AD | What do you do when everything gets too much and you have to take a break? Me, I head out the back door to spend some calming, healing time in Nature via our garden. But what if you don’t have easy access to outside space, be that a garden or a park? You need to look at incorporating biophilic interior design into your home decor. And it’s easier than you might think to create an amazing sensory experience for a positive impact on our stress levels.
Contents
- 1 What is Biophilic Design?
- 2 Using the WELL Building Standard for Biophilic Design
- 3 7 Ways to Incorporate Biophilic Interior Design into Your Home Decor Style
- 4 How Does Biophilic Interior Design Improve Your General Wellbeing?
- 5 Back to Biophilic Design in the Built Environment
- 6 Is Biophilic Design Expensive?
What is Biophilic Design?
Sustainability and the environment may be the hot topics du jour (no pun intended) but architects and interior designers have been looking to Nature for what lessons we can learn for years. The term “Biophilia” comes from the Greek and translates to a love of life and the connection between humans and other living things. Fun fact: one of the first examples of “biophilic design” may have been the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the absolute zenith of vertical gardening!
Biophilic design is a built environment concept and employed at both building and city-scale level to increase our connection to Nature, and harness the health, environmental, and economic benefits for all. Specifically, biophilic design principles use natural shapes, textures, light, planting, and other elements to make our living and working spaces more attractive, sensory places to be. And improve both our wellbeing and the environment at the same time.
Using the WELL Building Standard for Biophilic Design
Biophilic design incorporates many of the WELL Building Standard features, which take a holistic approach to health in the built environment, addressing behaviour, operations, and design. WELL is grounded in a body of medical research that explores the connection between the buildings where we spend more than 90% of our time, and the health and wellness impacts on us as occupants.
How does it do this? By using a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring aspects that impact human health and well-being, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind. WELL Certified™ spaces can help create a built environment that improves the nutrition, fitness, mood, sleep patterns and performance of its occupants
7 Ways to Incorporate Biophilic Interior Design into Your Home Decor Style
There are SO many studies showing how being in natural locations helps us rejuvenate both mentally and physically. So, taking the WELL Building Standard as a lead, here are 7 ways you can employ a biophilic interior design concept to bring nature indoors and create a more natural living space in your home.
Air
Indoor air quality is often full of harmful VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) released by materials, glues, cleaning products, and air fresheners (a big culprit). If you want to purify your indoor air, one of the best ways to do this is with plants. You don’t need to go full on living wall either (amazing as that would be). Just a few strategically placed indoor plants can help with allergies, produce more oxygen for you to breathe, and be be incorporated into your living room, bedroom, or bathroom.
Water
The sound of water is one of the most relaxing sounds in the natural world. Think of how many apps there are with water sounds for sleep, or soothing white noise. Clearly, not every home can install a water feature indoors, but why not consider a strategically placed bird bath or a solar fountain in a small container outside? Something beautiful to watch, listen to, and great for encouraging wildlife as well.
Nourishment
You might wonder how you can encourage healthy eating habits in your home using biophilic interior design. Well, it’s perfectly possible to grow some of your own food indoors: think strawberries, tomatoes, herbs, edible flowers. And even if you don’t have a garden, if you have a balcony, the vertical gardening possibilities are endless.
Light
How you light your home is key to minimising disruption to your body’s natural circadian rhythm for better sleep and overall wellness. Keeping your windows clear and adjusting lighting controls can all help to improve energy, mood and productivity. Natural light tops up our vitamin D levels, but LED lights have surprising health benefits too, as do light therapy lamps. And when you want to keep light out but let fresh air in? Look to the continent, where they use internal and external shutters to keep rooms cool in summer and warm in winter. (We have internal shutters instead of curtains and they are GAMECHANGERS).
Fitness
If you work from home (as I do), it’s very easy to remain sitting in one place for a long period of time. Here’s where biophilic interior design can really help to encourage physical activity, with a gorgeous nature-inspired yoga space or gym. High-tech gym equipment made of heavy metal and plastic or low-tech equipment made of natural materials, which would you choose? Add in natural light, greenery, ambient nature sounds, and some robust engineered wood flooring and suddenly that daily exercise regime becomes a pleasure, not a chore.
Comfort
Your home is your safe space, and biophilic interior design trends take their cues from natural colours and natural textures to create a calming, soothing, and attractive refuge. Much like the boho chic look, think wood, marble, stone, bamboo, rattan, linens, and wool. And choose colours that appear in Nature, such as greens, blues, and earth tones for a canvas. Then look to flowers for inspiration with some uplifting botanical prints for a splash of brighter colour to enliven your space.
Mind
Biophilic interior design in the office can help increase employees’ happiness and productivity, as well as reduce absenteeism and illness. A happy work environment supports mental and emotional health, so why not replicate some of this for your home too? What better way to nurture your own mental and emotional health than by using biophilic interior design elements to reconnect with Nature, and create a personal retreat at home?
