Every year seems to bring with it a new interior design fashion and 2022 is no different. One of the biggest trends at the moment is biophilic design which sounds rather technical and scientific doesn’t it? Well, all it means is using interior design to connect the inside of our homes with mother nature, by bringing the outside inside, using more natural materials in our designs and using colours that evoke nature such as lush greens, beach evoking beige, sky blues or even pinks and greys. In this article we will take a look at the components of biophilic design and hopefully give you some ideas to transform your home into its own nature reserve.
Colour Palette
Now you could be forgiven for thinking that biophilic colours are simply greens and browns and that’s mainly because our first thought, at least when it comes to connecting with nature is plants so we think leaves and tree trunks. But that’s really not the case. Take a look at the sky, for example. It has bright blues, greys, oranges, reds, pinks, whites. A trip to the local woods and you will see purples, whites, oranges, greens, browns, yellows and pretty much any other colour you can think of. So you really aren’t that restricted in what colours you can use to decorate your home. When deciding your palette, think what part of nature you want to connect to. Will you have a sea room, a beach room, a forest room? Maybe all of them? Decorate each room in that colour scheme and accessorise with complementing colours. So, if you want a sea-based room for example you’ll want some nice deep blues but also some whites to complement, these being the white from the foam of the waves. For a forest room you can use lush greens, browns but also experiment with greys and accessorise to reflect all the beautiful flowers you will have seen. There are some great biophilic colour ideas from Decorilla which can be found using this link.
Flora, Fresh Air and Sun
Now this is where the real connection comes in and where you meet nature in all its glory. Let’s start with fresh air. What is it that we love when walking on the seafront or meandering through the forest? It’s the fresh air. How many of us have said, I’m just popping out for some fresh air, so give yourself the opportunity, whenever you can, to let as much in as you can. Install large bifold doors, open vents on smaller windows. Do whatever you can to let fresh air in and create a nice breeze. Sunlight is also important to open your rooms up, open your curtains wide to allow lots of natural sunlight in. Now perhaps the most important thing is to bring in plants. Ideally as many real ones as possible, but you can also add faux ones particularly in places where it is not practical to have live foliage. Installing a huge palm tree isn’t always possible, but why not create a small potted herb garden in your kitchen? Hanging plants will add layers, trailing plants put on shelves will also add to the height of your indoor garden. There are some great ideas on how to create an indoor garden here from Barbulianno design. You can use plants of various shades of green to give depth but also don’t be afraid to put a splash of colour in with flowers.
Natural materials
This will sound a little obvious but using natural materials such as wood or stone but go further and look at using bamboo, cork or even natural rattan. The more natural materials you use, the more biophilic your home will be.
Shapes
Nature is very rarely square or rectangular is it? Put shapes into your home. Some lovely curves suggesting the rolling of waves or shape of a winding willow, would complement your design perfectly. The important thing is to experiment until you achieve the look that brings you joy.
Accessorise
No true interior design is complete without accessories and Biophilic design is no different. There is so much of nature that you can bring using accessories. You can complement any room with some lovely art work, we really loved some of the pieces on the Made.com website. Everything from lemons to tigers, whales, landscapes and florals. Each one designed to bring nature to your home. But it isn’t just paintings, how about this plant inspired floor lamp from Wayfair or these biophilic coasters? We loved this living picture from Foli8. How cool would it be to have a piece of art that is actually a living plant?
Biophilic design not only looks fantastic but having a home full of plants also has great health benefits too as plants will help purify the air, generate oxygen and also a sense of relaxation. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to biophilic design, let your imagination run wild and bring the outside in.
