Biophilic Interior Design
Celebrating Mother Nature within your home can create a tranquil and balancing space. Bringing nature into the home is called Biophilic Design. This seeks to reconnect human’s inherent need to be surrounded by nature, even in a built environment.
Increasing clean airflow and choosing eco-friendly materials and vegan flooring can celebrate nature while also being a more sustainable option. Biophilic home design can increase property value, and direct access to nature can increase creativity and improve mental health.
Whether you live in an inner-city apartment or a country cottage, you can bring nature into your home in many ways.
You don’t have to completely remodel or renovate your bedroom to give it a nature-inspired update. Choose reclaimed, recycled, or restored furniture or flooring where possible, and seek sustainable suppliers for new additions.
Add plants for decoration and seasoning! – Biophilic Interior Design
Adding lots of plants to your room is the most simple and effective way to bring the outside inside. Plants in the home have a proven positive impact on humans, from improving air quality to reducing stress levels. Caring for plants can boost productivity, be therapeutic, and provide glossy green decor.
Hanging plants can trail from your bedroom shelves and on top of the dresser, while sun-worshipping ones will love a windowsill. If you have the room, try a tall or large plant to make an impact. Fiddle Leaf Fig Trees can grow as tall as 10 feet indoors! Many plants thrive in low light even if your space isn’t flooded in sunlight. Try a Snake Plant or ZZ Plant for darker corners.
Why not try to grow an indoor herb garden? Excellent for seasoning your favourite vegan dish, it will eliminate unnecessary plastic in pre-packaged herbs. Don’t worry if you aren’t very green-fingered; many herbs are low-maintenance. They’ll also add fragrance to the room!
Use reclaimed or recycled wood.
Wood is exceptionally hard-wearing, so it is possible to reclaim and reuse it or source recycled zero-waste worktops.
Using wood is a versatile material that can be finished in many ways. If you want a rustic, genuinely natural look, wood can be left raw and unstained and will celebrate knots and natural ‘flaws.’ But wood can also be highly polished or painted for a contemporary finish to suit your style.
Choosing the type of wood for your room is also essential. Recycled oak is strong, durable, and can be customised to fit your space perfectly, meaning no waste. This is great for smaller or awkwardly shaped areas.
If you have more room to play with, try ‘live-edge wood. This means using wood that keeps the natural shape and textures of the tree to emphasise the beauty of nature. Using scaffolding boards or visiting your local timber yard are other sustainable ways to find and reclaim wood in your bedroom.
Use toxic-free paint and colours inspired by nature.
Adding colour to your bedroom can inject personality into the room and enhance your space. Colours can contrast or complement your chosen wood or the plants you nurture. Painting a feature wall or cupboard can brighten the space in your bedroom and is a quick and easy way to update the area. However, choosing eco-friendly paint is essential.
Did you know that most paints contain plastic and toxic chemicals? Many paints give off gases that contain solvents, often called Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOC. These can be harmful to people and the planet. Water-based paints may seem like they are the least damaging. But be careful to check that they aren’t simply ‘watered-down’ and still contain harmful toxins, just at lower percentages.
It’s not just the paint itself that can be damaging, though. The production process of paint making can be water-intensive and incredibly wasteful. Sustainable paint brand Lick has planted 6,200 trees and removed 14,324kg of plastic from the ocean to combat the industry’s environmental impact.
Farrow and Ball are another eco-friendly brand that is water-based and whose paints promote better indoor air quality. Their ‘Colour by Nature’ collection collaborates with the Natural History Museum, which has inspired paint colours from rocks and precious stones to delicate butterfly wings. These colours are a sophisticated and subtle way to incorporate natural colours into your bedroom.
Make the most of natural light, or choose low-impact artificial lighting
Lighting can make a massive difference to the look and feel, yet it is often overlooked.
If you are lucky enough to have lots of natural light or the ability to add a skylight or more oversized windows, do it! Increasing the natural light in your bedroom will benefit your newly added plants and expose you to much-needed Vitamin D.
Use mirrors to reflect natural light and enhance the space, shining the sun into corners that may not receive as much. Windows also helps to keep the room temperature regulated (especially during the warmer months). They can warm up a room with sunlight, or you can open windows to let the breeze in and help the airflow through the rest of the house.
Bedrooms without much natural light should choose energy-saving or low-impact lighting. Switching your light bulbs to LED ones is a great place to start. LED lights can be up to 90% more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs. Consider switching to a renewable energy company like Bulb or Octopus to ensure your energy credentials are as sustainable.
Final thoughts
Creating an indoor space that celebrates the outdoors through natural elements and eco-friendly materials is achievable for all budgets. Start by adding plants, making a herb garden, or painting an ‘inspired by nature’ feature wall.
For a more extensive complete bedroom renovation, source sustainable materials from conscious companies. Ensure that materials and the ongoing impact of using your space are as sustainable as possible, and continue to celebrate and protect nature.
Author:
Kelly Edwards is an interior design and home improvement specialist. She has gained an in-depth understanding of the sector by immersing herself in the industry for over 15 years. Alongside numerous projects, Kelly enjoys writing in her free time to highlight the importance of sustainability. Connect on LinkedIn: @KellyEdwardsInterior.