Instagram story viewer> @alenameierstudio> Posts
Alena Meier | Atlanta Interior Designer | Interior Stylist(@alenameierstudio)'s profile avatar HD Profile

Alena Meier | Atlanta Interior Designer | Interior Stylist

@alenameierstudio

722
followers
1735
following
🎓Interior Design @parsonsschoolofdesign
〰️ Commercial Interior Design
Wellness▪️Fitness▪️Hospitality
〰️ Product design
〰️ Event and set design
POSTS STORIES REELS
The more I learn about environmental psychology, the more I’m convinced that good wellness design has less to do with aesthetics alone and more to do with how a space manages our energy. Don’t get me wrong - aesthetics is incredibly important to me. But you can almost always feel the difference between a space where decisions were made based on aesthetics alone, functionality alone, or where every element was thoughtfully curated to reflect the brand, the workout style, the people using it, and the experience the space is meant to create. We tend to think of energy as something we bring into a space, but what if the space is influencing our energy just as much? Research suggests we’re constantly looking for an environment that matches what we’re about to do. If a space is more stimulating than the activity requires - through lighting, sound, color, or even scent - it can leave us feeling overwhelmed. If it doesn’t provide enough stimulation, we instinctively seek it elsewhere. It made me think about the experience of arriving at a boutique fitness studio. Should the reception area feel as energetic as the class that’s about to begin? Or is its role to do something entirely different? Maybe it’s there to help us transition. To create a moment between the outside world and the workout. A space that allows us to slow down after traffic, settle our thoughts, and arrive before we’re asked to perform. The more I learn, the more I realize that designing wellness spaces isn’t just about creating beautiful interiors. It’s about understanding how light, sound, materiality, circulation, and countless other details quietly shape the way we feel and behave. Have you ever experienced too much of a “good thing”? Saturated colors, louder and faster music, or an overload of visual stimulation can all raise our adrenaline. Sometimes that extra stimulation is exactly what’s needed. Other times, it can make it harder to focus, harder to listen to your body - a phrase instructors use often. I’m becoming increasingly fascinated by how thoughtful design can help us arrive in the right state of mind even before a workout begins. by @alenameierstudio
I’ve always been fascinated by the way we interact with the environments around us. As creatives, we’re often told to find our niche. In reality, I think your niche quietly finds you. Mine didn’t arrive all at once. It happened over years of designing commercial spaces, teaching Pilates several times a week, visiting countless studios as both client and instructor, and becoming increasingly aware of the relationship between our surroundings and our wellbeing. Teaching Pilates gave me a perspective I never had as “just” an interior designer. I started noticing the things most people probably never think about—the glare from overhead lighting during a reformer class, awkward bottlenecks at reception, how a room’s proportions influence movement, how acoustics can either calm the nervous system or overwhelm it, and the quiet effect of natural materials. It made me realize that wellness spaces aren’t simply places where we exercise or receive treatments. They’re places we return to, week after week, they become our grounding routine and we trust they’ll help us feel a little better than when we arrived. Those spaces deserve as much thought as the homes we live in and spaces where we spend our work day. Teaching Pilates has changed the way I see interiors. I’ve experienced firsthand how light, proportion, circulation, acoustics, and materiality influence the way people move, focus, and connect with themselves. It’s one of the reasons I’m intentionally shifting the focus of Alena Meier Studio toward boutique wellness, fitness, and beauty environments. This next chapter feels less like a pivot and more like a natural evolution. Over the coming months, I’ll be sharing inspiration, design thinking, and the ideas shaping this next chapter of the studio. I’m looking forward to the conversations we’ll have along the way. Alena by @alenameierstudio
Dior Exhibition at @scadfash Filling the well with new sources of inspiration, different creative concepts, while discovering unobvious insights.. While chatting to @katarinaterentieva in the museum came to realize “inspiration” in Russian has the same root morpheme as in “inhale”. Literally inhaling life, the spirit into the daily routine. Need more outings like this. by @alenameierstudio
Starting summer on a high ⛅️ by @alenameierstudio