How Does Biophilic Interior Design Improve Your General Wellbeing?
Biophilic interior design takes its cues from Nature – from space planning, to materials, to sensory stimuli – to recreate indoors as many of those elements as possible that are beneficial to our wellbeing.
- Interior design can influence our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing
- Nature has evident positive effects on our health.
- Sustainable design is better for the environment, so better for us as well
Nature is a beautiful meld of colours, textures, smells, temperature variations, space configurations, and sensations that all impact the way we feel. Choosing those elements that make us feel good, that are sustainable, and better for the environment are tangible benefits of biophilic interior design.
Back to Biophilic Design in the Built Environment
According to Oliver Heath Design, 90% of the UK now live in cities, a statistic being reflected around the world. As we’ve become more disconnected with Nature, it seems no coincidence that we’ve seen increases in mental and physical health issues.
“Connecting people with Nature in the built environment through implementing Biophilic Design not only improves the health and wellbeing of individuals, and communities but also the health of the planet. By increasing biodiversity and our appreciation for Nature, we are more motivated to act in a sustainable way, ” he says.
The summer 2022 heatwaves saw record highs in our cities. These concrete jungles trap the heat and pollution, raising the core temperature by as much as 7ºC. At such a time, walking on the pavements in bare feet would be unbearable. But imagine walking barefoot on green grass or sitting under a tree…
Green spaces provide shade and mitigate the urban heat island effect. They also help increase biodiversity, facilitate water drainage (for the upcoming storms), improve insulation (to keep cool in summer / warm in winter) AND have been proven to enhance mental and emotional wellbeing. So, a question for all developed nations, why on earth aren’t we creating more of them?
Is Biophilic Design Expensive?
The answer is, that depends, because it’s really up to you how much or how little you spend. Try some interior design apps to help you visualise your concepts before you splash out. And don’t forget about Pinterest, which is a treasure trove of biophilic home decor inspiration.
However, flipping the coin, biophilic design is not a luxury for the privileged few, it’s accessible to an individual and to communities too if the will is there. After all, what price would you put on your physical, mental, and emotional health and, ultimately, the health of our planet?
Have you heard of biophilic design before? Is this a sustainable trend you’d like to try and incorporate into your home? Which of the WELL Building Standards would you start with?
* This is a sponsored post – please see my Disclaimer.
Several years ago I purchased an outdoor fountain on clearance & attempted to get it going. I found out why it was on sale! Now I have a heavy statue in my yard. Maybe I’ll give it another go! Thanks, Lisa!
Ha, that made me smile, Sue, we did the same thing but we’re happy with ours as a feature!
Oh I absolutely love this post, is what I strive for in my home🌿and lifestyle♡ Thankyou Lisa, this has inspired me😍
That’s wonderful to hear, Marie, thank you so much!
This is interesting and it’s my first time to know about this design. I will keep it in mind if we going to use it.
Thank you, glad it was insightful 🙂
Wow… I love this nature style. So green and chic. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Fadima, glad you like it too!
I love these ideas and think it is definitely important to take lessons from nature. When I’m feeling down or want a break, I love to go to a nature reserve. There’s nothing more healing for my mind than being surrounded by nature and not hearing cars or being on my phone! Love this post 🙂 x
Thank you, Caroline, and that’s exactly how I feel. Although I must admit I do keep my phone with me so I can take photos of flowers while I’m gardening 🙂 x
I have never heard of biophilic design before, but I love the concept and the areas it focuses on, especially as it targets emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing! I would definitely love to try this style of design whenever I have a space of my own. 🙂
I think you’d love it, Jaya, it would be absolutely perfect for you – hope you get to try this some day soon!
This is such an interesting post! I hadn’t heard of anything like this before but I definitely want to look into it now. It’s so cool that you can grow some of your own food indoors and being someone who works at home a lot too I think the fitness aspect would help me. Thank you so much for sharing x
Thank you, Ceri, I’m so glad you found it interesting, it’s a subject that I find fascinating, and very apposite for all of us right now x
I love the look of this interior style, it’s like bringing nature into your home x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
That’s exactly what it is, Lucy 🙂 x
The sound of running water is so soothing. I also loved your ideas for adding more living plants to the inside of the home to create a more inviting space.
Thank you, Heidi, I’m glad you liked the ideas!
Ahh I love bringing elements like these into my home – Although I didn’t know this is what it’s called – So thanks for teaching me that today! There’s something so calming and mentally beneficial about these styles of interiors.
Claire.X
http://www.clairemac.co.uk
Thank you, Claire, happy the article was useful, and I absolutely agree with you! x
I’ve never heard of Biophilic design before. Something to think about when re-decorating.
Have a nice time off.
