Did you know we spend 90% of our lives indoors? Are you stunned by this number? I know I am. Luckily Biophilic Interior Design is extremely beneficial when it comes to creating a healthy living and working environment. Those benefits are much more than interior aesthetics.
In short, Biophilic Interior Design means incorporating nature into our indoor environment. It comes from the word Biophilia – meaning Love of Nature. Biophilic Design focuses on creating a calming space with a visual connection with nature while improving wellbeing, health and productivity.
Here is How To Incorporate Biophilic Design Into Your Home
Biophilic Interior Design is bringing nature closer to us by implementing vegetation, natural light, textures and materials providing a positive impact on our everyday life and here is how:
1. Fresh Air
Open those windows widely and let the fresh air and sound of nature find the way into your home and your mind. Listen carefully to the sound of birds, rain or wind. Breathing in fresh air improves your immune system function and your mood.
2. Maximise Natural Light
Image by Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash
Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin — vital to the regulation of calcium, lowering high blood pressure, helps muscles and overall health. Try to maximise natural light in your entire home by repositioning any piece of furniture, blinds, curtains, anything that’s blocking the full potential of sunlight. I could go on and on about how important natural light is. If you wish to get more in-depth, I wrote a separate article dedicated solely to the benefits of natural light in your home and how to increase it.
3. Incorporate Plants
Get the right amount of greenery, and you will see the difference instantly. I love waking up next to a beautiful Palm Tree (and, of course, my hubby too 😊). Plants are not just gorgeous; they are also natural air purifier and mood booster.
As the Colour Physiology says - Green is one of the most relaxing colours that restores your energy and helps clear your mind. No worries, you don’t have to be an expert on keeping your plants alive. Take a look at the examples of how to choose the right plants here.
Related:
28 Feng Shui Plants for Wealth, Prosperity and Good Energy
Top 12 Places To Buy Plants Online In the UK
Barbulianno Plant Shop Faves
With that being said I am trying to surround myself with as many green friends as possible. My husband says if I could, I would turn our flat into a jungle 😊. I think my home office says a lot:
Show off your Plants With These Planters and Stands:
Get the plant stand on made.com.
Shop the handmade concrete planters on Patch. Or take a look at my top Planters selection here.
4. Use Natural Materials
To embrace nature even further try and get as much as possible natural materials like bamboo, cork, sustainable timber, stone and rattan in your home. It can be implemented through the furniture, home decor, kitchen worktops, floors, you name it. Living in modern society and consumerism it is vital to be mindful when choosing materials.
Purposely I've listed sustainable materials, as Biophilic design plays a big part in Sustainability and I encourage you to try and implement those concepts to your home wherever possible. See the full list of environmentally friendly materials here.
5. Embrace the Shapes of Nature
Check out the Whitewash Boucle sofa on made.com.
Nature is all about curves, soft edges, patterns and small imperfections, contrasting straight lines and right angles that we normally use in interiors. The goal is to achieve a natural feel and cosiness through curved furniture, curtains made of organic textiles, arch-shaped doors and windows, cushions with different patterns, and disproportional home decor as an architectural feature.
Or perhaps add smaller yet equally effective pieces of furniture. A handmade oak stool with soft curves reflects the shapes you typically see in nature.
6. Sound of Water
Handmade fountain from coconut shell & bamboo. Get it on Etsy.
Water sounds create a soothing atmosphere for our minds. The sound of waves encourages a peaceful pace of thought processing. The sound of flowing water helps with the deep relaxation of your body and mind, taking you to your own “happy place.”
If you have some space in your garden, making a small pond is undoubtedly a fun project to take on. You could enjoy the sounds of water all day long. But if that’s a bit too big of a project for you, getting a small indoor fountain is another great way of accessing those soothing sounds of water. Either way, make sure you use water mindfully.
7. Colours of Nature
Nature is plentiful with colours, each season bringing a different theme. Don’t shy away from using bold colours in your home. They can be an accent wall if you don’t fancy painting the whole room, and they will still significantly affect your overall mood. If you wish for a less permanent option, use wallpaper instead. Everwallpaper has an exquisite Leaves Wallpaper collection entirely inspired by nature.
Each colour affects your mood differently: “Colours, like features, follow the changes of the emotions,” the artist Pablo Picasso once remarked. Colours to consider — soft greens, light blues, lemon yellow, shades of brown, pink, bright orange, cream and many more.Learn more how each colour affect your mood here.
8. Add a Piece of Art
Create a wall gallery with a collection of your favourite wildflowers, forest, a picture of a rising sun, singing birds, framed living wall, anything that reminds you on your treasured moments spent in nature. As they say "Art speaks where words are unable to explain."
Blur the bridge between indoors and outdoors with this Living Art by foli8.co.uk.
Biophilic Interior Design Online Course
If you would like to learn more about implementing Biophilic Design into your home in-depth, I highly recommend checking out Biophilic Design online course by Oliver Heath.
The beauty of his online course is its accessibility; you can take it at any time that suits you and your lifestyle, and he had students signing up from across the globe.
P.S. Enjoy 10% off Level 2: Introduction to Biophilic Design & Biophilic Design in the Home. Use code 'bab10' at checkout.
Read more about why Oliver's courses had some amazing feedback at oliverheath.com.
How To Could Incorporate Greenery Into Your Home
Biophilic Kitchen
Image by Brina Blum on Unsplash.
Biophilic Bedroom
Photo by Cole Keister from Pexels
RELATED:
7 Bedroom Plants That Promote Relaxation And Better Sleep
Biophilic Bathroom
Photo by Andrew Neel from Pexels
RELATED:
Jungle In A Windowless Bathroom, Dream or Reality?
Biophilic Design Benefits
Access to nature is a biological necessity and bringing it indoors significantly improves our well-being. In an urban world of technology, we somehow got disconnected from what should be natural to us.
Implementing Biophilic interior design to our homes, workplaces, schools, public places has profound health and economic benefits. Using Biophilic design principles in our home home gives us a wonderful sense of calmness and protection, mental restoration and improved productivity.
My favourite quote by Wilson 1986, Kellert 2012: "The benefits of contact with nature often happen on repeated experience. People may possess an inherent inclination to affiliate with nature, but like much of what makes us human, this biological tendency needs to be nurtured and develop to become functional ".
We have all the tools so why not bring in the beautiful outdoors into our indoor world. Not just in our homes but our workplace too. Studies show how important is to cleverly design living and work-space in order to improve health, well-being and productivity.
The positive impact a natural connectionhas on our productivity, creativity, reduced stress levels and overall health is spectacular. What element will you apply to your home?
Other articles you might like:
Eco-Friendly Homeware Materials to Help You Pick Green
Designing and Building a More Sustainable Home For Wellbeing
How to Use Indoor Plants As a Room Divider
Reduce Humidity At Home With These Plants
The Importance of Sustainability in Interior Design
How Important are Indoor Plants and How to Choose the Best Ones?
Wish you all a wonderful week!
Love,
Barbulianno
Know someone that will love it?
SHARE IT! :)
This article does contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may receive a small commission when you click the above links and make purchases (at no extra cost to you).
