Spending time outside amongst nature is known for being incredibly beneficial for our health and well-being. It lowers stress levels, helps our mental health, and connects us to the world around us. With this in mind, bringing nature into the house has become more popular due to its calming effects and benefits.
Biophilic Design
The concept of biophilic design emphasizes our innate need for connection with nature. It seeks to integrate natural elements into the built environment, fostering a harmonious relationship between the indoors and outdoors. This concept recognizes and appreciates the positive impact that nature has on our mental and physical well-being, promoting relaxation, creativity, and productivity.
Greenery and Plant Life
The easiest way to bring nature indoors is to buy houseplants and use them to decorate your home. Indoor plants not only add a touch of natural beauty, but they also help filter out pollutants, improving the air quality in your home. They have been shown to reduce stress and increase productivity, too.
There are many ways to incorporate plants and greenery into your home, going beyond the classic potted and hanging plants. You can grow herbs on your windowsills and create terrariums. You could consider a living wall of plants, too!
Natural Colours
There’s more to colors than just their appearance; in fact, there’s a whole psychology to them. Colors can influence our mood, perception, and even productivity.
Earthy tones bring a grounding and stabilizing effect to interior spaces. By incorporating them into wall colors, furniture, and decoration, you can establish a visual foundation that then complements other natural elements.
Blues and greens are widely recognized as colors associated with nature. Promoting a calm, tranquil, and refreshing atmosphere. They are also versatile colors, allowing them to easily blend into various design styles.
Soft pinks, oranges, and golden yellows can strategically mimic the changing hues of the sky during sunrises and sunsets. This brings a sense of warmth, energy, and visual interest. Adding this into your home can then create a lively environment.
Neutral colors, such as whites, greys, and beiges, can act as versatile backdrops in nature-inspired interiors. They are timeless and adaptable, allowing for easy transitions between distinctive design styles and trends. They can also contribute to the overall brightness of a space.
Natural Materials
With natural materials like wood, stone, bamboo, and wool, you can create an authentic and warm space within your home. Whether it’s through stone countertops or rattan furniture, these materials evoke a sense of the outdoors, grounding the interior in the calming and timeless effects of nature.
But there’s more to using natural materials than just the aesthetics and calming effects. With a growing emphasis on environmental friendliness, the use of responsibly sourced materials has become a key consideration in contemporary interior design. Nowadays, designers are opting for reclaimed wood, recycled metal, and sustainable fabrics to minimize environmental impact.
By incorporating these natural materials into your home, your connection to nature becomes closer.
Natural Flooring
A more foundational, but possibly overlooked, way to bring nature indoors is through flooring.
Celebrated for its timeless beauty and ability to create a warm and natural ambiance, wood is often a preferred choice for homes. Whether reclaimed or sourced from sustainable forests, solid wood flooring provides a visual connection with the outdoors through its natural grain and texture, invoking the serenity of a forest.
Contrasting the warmth of wood, stone flooring is another element that brings the earth’s solidity and durability into play. It is aesthetically pleasing and versatile and able to adapt to diverse designs like rustic, country-style kitchens and sleek, modern bathrooms.
Bamboo and cork flooring have become popular because they are sustainable alternatives to traditional solid wood flooring. They offer similar aesthetics to bamboo’s light and airy appearance, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of natural bamboo groves.
Natural Light
Like plants, there’s another simple yet significant way to bring nature indoors. By reducing the amount of artificial light and increasing natural light in your environment, you’ll open yourself up to various health benefits, such as regulating your circadian rhythm, improving your sleep pattern, and boosting your mood.