Spring: Part 2 - the most epic short trip to Tulum in May. And by that I mean no agenda, no responsibilities, just relaxing amidst jungle. Not even going to overlay music to this carousel - it was so peaceful. I was attracted to this hotel when I first visited Azulik Uh May couple years ago built entirely from materials available on site and hence nicknamed jungle architecture. Everything felt so perfectly imperfect and I really wanted to experience the stay for complete disconnect from our (sub) urban reality. Goal achieved. Best travel companion I could wish for @at_heart_yoga by @alenameierstudio
Spring: Part 1 Somewhere in between creating, collecting & designing, Pilates teaching and training, travel, and a whole lot of parenting. In the rush of the days it can be easy to let things slip your attention, so here I am pausing to notice: three (!) 18 hr classes in addition to my previous Pilates teacher training. I got a new car on a whim and named it my little pony. Two beach trips. Uncountable memories with the boys. Soaking up the days of them being little enough yet so grown. (Goodbye elementary and hello teenage years) Part 2 to follow because an iconic trip to jungle has to be documented by @alenameierstudio
Ever come to a space that, though it may be neutral or somehow decorated, feels vaguely off, but you can’t quite put your finger on it?.. As an interior designer, when I walk into a fitness studio, I can’t help but analyze the space, and here are the most common pitfalls I have noticed time and time again. *Overhead lighting* Some of the studios you will see are lit up like an operating room, some a little more dim, but the truth is, good lighting isn’t just for intimate dinners. Workout spaces must take into account whether reflection in the mirror will be in the client’s favor. Working hard while your mirror is highlighting your every flaw and those dark under-eye shadows? From a functionality point of view, part of the work is often done supine - lying on the back position, this is when your clients really struggle getting blasted with downward watts, and not surprisingly, where lighting overall is an afterthought - dimmers are often overlooked too. Fix your lighting, and your social media engagement will grow naturally. >>> swipe for more fitness studio interior design atlanta boutique fitness studio by @alenameierstudio
Hey, friends, this is Alena Meier, and here I write about interior design and styling. It’s been a minute, as I took a break from social media while I was reinventing myself (anyone else naively thought midlife crisis is a singular occurrence?) As a creative, I sometimes get carried away by a project that is not commercially profitable at the moment but creatively fulfilling. And sometimes it is the opposite. You follow the projects, and you step away from creativity towards practicality. But my goal ultimately was always trying to meld the two and channel my creativity in a way that would meet my passions. So what is the current agenda at Alena Meier Studio? I will be niche-ing out more towards commercial design in the fitness and wellness industry (home gyms, yoga, and Pilates studios are welcome too). It so happened in the last 5 years that I have been deeply in my wellness era so much so I even certified and have been teaching Pilates part-time for over a year, learning the industry inside out. I have a profound interest in how we interact with environments that are built around us and those we construct within ourselves. I will be blogging on topics like studio design, specifics of space planning, mistakes to avoid, and ways to take it to the next level, etc. Event styling isn’t going away; there will be how-tos and behind-the-scenes that you can use as inspiration or a step-by-step guide. As always, I will be sharing my experiences around town, trying new Pilates studios, new workouts, my current reads, and takeaways from them. Intentional slowing down to live in the now and not succumb to the demanding pace of life of a do-it-all working mom to two preteen boys heavily involved in sports. If you have any specific topics that interest you in the world of fitness and wellness studio design, drop them in the comments. When was the last time you felt the need to realign and leave something behind (or burn to the ground)? x Alena by @alenameierstudio
A few scenes from this year’s Home for the holidays show house and beyond by @alenameierstudio
December days are so gloomy it’s critical to add a sparkle of light where I can ✨ by @alenameierstudio
Life lately.. collected some vintage, styled some photoshoots, staged a few homes, started a new interior project, tried new Pilates studios, trying to get out of my social media MIA state! What do you want to know about.. let’s chat in comments 🤍 by @alenameierstudio
On set with @suddenlymelissa x @sweetees_ Christmas launch by @alenameierstudio

Download All

Save the photos and videos currently loaded on this page.

0Photos
0Videos
Ready to download 0 / 0

Keep this tab open until your download is ready.
back to up