Natural inspiration

Biophilic design is thought to reduce stress, improve wellbeing and enhance creativity. This month, Rupert Oliver of Rupert Oliver Property Agents celebrates Earth Day (22 April) with a guide as to how biophilic principles might be incorporated into your interior design scheme...

Coined by psychoanalyst Erich Fromm, the term “biophilia” refers to a “passionate love of life and of all that is alive… whether in a person, a plant, an idea, or a social group”. Since Fromm, scientists, philosophers and artists alike have built on the idea that humans have an innate, evolutionary need to connect with the natural world – and interior design principles inspired by the term aim to increase the strength of this connection, so that even when we’re inside, we feel a strong, energising affinity with the out.

Biophilic design can be divided into two categories: direct, and indirect. The former incorporates a first hand experience of nature into the home. Think fresh air, natural light and flowers. Indirect, on the other hand, refers to mere evocations, or suggestions, of the natural world. For example, the colour schemes and materials on display in a biophilic home, which serve to prompt a subconscious connection with nature.

One of the quickest ways to incorporate direct biophilic design into your living space is, as mentioned above, to maximise the amount of natural light flooding in. Make sure you haven’t got anything blocking the windows, and opt for pale decorative colour schemes (more on which later) to ensure that light bounces off walls and furniture, as opposed to being absorbed by it. If you have the means and planning permission to do so, another great way of letting in the light is with an internal courtyard, which brings nature from the periphery of a building to the literal centre of things.

Another obvious (but some may say foolhardy) way of playing by the biophilic rules is to bring in as many houseplants as a given space will allow. You can start small – a few well-placed plants on your desk will do the trick – or, if you’re got the experience, opt for a living wall. The latter takes a fair amount of maintenance and technical knowhow, so consider your passion for plants before committing.

Try to replace any plastic, industrial metal and the like with organic alternatives: wood, clay, cork, timber and so on. In a similar vein, natural tones are best when it comes to picking the colour palette for a space. You’re trying to mimic nature, so think soft greens, teals and earthen shades. You might choose to use an eco-paint coloured with natural pigments to really evoke the outside world. The shapes on display in your home should be kept similarly organic. Irregular, imperfect forms sit far more comfortably within the biophilic bracket than hard, 90-degree angles, so avoid anything rigid. Furniture is a good way in here: a live edge dining table, for example – where the sides of the piece are left in their original, wood-knotted form rather than being sanded down to a sharp, clean line – can work biophilic wonders.

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