Creating a home nature oasis is not an either/or decision, nor is it an expensive decision. Biophilic design is a natural choice in bringing the outside world and indoors together, and your home becomes a serene sanctuary, healthy and beautiful to you. This school of design knows the intense connection we have with the world out there and brings you to solutions for honoring that connection through interior design sensibility.
Understanding Biophilic Design Principles
Biophilic design is much more than adding some plants to your living room. Biophilic design is a design and architectural approach that integrates natural materials, light, texture, and pattern to imitate the outdoors. It is derived from the biophilia concept—our natural fondness for living things and nature.
We’ve discovered from studies that using natural materials will reduce stress, clean the air, and generally benefit well-being. By bringing the outside in with Telluride interior designers, you’re creating a space that will nourish body and soul, and your home will be a real haven from the pressures of the day.
Key Features to Include
Maximizing Natural Light
The most important aspect of biophilic design is natural light. Don’t block windows, and include skylights or additional windows in the remodeling plans. Where natural light isn’t available, full-spectrum light bulbs that mimic sunlight can fill in the indoor/outdoor light divide.
Adding Water Features
Water features provide beauty and soothing noises to your area. A beautiful little fountain, a well-maintained aquarium, or even just water in a bowl with candles floating on top will quickly become soothing. The soothing background noise of water flowing easily covers up the city noise and creates a natural point of interest that draws the eye and soothes the mind.
Adding Organic Shapes
Organic shapes and forms mimic nature’s asymmetrical forms. Choose furniture with curves rather than corners, and incorporate painting or wallpaper that mimics the natural texture of wood grain, rock formation pattern, or botanicals. These break up the harsh lines of modern architecture.
Practical Implementation Strategies
Selecting the Right Plants
Begin with plants that thrive in your specific lighting environment. Snake plant and pothos tolerate low light, but fiddle leaf figs and rubber trees require bright, indirect light. Choose a mix of sizes of plants for a forest-like, multilayered effect that will create depth and visual interest wherever you put them.
Choosing Natural Materials
Natural materials add real textures to your space. Incorporate wood furniture, stone countertops, woven baskets, and linen into your space. These materials become increasingly more fascinating with time, connecting you to processes of growth and change in nature that no synthetic material can provide.
Embracing Nature-Inspired Colors
Nature-inspired color palettes introduce serenity into your environment. Soothing greens and warm brown earth tones provide a restful background for everyday life, and sky and ocean blues can open rooms and let light in. Employ them effectively in fabric, paint, and accessories.
Designing Natural Scenes
Nature views, actual or simulated, are a strong mood-maker in a space. Locate seating spaces in front of garden vistas through windows, or simulate views in the form of large-scale nature photography or botanical wall murals where exterior views are not possible.
Designing Your Nature Oasis
Biophilic design is best accomplished step by step, as you uncover what aspects of nature speak to you most deeply for your life and for your design sense. Start in one room and work your way out as you develop more confidence in incorporating design elements of nature.
Thoughtfully evaluate the maintenance requirements of the items you select. Houseplants will need regular care and maintenance, and natural items will need to be treated gently to keep them looking their best. Choose items that suit your lifestyle and level of commitment so that you can succeed and so that you can enjoy them for many years.
Your mission is to turn your home into a nature sanctuary—a haven where you can recharge and reconnect with nature’s healing energies even in the midst of a city.