Absolutely, it’s really quite easy to incorporate – and thank you 🙂
I’ve never heard of this term before but I love the idea of an interior space that brings nature into the fold and helps you feel more connected in that way. These are some fab ideas, some of them not to difficult to introduce either! 🙂
It’s such a holistic way of setting up your home, really focusing on wellbeing – as you say, not that difficult to incorporate either!
I honestly learnt so much reading this post and it’s really opened my eyes as to what I can do, to my home, to help the environment. Thank you so much for sharing this with us lovely, what a great read. I’ll certainly be putting these tips to good use Xo
Elle – ellegracedeveson.com
Thank you, Elle, glad you found it so helpful 🙂
I love everything about this. While we do have a nice backyard space, we live in an area where we can only use it part of the year. Our winter weather is pretty harsh and nothing is growing at that point lol By moving some of our gardening indoors is a great way to enjoy it all year long. It’s also a fun way to bring a little sunshine to that cold, winter weather. I have been looking around trying to find ways to do this in our new house and I think my office may be the best place to start!
Thank you, Britt! And starting with your office is perfect – some air cleaning house plants, a natural light bulb, some ambient music – you’d never want to clock off 🙂
Wow…these are some beautiful interior designs 🙂
Beauty and Fashion
Thank you.
“Biophilic interior design”, that’s a new one to me! I actually drafted a post ages ago that I never got to finishing on how nature in the home can be beneficial. This ties in really well with this but yours is way, way more thorough!
I do love the look of some of the “futuristic” buildings that incorporate greenery into the structure itself, like a living, breathing building. I used to see the designs here and there a few years ago but I’ve not seen one myself in real life since. I hope that it increasingly becomes a thing, that nature is interwoven into our lives, work, homes, all the more.
There are some great ideas here. I quite like the more minimalistic interior design that has a focus on white and natural with a little boho chic edge to it.
Caz xx
It’s not a term that many people outside the built environment are familiar with, I agree! And thank you, that’s very kind, your post sounds very interesting too. We don’t have many greened up building where I live, but I believe biophilic design is more common in larger cities – Singapore being a great example. Like you, I hope we see more of it over here though, and sooner rather than later.
I haven’t heard of the term biophilic design before, but I’m definitely a fan! I just moved to a bigger apartment, so it’ll be easier to incorporate some of these elements plus my kitchen is twice the size of the old one so I can look into growing some food indoors too.
Once you start growing food indoors you’ll be hooked! Not just herbs, you can grow strawberries and tomatoes in hanging baskets, for example 🙂
Lisa this is such a beautiful and inspiring post. The best way to be closer to nature. Having indoor plants is beautiful with so many other benefits. You have said everything in detail. And yes the sound of water is relaxing. Now adays there are small fountains available that we can keep it in the corner and plug it in. 🙂
Thank you, Via, that’s very kind – I’d heard of drinking fountains for pets but I didn’t realise you could get indoor water features too – I’ll have to investigate 🙂
I love this style. It would be lovely to live in harmony with nature .
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
Indeed, and it’s an easy style to adopt 🙂
It is like a completely calming space. And feels cool and relaxing at the same time. Plus, it is eye catching in a creative point as well. This is such a great post and very much inspiring.
http://www.bauchlefashion.com
Thank you very much, I’m so pleased you enjoyed it 🙂
These are all such great tips, Lisa! Live plants around the home really do boost your mood, and I love that they can help purify our air, too! 🙂 An indoor living wall would be amazing, wouldn’t it?
Thank you, Heidi, and yes, it would – although I have to confess my houseplant game is not as strong as my garden one!
Thanks for the post, it is good to know the benefits of having nature indoors.
I live in an apartment so there isn’t a backyard but there is a garden downstairs. I love that my apartment is surrounded by trees and greenery. At home I have potted plants and I grow vegetables in my service yard/laundry room. I hope to get one of those mini desktop fountains I do love the sound of water.
You are lucky to live in a city that appreciated the value of greenery, that’s wonderful. Also, brilliant that you grow your own veg as well, especially without a garden!
I always really liked the idea of plant life inside, it’s so beautiful and the benefits are amazing. Sadly, I am not good at keeping them alive lol.
TBH, neither am I! My outdoor garden game is much better 🙂
This is such a wholesome post, thank you for sharing! Gave me so many ideas
Thank you, glad it was helpful 🙂
I missed this post earlier. Right now we are in the process of renovating our kitchen and I want to add a plant in one of the corners. After reading about biophilic design, which is something I had no idea about, I am thinking that maybe 2 plants or 3 would be better than one. I need to back to the “drawing board” and reconsider the options.
You can never have too many plants, Anca (!) – exciting times for your kitchen then, I’m glad this post was helpful 🙂
Amazing write-up! It is very interesting and easily explain. Thank you and good luck with the upcoming posts.
Thank you, and I’m glad it was helpful!