About Haven

Making a
Difference.

Mental health and wellness have long been important social issues. Now more than ever, people want to live according to their health values and improve overall well-being and vitality. How we feel about the spaces we live and work in directly impacts our ability to thrive in our daily lives. In other words, our environment plays a vital role in our wellness and energy. It's time we focused on how the spaces we live and work in can support our health.

The Building Blocks of Haven

A message from Dr. Bev

I’ve always been sensitive to my environment.

As a child, I would rearrange my room often — not out of boredom, but because something didn’t feel quite right. The placement of furniture, the way things fit together, the light, the noise — all of it mattered. When the space felt off, I felt it in my body. And when it worked, there was a sense of calm and steadiness that was hard to explain at the time.

That awareness never left.

Years later, alongside my work as a psychologist, I began to recognize how often the environments we live in are shaping how we feel — sometimes just as much as our internal world. I could see it in my own life, and in the lives of the women I work with. We were trying to think and cope our way through things, while living in spaces that were overstimulating, misaligned, or quietly working against us.

Haven was built from that intersection — a way to support both the psychological patterns we carry, and the environments that hold us.

My own
little Haven

Growing up, I loved to play with the design of my spaces. I found the organization of furniture and how everything fit together to create flow and function a very satisfying and calming experience. 30 years later am I'm still fascinated by how the simple things around us fit together. Even my children’s lunchboxes get arranged with a considerable amount of psychological forethought.

My infatuation with the way things fit together was put to the test in 2018. My husband and I were living in what we thought was our dream home. Yes it was a rental, and yes it was basically a garage, but we loved our beautiful laneway home.

This modern and sleek home had this flowy Scandinavian vibe where everything felt cozy and tranquil. Our first two years there were pretty close to bliss. We had found our own little oasis, minutes from one of Canada's most beautiful beaches. Surrounded by beautiful Vancouver gardens, and within walking distance from work, it was perfect. Perfect for the two of us anyway.

In August 2018 our two baby boys were born. We welcomed our beautiful twin babies into our home; and said goodbye to sleep for the foreseeable future.

At 5 months in, we HAD to start sleep training. According to our expert sleep coach, the only way to train our kids to sleep was to separate them. The only way to do this was for one of us to sleep in the garage. We were beginning to accept that we had outgrown this beautiful space.

As time went on and the boys grew, they were sleeping well but still needed a quiet place to retreat to at bedtime. We all did. The lack of space, and privacy seemed to grow in sync with them. This made it especially difficult to have company. Connection is one of our core values and it was impossible to accommodate friends and family. Not even in the guestroom a.k.a the garage...

Despite my best efforts to Tetris this space into submission, it was all for not. It just wasn't built for a growing family, and it was time to go.

Reflecting on this beautiful laneway house, it was probably perfect for one or two, able-bodied people. That’s it. It was architecturally beautiful. Whoever designed hadn't considered how someone might grow and evolve in that space. Let's be honest, I've logged many a sleepless night wondering why homes aren't built with growth in mind. I came to see the disconnect between what people need, and what they get.

And that I'm in a unique position to challenge the status quo of how we design and build our homes. When we understand ourselves a little better, we can shape our surroundings to promote our well-being.

I'll always look back fondly on that little laneway home in Vancouver. It helped us start our family, and it helped me see a way I could have a profound impact on the lives of others like me. It set me on this journey, and I'll be forever grateful.

Our Haven Collective Team

Dr. Bev Walpole, C. Psych.

Clinical Psychologist & Founder

Dr. Bev Walpole is a clinical & health psychologist, educator, and founder of Haven Wellness by Design, based in Guelph, ON. She is known for her innovative work at the intersection of psychology and environment, helping high-performing women reduce overwhelm and design lives that support sustainable mental well-being.

A part-time clinical faculty member at McMaster University’s Growing Healthy Program, Dr. Bev also trains healthcare professionals across disciplines in Motivational Interviewing and evidence-based psychological approaches through sought-after workshops and consultation.

With a reputation for being both deeply insightful and highly practical, she blends science-backed therapy with real-world application—equipping clients and clinicians with tools that create meaningful, lasting change. She has taught at the University of Guelph and actively mentors Ph.D. students and early-career clinicians.

Dr. Bev holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical-Developmental Psychology from the University of Guelph, with advanced clinical training at CAMH, SickKids, Eastern Health, and BC Children’s Hospital. She returned to her hometown of Guelph to raise her family and build Haven Wellness by Design—a growing brand redefining how psychology can shape the spaces we live in to enhance health, performance, and overall quality of life.

Genaah Ivany

Holistic Interior Designer & WELL AP

Genaah believes that interior spaces designed with a foundation of health and wellness have immense power to enhance our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. As a designer with experience across multiple sectors of design – healthcare, corporate, retail, residential & hospitality – she has an extensive understanding of how the built environment affects the way we live and work. Your space should support how you function and how you feel. We’re inviting you to dive in and explore all the ways our interior environments can help us feel happy, healthy and ‘well-thy’.

Chloe Levine

Designer

After travelling and teaching yoga for many years, Chloe settled in Guelph and became a professional home organizer. She noticed the remarkable shift in clients’ overall wellbeing just from the process of organizing their living / working spaces, and having a compassionate witness and guide through that process. It was then a natural pivot into the field of design, and Chloe obtained her diploma from the Interior Design Institute.

Chloe brings her intuition, knowledge and curiosity to each Haven project, and is most inspired when designing with the objectives of aesthetics, functionality and holistic health. Throughout the process, she will often ask: “what do you love? how do you use it? how does it feel?”

Chloe’s personal design aesthetic is a blend of modern organic and boho, but more importantly, she loves when spaces and items are meaningful to the people who live in/with them. She believes in making conscious purchases, letting go of things that are not beautiful or useful, and up-cycling whenever possible in order to create a space that supports personal style, functionality and nervous system regulation, all while minimizing environmental impact!

When Chloe isn’t working on Haven projects, she is raising her two young boys, planning or attending community events, or teaching yoga downtown Guelph.