How to bring nature into the home

At the beginning of the month, we spoke about the benefits of biophilic design. The homes interior and natural landscape hybrid can improve mental health, increase productivity, inspire creativity and overall enhance the happiness and well being. You may be wondering how you can go about implementing these natural features into your home. Luckily, the UK Home Improvement team have constructed this handy guide on how to bring nature into your home.

Plants

What better way to integrate with nature than by adding plants into the home? Not only do plants offer an aesthetic contrast to dull, plain colours but they also filter the air by mitigating pollutants. In addition, studies have shown that the introduction of plants reduces stress and anxiety. The combination of these three elements ultimately leads to a more positive mindset, hence improving overall health. 

Introducing plants to your home couldn’t be simpler. Plants are a great reducer of stress, and so setting them in potentially stressful areas, such as in waiting rooms, can be greatly beneficial. However, with the benefits of plants being so broad, including their capacity to induce creative thinking, we feel that it is best to implement plants throughout the entire office. 

Whether faux or real plants, the implementation of biophilic design tailored to suit your personal tastes and style are a great addition to any home.

Lighting

Luckily, the great thing about natural light is just that – it’s natural! It’s all around us, multiple hours a day and is available with the opening of a curtain. 

Being exposed to natural light instead of artificial light increases focus when working. It makes you calmer, happier, healthier and is proven to reduce certain negative conditions such as Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Natural light can be utilised with a few structural alterations to your home. Utilising glass allows natural light to flow freely throughout the home. Your house will be a much more open environment, with natural light filtering in to enhance the biophilic ambience.

Colour Schemes and Natural Materials

Various colour schemes have been shown to evoke particular feelings and moods in the viewer. To create a biophilic environment, we recommend designing your walls using a palette of earthy tones. Mossy greens, browns, oranges and reds are the perfect colours to reflect those of the outside world and improve the natural feel of your business.

Go one further and incorporate natural materials such as wood, granite and stone in the design of various rooms in your home, from wooden furniture to granite kitchen worktops. Using these textured finishes instead of block colours not only creates a unique aesthetic, but also makes workers feel relaxed. These materials don’t need to take up huge spaces – just subtly but cleverly placed around the workplace to promote your biophilic design. 

Whether simply adding plants, a lick of paint or going bold and renovating your home, utilising biophilic design in your home comes with a wealth of benefits. Not only are these great for promoting health and well being but done correctly it can also be a financial benefit too, potentially increasing both your homes kerb appeal and value.