Reconnecting with Nature: Bringing the Outdoors Inside
Reconnecting with nature is known to have positive effects, not only on the well-being of people, but also on mood, happiness, and comfort. In fact, reconnecting with nature can be a relaxing experience that can be achieved by adding characteristics of the natural world, such as water, greenery, flowers, wood, and stone, into the design of your space, which would lead to better productivity and increase creativity and happiness. Reconnecting with nature can be extremely rewarding for people, as it creates a cascade of emotions that calm our nerves, especially after a long stressful day at work.
Here are 5 ways to bring the outdoors indoors and create a better and welcoming environment:
1- Increase Natural Light:
Nature is a huge space that has an abundance of light. So, one of the easiest ways to bring nature indoors is by increasing the sources of light in your house. Light is believed to not only improve your mood, but also improve your productivity, especially when you install a lighting system that changes throughout the day to mimic the lighting conditions that usually occur in nature. In addition, increasing natural light in your home would create a fresh and a more cheerful interior, especially because it helps increase the amount and types of plants used inside your house. Increasing natural light can be achieved by adding large windows inside the house, but also by adding skylights and roof windows for better light and even ventilation.
2- Add Potted Plants and Trees:
There is nothing better than being able to breathe fresh air inside your house. This is why, it is important to add potted plants and trees inside your house to make it look more alive and smell more fresh. One of the many advantages of plants is that they can be placed anywhere inside the house. They do not only allow us to reconnect with nature, but also improve air quality and reduce pollutants. Thankfully, you only need a few plants placed around the house to help you immediately boost the wellbeing and mood of the people living inside it. There are many types of potted plants and trees that can do well inside your house. Ferns and peace lily, for example, are two types of plants that can be placed and live inside your house and that can add character and a soothing touch to your home.
3- Make your House an Extension of Nature:
The concept of making your house an extension of nature and the outdoors is not new. In fact, many innovative approaches in architecture include building houses and structures around the already existing natural elements surrounding the structure. For example, instead of destroying the natural elements in the area of building, such as trees and flowers, architects and designers look today to preserve the surrounding landscape and add large windows or large doors, such as folding glass doors, to allow people to access and connect with nature from the comfort of their own homes and create a seamless transition between the outdoors and indoors.
4- Incorporate Natural Materials and Features:
Invoking a sense of nature inside your house is simple, yet requires more than just adding a few glass windows, plants, and flowers. Incorporating natural building materials inside your house can add an outdoor and natural feel and create a seamless transition between the outside and inside spaces. Natural building materials that can be used inside include, for example, stone, wood, hardwood, brick, and bamboo among many others. You can also use other natural materials and add nature inspired designs, such as water features, natural flooring, and wooden or bamboo furnishings. Living walls are also another option for incorporating natural features into your home, as not only do they provide different design opportunities, but also help transform your interior and liven it up, and most importantly, they help purify the air, creating a more sustainable and livable space. Jars of rock, shells, and sand can also add a natural feel and texture into the house.
5- Add Artworks and Photos of Nature:
Art is a different way that allows you to treat your senses to the outdoors and bring nature in. Whether it be a mural, a wallpaper, or photos of nature or of your vacations, wall art is a very unique way to connect better with nature. For example, in addition to adding colors that are found in nature, such as green, sky blue, and brown, you can also hang pictures of flowers, trees, the beach, the mountains, or even the sky anywhere in your space. In fact, today, you can also add artwork made from pressed flowers, which can add even more color in your home and inspire creativity. On the other hand, photos taken of you or your family while on vacation or on a road trip, such as photos of you on the beach or snow, can also help bring nature in, as well as help you remember an uplifting and stress-free time.
Nature Creates a Unique Sense of Place:
The special appeal of incorporating nature into your home or building is that it creates a refreshing environment that helps your grow in a healthy and enjoyable place all year round. In fact, in addition to being beautiful and refreshing, natural elements can also help improve happiness for you and your family no matter where you live. It is true that nature has a lot of benefits on well-being and affects how we feel and work, but most importantly, it is a lifestyle that helps create a unique sensory experience and a sense of place that allows you not only to connect with nature, but also to your surroundings.
Follow Noëlla Aoun Design Studio or visit our website for more Urban Design, Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Design, Environment, Real Estate and Sustainable Development articles.
