If you enjoy incorporating nature into your home decor, you might want to try biophilic design.

This design style uses natural elements such as materials, light, vegetation, and outdoor views to create a relaxing and productive living space.

In addition to looking great, this design technique can also improve your health by reducing stress, improving air quality, and boosting creativity.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the basic principles of biophilic design and provide some fun and innovative ideas for introducing plants and natural materials into your home.

We’ll also explore ways to maximize natural light to create a chill and peaceful atmosphere.

What is Biophilic Design?

Biophilic design is an architectural and interior design approach that combines natural elements such as light, vegetation, materials, and views of the outdoors to create spaces that help to improve well-being and productivity.

This design philosophy is based on the biophilia hypothesis, which suggests that humans naturally want to establish connections with nature.

Biophilic design aims to bridge the gap between humans and the natural world particularly within urban environments.

Biophilic design relies on bringing nature indoors, which separates it from traditional design as it uses mainly natural elements to create a more relaxed and inviting environment.

Whereas Traditional design relies on man-made materials and aesthetics Biophilic design uses natural elements to bring the outdoors inside. Creating a bridge between nature and your home, with natural pieces and structures to create a multisensory space.

Simple ways to introduce biophilic design elements into your home

By adding some nature-inspired design elements, you can create a home environment that will make you feel better, more productive, and more connected to the natural world.

Incorporate Nature Into Your Space

Add living plants, water features like fountains or aquariums, and natural materials like wood, stone, and natural fibers

Even in the smallest home introducing natural environments can start with an indoor garden. A space that you can tend to and enjoy.

Filling your home even in an urban setting can give you the benefits of this design concept. By giving you nature in your home that you can see, touch, and care for.

These posts are full of plant and indoor garden ideas: ideas to create window privacy with plants & Growing Indoors: Perfect For Apartment Living

A small indoor water fountain, hidden among your plants or on the coffee table brings the soothing sounds of running water into your space.

Including windchimes can bring calming sounds to an urban space. Place the chimes on your balcony or use windchimes with gems or crystals in front of a window for a rainbow of light throughout your space.

Biophilic design is not only about surrounding yourself with plants but by creating a natural setting indoors. A Small aquarium brings more life into your space. Creating a small ecosystem in your space is a great way to incorporate this design practice into a small space.

Bring in Natural Elements

Introducing natural wood into your space can be as easy as a live edge or natural wooden coffee table.

Alternatively, another natural material that can easily be incorporated into biophilic design ideas is stone. Either as a piece of furniture or as simple as a natural stone tray or decor piece.

Natural materials help with this concept as they bring an organic feel to a space. The use of natural materials such as linen, cotton, and soft fabrics helps bring this concept together.

Create A Connection To The Outdoors

Where possible keep your window as uncovered as possible. Allow the sun to flow through your space.

The biophilic design concept helps reduce stress by helping you bring as much of the natural world into your space. Keep your window open as much as possible allowing great ventilation and a breeze to flow through your apartment.

Create an outdoor space no matter how small the area might be. Being outside even in a city does wonders for mental health and general wellbeing.

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Arrange your furniture to give you a view of the outside. An alternative to this arrangement is to move seating to take advantage of natural light and window placement.

Decorate your space with artwork that reflects the natural environment. Either of your local area or a place that you love and have a connection with.

Use scents to create an olfactory connection to nature. Use natural scented candles, fabric spray, diffusers, or potpourri to bring your favorite scents of nature into your home.

Have an Organic and cozy feel

Turn your apartment into a cozy space full of organic shapes and textures to mimic those found in nature.

Take inspiration from the nature around you from the trees in the park to taking inspiration from a place that gives you comfort.

Biophilic Design is about having a space that has drawn inspiration from nature to create a connection to the outdoors even when living in a busy city.

Give yourself a cozy space to observe the surroundings and just relax.

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Take inspiration from the curves and flow of natural materials. This aspect of the biophilic design concept helps to reduce straight man-made lines and gives an organic flow and movement to your apartment.

Enhance your space with tones and textures that reflect your environment, while bringing in biophilic design concepts to enhance the organic and natural feel. This helps create a space that combines, for example, the city and nature.