Hi, I’m Ashley!
I support environmentally susceptible and health-conscious individuals in creating safe, healthy, and beautiful environments. I combine my expertise in Interior Design and the construction industry with my knowledge of health and wellbeing to support and empower you along your own journey to creating a healing environment.
I’m licensed by the National Council of Interior Design Qualifications (NCIDQ), LEED general associate (LEED GA), a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and currently pursuing certifications as a Building Biology Environmental Consultant (BBEC), a New Build Consultant (BBNC), and an Electro Magnetic Radiation Specialist (EMRS) with the International Institute for Building Biology and Ecology (IBE).
Awakening Spaces was born from my own struggle with mold exposure.
During my college years, I began to develop symptoms that led me to take a deeper look into my body and how food and lifestyle played a role in my health.
I spent years experimenting with various diets and researching my symptoms. I tried everything under the sun and yet, I still couldn’t pinpoint exactly why I had struggled with so many health issues. When I would bring it up to people, the response was always the same, “this is what it feels like to get older!”.
I decided to study with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to go a little bit deeper. It was there that I truly developed a holistic outlook on health and became a certified integrative nutrition health coach. I began to view food as medicine and became extremely conscious of the things I put into my body.
But my symptoms persisted and I was frustrated, overwhelmed, and exhausted. I decided to work one on one with a functional diagnostic practitioner and see if it might bring me some answers…
My life had changed as I was thrown into the toxic world of mold when I tested positive for Mycotoxins in my system. It opened my eyes to the way our environment could really impact our health.
As an interior designer, I’ve studied “sustainable” design for years, but everything I had learned came crashing down on me as I realized “sustainable” does not always mean “healthy” and there is a BIG difference.
Once my eyes had been opened, it became clear that so many people were struggling with the exact same thing—for one, my closest friend had found out she had been living in toxic black mold for 9 months and it was wreaking havoc on her system.
She decided to come out to visit me in Denver, and it was during her visit that I realized how significantly her health had been compromised due to her environment. Sensitive to even the slightest presence of mold among other household chemicals, we had to leave my “mold re-mediated house” in search of a safe place to stay.
The experience led us to question:
Where do we go if our own homes aren’t even safe?
My quest in search of answers led me to study building biology and create a process that eliminates overwhelm and supports individuals who have been affected by their environment.
“Your home should be the antidote to stress,
not the cause of it.”
Peter Walsh
There aren’t enough people talking about the devastating impacts our environment can have on our health.
As a resource for non-toxic living, we educate others on the impacts that modern day building techniques have on our health and the health of our planet.
“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”
Maya Angelou
