibility and impact, Jessica works not only with private clients but also delivers workshops, sharing tools and ideas that empower people to design spaces that truly work for them.
