That reviving feeling when you finally arrive at the hidden gem in the woods that you booked months ago to escape the stress and chaos of day-to-day life. Your tired arms plop your bags down, and seconds later you’re feet up facing a wall of windows bathing in warm rays of sunshine through softly blowing branches. Deep exhale, you’re here—destination relaxation! Nature is no doubt a powerful detox.
Good news! You can harness the inspiration nature provides by infusing your own home with biophilic design, creating a permanent staycation.
What is Biophilic Design?
Bio-phil-ic
The human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature. (Merriam-Webster)
Biophilic design leans on nature, with its hyper-focused and holistic approach to blurring the boundaries between inside and outside the home. Our engagement with the outdoors has proven health benefits including, reduced blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, anxiety and the production of stress hormones. Through an emphasized connection to nature, we can truly live our best life.
What are the Elements of Biophilic Design?
Natural Light
Sunshine is one of our favorite design tools, and a best friend of biophilic design too. When you infuse a room with light, you infuse a room with life! If larger windows aren’t an option, consider adding traditional or tube skylights to drive natural light down into a dim room. Tall doors, 8’+, with large window panes or transoms is another option for increasing views to the outside while inviting more natural light in.
Foliage and Flower
Bring the outdoors in with plants. From lush potted foliage to large tropical trees, you can’t have too many plants in biophilic design. Tuck air plants into open shelving or integrate them into living walls with sedums and succulents for a more immersive installation. Add drama to a room with large scale flowering or twiggy branches emerging from a glass vase. Gone are the days of faux plastic ivy creeping around cabinet tops, think of more authentic ways to include plants for a more natural vibe.
Seamless Outdoor Living
Connect the inside and outside in perfect harmony with seamless outdoor living spaces. Soften the flow by creating outdoor spaces that include indoor comforts, like sofa seating, fireplaces, and chandeliers. Large pocket or retracting glass doors are especially effective in fully opening indoor living spaces to the outdoors.
Organic Selections
Natural resources like wood and stone comfort us inside and outside the home. These organic selections provide texture and movement in a space, bringing nature closer. The grains found on wood floors, beams and furnishings, embraces the uniqueness of our natural world, reminding us of the archives within our own lives.
Earth Tones
Resonate peaceful feelings experienced in nature with earth tones in the home—and we’re talking more than neutrals, green is the new grey! Black, white, and terra cotta are other great natural choices. White walls help reflect light around the room, terracotta floor tiles feel familiar to the outdoors, and dark emerald green hues set a forest-like mood as a luxurious accent on wallcoverings or velvet furnishings.
Ready to live your best life? Let’s start at home with beautiful and relaxing spaces to begin and end your day! Contact us to get started on your own biophilic design. Also, visit our neighbors Great Growin’s at the Indiana Design Center to learn more about their stunning living walls.
Happy Home. Happy Life
